International students' personal and multicultural strengths: Reducing acculturative stress and promoting adjustment

Abstract

International students are often encouraged to cope with acculturative stress by relying on personal and multicultural strengths. The authors explored this assumption by testing personal growth initiative, hardiness, and universal-diverse orientation as predictors of international students' acculturative stress and adjustment. Data from 336 international students supported a partially mediated model, such that greater levels of personal and multicultural strengths predicted less acculturative problems, thus leading to better adjustment. © 2013 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.