Examining the Relationship Between Acculturative Stress and Religion/Spirituality Among International Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between acculturative stress and religion/spirituality of international students. This study utilized Sandhu and Asrabadi’s (1994) Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) as well as the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF) created by Plante and Boccaccini (1997). Much research exists on how international students adapt and acculturate to a host country. This research will add to the body of literature that exists regarding how international students use their religion/spirituality to deal with acculturative stress. Students in this study were asked a number of questions from the ASSIS and SCSORF rating the level of their stress and religious faith engagement. Results indicate that as acculturative stress increased, religious faith engagement increased. Additionally, results showed that international students experience mostly moderate levels of acculturative stress and that the religious faith engagement of male international students was no different than the religious faith engagement of female international students. Chapter five includes additional findings, conclusions, discussion, and recommendations.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Eric S. Davidson (Supervisor)