Date of Award

Spring 2024

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Major

Psychology

First Advisor

Laura Holt

Abstract

The rising number of international students in U.S. higher education highlights the need to grasp the challenges they face, from acculturative stress to familial pressures, which can impact their well-being. Resilience, encompassing personal and social competencies, family harmony, and organizational skills, may play a vital role in helping international students effectively manage acculturative stress and avoid problematic coping like substance misuse. To that end, we investigated whether family recognition through achievement, resilience, and acculturative stress predicted alcohol and cannabis consequences and drinking to cope with negative emotions. Participants were international students from six US colleges/universities (N=190; 74% female) who completed an online survey. Only one of the eight acculturative stress subscales (unclear career direction) was positively associated with alcohol and cannabis consequences. Contrary to my hypothesis, higher resilience did not change the positive association between acculturative stress and alcohol consequences. Notably, family recognition through achievement was positively related to alcohol consequences. Interventions for international students should target unclear career paths and familial expectations regarding achievement.

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