An Ego-Network Approach to Examining how International Students’ Bridging and Bonding Social Capital Influence their Adjustment in Canada
Year: 2024
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: International students face the challenge of adjusting to a new country. This transition is marked by the formation of new relationships, leading to a change in their social networks. This study used an ego-network approach to investigate how the composition and structure of these networks influence their sociocultural and psychological adjustment in Canada. A daily diary method was employed. Participants reported their most relevant interactions for seven consecutive days, and provided information about attributes of these contacts, and the relationships among them. From these data, indicators of bridging and bonding social capital were derived and examined as predictors of sociocultural and psychological adjustment outcomes, respectively. Results showed no association between bridging social capital and sociocultural adjustment variables. For bonding social capital, an interaction was found between number of Canadian contacts and density among those contacts in predicting ill-being, but not well-being psychological adjustment outcomes. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Author: Stora, Lisa
Institution: University of Guelph
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204608618