An Overview of Studies about International Students’ Social Support and Adjustment

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to find where we are in the research on the relationships between international students’ social supports and adjustments. The studies were reviewed from 1968 through 1999 using the PsycINFO and the bibliographies of Intercultural Education Society, Japan. These studies were classified into two categories; a) studies on effects of social supports in general, b) studies on specific effects of various support sources such as host nationals, students from same nationality and teaching staff of the university. Most of the studies showed positive effects of social supports on adjustments. Thus, constructing a social support system will help international student’s adjustment. But in some studies, social support showed no effect or negative effects on adjustment. Practitioners who construct a support system for international students should carefully consider the effect of each support. In order to find out reasons for existing ineffective supports, researches should focus on how students seek help from various social support resources.