Article

The Early Study Abroad(ESA) Experiences of South Korean Students in Different Age Groups: their stresses and adjustments from the perspective of acculturation theory

Author

권미경, 이순형

Information

pp. 145~171 / 2010 Vol.17 No.1

Abstract

This study examined the experiences of South Korean students who undertook Early Study Abroad (ESA) in a different culture. This study focused on two aspects of their stress levels; their daily life stress which they feel as students and the acculturative stress which they feel as people from a different culture. This was done in order to examine ESA’s psychological and school adjustment and to investigate the relationships between the expecting factors, the stresses, and their adjustment in the different age groups. The participants were 618 ESA coming from five different countries. The statistical methods adopted for the data analysis were multiple regression and the 2 stage least squares method. The major findings were as follow: First, students did not experience much daily life stress nor acculturative stress. However, the two aspects of stress play an important part in describing their adjustment. Second, the daily life stress and the acculturative stress were negatively related to the level of self respect, the level of self control, and positively related to the level of push factors in all ages. Third, the influential variables affecting school adjustment were the level of acculturative stress and the satisfaction with life as a student abroad. Fourth, the influence of the country in which the student studies makes a difference only in the stress level of the elementary group. The influence of sexual differences was only revealed in the stress levels of the adolescent group. Lastly, the level of daily life stress was the most important factor in explaining the adjustment of the elementary group. The level of acculturative stress was the most important factor in explaining the adjustment of the adolescent group.Key words : South Korean Early Study Abroad, acculturation, daily life stress, acculturative stress, psychological adjustment, school adjustment

Keywords