Higher Education Ph.D. Dissertations

Examining Factors of Acculturative Stress on International Students as They Affect Utilization of Campus-Based Health and Counseling Services at Four-Year Public Universities in Ohio

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Higher Education Administration

First Advisor

Robert DeBard (Committee Chair)

Second Advisor

Patricia Kubow (Committee Member)

Third Advisor

William Knight (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Bruce Edwards (Committee Member)

Abstract

This study examined factors of acculturative stress experienced by international students as they affect utilization of campus-based health and counseling services. Eight hundred thirty-eight international students studying at 11 four-year public institutions in the State of Ohio were surveyed to determine how frequently they had experienced 20 different factors of acculturative stress and the extent to which they utilized campus-based health and counseling services. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to better understand the relationship between factors of acculturative stress and utilization of these services. While the findings suggest a lack of significant interaction between acculturative stress and international student utilization of these services, there were important findings suggesting that different groups of international students do not experience acculturative stress equally according to gender, home country, and graduate versus undergraduate students. The implications and recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.

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