ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicProtective vs Risk Factors for Stress and Psychological Well-being in Academic University ContextsView all 22 articles
Acculturative Stress and University Life Adjustment among International Students in China: The Moderating Role of Perceived Social Support
Provisionally accepted
- Xi'an Eurasia University School of General Education, Xi'an, China
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This study examines how acculturative stress influences international students' adjustment to university life in China, with a particular focus on the moderating role of perceived social support. Drawing on a sample of 642 international students, hierarchical regression and interaction analyses reveal that acculturative stress significantly impairs emotional, social, and academic adjustment. However, perceived social support buffers these effects, especially in emotional domains. These findings contribute to the literature on cross-cultural adaptation and underscore the importance of institutional and interpersonal support systems for student well-being.
Keywords: Acculturative stress, university life adjustment, social support, International students, China
Received: 22 Aug 2025; Accepted: 11 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hang Chen, chenhang@eurasia.edu
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