International Students' Wellbeing and The Need for Social Support In the Context of Socio-Cultural Adjustment in Lithuania
Year: 2024
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Madondo,C(2024). International student’s well-being and the need for social support in the context of socio-cultural adjustment in Lithuania (Master's thesis in Clinical Health Psychology)Supervisor Jevgenij Razgulin ,Lithuanian university of Health Sciences, academy of medicine, Department of Health psychology, Kaunas. This study aimed to explore the experiences of first year international students in regard to their well-being, social support and social cultural adjustment. The sample had a total of five participants who were international students and were over 18 years old. The study included both methodologies qualitative and quantitative. The first method which was quantitative was a continuous work for the researcher's supervisor and in that case only used the obtained data which was from 194 first year students who were from universities in Lithuania. In the qualitative, the data was gathered using semi structured interviews. The data collected was extensively analyzed by thematic analysis (TA). The results generated 3 main themes which were cultural adjustment, social support and coping styles. The qualitative analysis concluded that participants had some challenges when trying to adjust to new environments such as culture shock, language, connecting with the locals. However, the results showed that those who received perceived support from both formal and informal support systems had a better chance at socially culturally adjusting. Another finding showed that students who had an adaptive coping style seemed to have easier time adjusting to new environments. The quantitative research concluded that there was a correlation between social support and well-being, in the sense that students who got support from friends, family and significant others had higher levels of well-being. However, the main findings suggested that socio-cultural adjustment had a significant negative effect on well-being. The lower the issues of adjustment the higher the well-being of participants. This research in general shows that social support is a positive contributor to socio-cultural adjustment. And also having a good wellbeing is good for socio cultural adjustment. Keywords: Adjustment, social support, social cultural adjustment, well-being and thematic analysis.
Author: Madondo, Christabell
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7151714813