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THE ADAPTATION PROCESS OF
THIRD CULTURE DEPENDENT YOUTH AS THEY
RE-ENTER THE UNITED STATES AND
ENTER COLLEGE

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY
BY

Kathleen A. Finn Jordan

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Social and Philosophical Foundations

198T

[M _/ / ,1" 1

ABSTRACT
THE ADAPTATION PROCESS OF THIRD CULTURE DEPENDENT YOUTH
AS THEY RE-ENTER THE UNITED STATES AND ENTER COLLEGE
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY
BY

Kathleen A. Finn Jordan

Since World War II, increasing numbers of persons have become in-
volved cross-culturally and cross-nationally for the purposes of relating
segments of society to each other and mediating between cultures. The
life styles and patterns of relationships which develop in the inter-
faces between cultures as a result of this participation have been
termed "third cultures." Third cultures have been broadly characterized
as the patterns of behaviors created, shared and learned by participants
of the societies who are relating to each other. These persons generate
a composite of values, role-related norms, and social structures which
make them a part of yet apart from the first and second cultures which
they Span yet from which they remain distinct. The definition of third
culture persons includes the dependents of the primary participants in
the third culture (approximated at 230,000 school-age Americans). The
increasing number of dependents overseas has provoked questions concern-
ing the effect which that experience may have on various aspects of their
later lives.

This dissertation focuses on the re-entry/college entry period and

is an exploratory study of twenty—one third culture dependent American

Kathleen A. Finn Jordan

youth of business and missionary sponsorships who have graduated from
overseas American type schools and returned to the United States to
attend college. These youth have grown up and been educated, in whole or
in part, in societies other than their own and countries other than their
country of citizenship. The purpose of this study is to examine the
re-entry/adaptation experiences of those interviewed and explore the
nature of their adaptation. This adaptation process is examined in the
light of their perceptions of self, perceptions of their overseas and
United States environments, their mobility experiences and their identity
formation.

Some preliminary data on the adaptation of Freshmen students at
Michigan State University identified five transactions that students
confronted: activating commitment, developing support, adjusting expec-
tations, prioritizing goals, and transposing identity. Upon analysis
of the data collected through focused interview and questionnaire, it
appears that third culture students confront these same adaptive transac-
tions but they manage them differently.

Some conclusions drawn from this study are:

l. The management of the process of adaptation of third culture

students is reflective of their complex identities which
result from their third culture experiences and pattern of
mobility.

2. Their adaptive pattern might be described as a set of transac-
tions which involve: internalizing the fact of return, main-
taining extensive networks, intensive process of grieving,

a purposeful lack of goals and realistic expectations, and

a maintenance of third culture identity.

Kathleen A. Finn Jordan

These subjects do not fully adapt to their new setting.
They make integrative adjustments.

The complexity of re-entry, the experience of culture
shock and developmental differences in their maturing
process overseas create a series of unique problems and
opportunities for them. They seem to project highly

differentiated selves.

Copyright by
KATHLEEN A. FINN JORDAN

1981

To my mother
Ellen Finn Jordan

with love and thanks

Home is where one starts from. As we

grow older

The world becomes stranger, the pattern
more complicated

0f dead and living. Nor the intense moment
Isolated, with no before and after,

But a lifetime burning in every moment

And not the lifetime of one man only

But of old stones that cannot be deciphered.

Four Quartets, East Coker V
T.S. Eliot

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are many people who have inspired me to reach out and probe
the environment which is the world and the peculiar parts of it which I
transit at any given moment or in any given year.

Dr. Ruth Hill Useem and Dr. John Useem have immeasurably helped
me to ask the significant questions and have continually challenged me
to research thoroughly and to continue to explore the realities, the
dreams, and the myths that sustain us all.

Dr. Bruce Burke has given generously of his time and his support
and when the dream seemed impossible, his commitment, friendship and
scholarly help were always extended to me.

Dr. Max Raines, whose creative, energetic, growth-oriented
philosophy inspired me and intrigued me with the importance of self-
actualization through maximizing transitions and adaptations assisted
me in my own personal development and in the development of my thinking
on this dissertation topic.

I was indeed fortunate to have Dr. Howard Hickey and Dr. Stanley
Wronski as members of my committee who offered a global view and personal
help in sorting out the different questions and areas preparing for
my dissertation topic.

To those great teachers who prepared me for further study,

Sister Xavier Gibbons, Natalie Jaffe Moir, Margaret Mead; to my current
supervisor, Miss Ann Webster and my colleagues Cheryl Beil, Marilyn

Mundy, Roberta Marowitz, Sue Campbell, Steve Neisel, Jim McComb, Drs.

Nora Evers and Martha Burns, I wish to express my deepest thanks. They
provided me with a solid base of support throughout the different stresses
and periods of growth in the steps to this commencement research work.

V

The Third Culture students with whom I have worked overseas and
whom I continue to enjoy here in the United States have provided me
with many insights and experiences. I appreciate their generosity to
me.

Lastly, I acknowledge my family who have supported all efforts
devoted to higher education and the development of a more productive
life experience.

Any work owes credit to many supportive mentors and individuals.
The love and caring of many people, too numerous to mention, are very

much present in the pages of this study.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES ...................... . . x
Chapter

I. THE PROBLEM ..................... l
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 1
Statement of the Problem ............. 3
Purpose of the Study ............... 9
Background of the Study and Definitions ...... l0
U.S. Census Data on Americans Abroad ...... l2
American Type Schools Abroad .......... l2
Nature of the Study ................ 13
Subjects of the Study .............. l5
Methodology .................... 19
The Case Study and Focused Interview ...... 19
Collection of Data ............ . . . 2l
Interview Experience .............. 22
Analysis of the Data .............. 23
Limitations of the Study ............. 25
Definition of Terms ................ 29
Organization of the Dissertation ......... 33
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND RELATED RESEARCH . . . . 35
Case Studies ................... 36
Third Culture and Related Materials ........ 37
Mobility Entry and Re-entry ............ 49
Developmental Processes of Young Adults ...... 59
The Process of Adaptation ............. 65
Individual Themes Tangential to Major Areas . . . . 76
Summary ...................... Bl
III. RE-ENTRY AND ADAPTATION EXPERIENCES ......... 89
Introduction ................... 90

Capsule Descriptions of the Subjects Interviewed . 9l
Summary Descriptions of Re-entry and

Adaptation Experiences ............. 94
Missionary Dependents ............... 95
Business Dependents ................ lO3

' Analysis of Re-entry and Adaptive Experiences as

Reported by Interviewees ............ 132

vii

Chapter

Commitment to the New Environment in Relation

to the Subjects' Perception of Home ......

Developing Support in the New Environment
Aspects of Grieving and "Culture Shock" Upon
Leaving the Overseas Environment and Entering

the United States ...............

Lack of Goals and Unrealistic Expectations
Articulated on Entering the New Environment
Transition Areas of Reported Problems and
Opportunities: Academic Ease, Social Malaise
Aspects of Transposing Identity in the

New Environments ................
The Questionnaire Results ............
Transition Assessment Scale . . .........

IV. THE ADAPTATION PROCESS OF THIRD CULTURE EXPERIENCED

1 .1

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

YOUTH ......................

Introduction ...................

Method and Rationale for Selection of

Case Studies Presented . . . ..........

Presentation of the Six Case Studies
Case Study Number I - Elizabeth, Missionary
Case Study Number 2 Geoff, Missionary
Case Study Number 3
Case Study Number 4
Case Study Number 5

George, Business . . . .

Case Study Number 6 - Thomas, Business . . . . :

Analysis of Case Studies of Adaptive Transactions
Transition Assessment Scales: Activating

Commitment ..................

Transition Assessment Scales: Developing

Support ...................

Transition Assessment Scales: Adjusting

Expectations .................

Transition Assessment Scales: Prioritizing

Goals ....................

Transition Assessment Scales: Transposing

Identity ...................
f‘Summary

Nature and Purpose of the Study .........
Subjects .....................
Methodology ...................
Schedules ....................
Findings .....................
The Adaptation Process: Conclusions .......
Recommendations ....... ' ..........

Hans, Business ......
Bonnie, Business .....

Page

134
139
144
148
150
153
161
162
172
183
184
186
188
195
199
203
206
208
209
211
218
225
232

239
253

256

257
259
260
260
270

Chapter Page

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................... 279
APPENDICES
A. STUDY OF INTERNATIONALLY MOBILE STUDENTS . . . . 297
B. INTERNATIONALLY MOBILE STUDENTS QUESTIONNAIRE . 305
C. INTERVIEW DESIGN ................ 337
D. TELEPHONE CONTACT SCRIPT ......... . . . 339

E. LETTER TO CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEE ON
RELEASE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ..... 340

F. EXAMPLE OF METHOD OF IDENTIFYING TRANSACTIONS
FROM INTERVIEW DATA . . ........... 342

ix

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page

Summary of Transaction Experiences

Table l: Activating Commitment ......... 165
Table 2: Developing Support ........... 166
Table 3: Adjusting Expectations .......... l67
Table 4: Prioritizing Goals ........... l68
Table 5: Transposing Identity .......... 179
Table 6: Transition Assessment Cumulative

Scores ................ l70

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM

Introduction

 

This is an exploratory, descriptive study of selected American
students who entered college in the United States after having
graduated from overseas, American type secondary schools. The focus
of this study is to explore the adaptation process of these students
as they simultaneously make the transition of re-entry to the United
States and entry into the college environment.

In the late 1970's, Dr. Max Raines and a selected group of
College Student Personnel students at Michigan State University began
to investigate the adaptation of freshmen students to the college
environment. It was assumed that if more information was gathered
on the components of the transition from high school to college, that
transition might be facilitated for students by programs addressing
the specific needs students expressed during their adaptation to
college. Series of interview experiences manifested certain problems
and concerns specific to the high school-college transition experience.
A preliminary list of the areas students reported as important to be
confronted if they were to effectively cope i.e. remain in the college
environment and be able to grow and develop in it at a reasonable
level of stress, was made. This list was revised in terms of on-
going interviews with different groups of students. Certain commonali-

ties emerged from ISO case studies developed as a result of interviews

2

and these common transactions experienced by students were identified
and classified. The ideas suggested by the case studies led the group
to postulate some critical transactions to be further explored and
defined. After several revisions four major transactions were identi-
fied: (l) developing support (2) adjusting priorities (3) prioritizing
goals and (4) transposing identity. In the light of these transactions,
Dr. Raymond Jackson (1977) undertook a study of forty high-risk minority
students to see if there were discernible differences for them in their
adaptation in contrast with the 150 case studies already in process.
Based on Dr. Jackson's tape recorded interviews of the 40 minority
students, another transaction emerged. Jackson concluded: "Careful
analysis revealed that there were discernible differences in their
manner of transacting. While the study seemed to confirm the transac-
tions as pivotal indicators, an additional transaction was noted:
level of commitment."

In reviewing the case studies of the original interviews, level
of commitment also seemed to play a major role. The adaptive transactions
then were revised to include five major transactions: (l) activating
commitment, (2) developing support, (3) adjusting priorities,
(4) prioritizing goals and (5) transposing identity.

A workshop program, called a life-lab, was devised to address each
of these areas and facilitate the adaptation of the freshmen students
at Michigan State. (Max Raines, Adaptive Handbook for New Students).
These life-labs were run by trained facilitators called focalizers
who were responsible for conducting the planned workshop sessions and
exercise experiences to facilitate the management of the adaptive

transactions for the students.

3

In working as a facilitator and focalizer with a number of these
freshmen adaptation groups, the writer became aware of a few students
that seemed to approach these identified transactions differently or
not even mention them at all. The writer‘s work for eight years in
international schools overseas has sharpened an interest in those
students who are the dependents of certain sponsors overseas and pursue
their education in a country other than their own country of citizenship.
A few of the participants in the adaptive life-lab were students educa-
ted overseas who had graduated from an overseas American type high
school. A curiosity developed in their adaptation process and the
differences they manifested in confronting the life-lab transactions.
What were some of these differences? How did they manage the adaptation
process? Were the pivotal indicators, the adaptive transactions, the
same for them or were they different?

A decision was made to study the adaptation process of these
overseas educated students in the light of information available on
them, the insights of Max Raines and his team on transition and adapta-

tion, and the research available on mobility and re-entry.

Statement of the Problem

 

The broad focus of this study is on American minor dependents,
third culture students, (TCK's) who have grown up and been educated in
whole or in part, in cultures and societies other than the one of their
own nation-state. The writer became interested in this group of
students after working among them for eight years and becoming aware
of some of the problems and opportunities that their diverse cultural
upbringings presented both during their stay in host countries and

upon their return home. For some, their tour was just for two years;

4
for others a major part of their developing years was spent in one or

another foreign environment.

In searching the literature for a better understanding of ways to
process the concerns parents and students articulate regarding their
overseas experiences, few sources were available. However, in the last
fifteen years, studies have begun to address some of these problems and
explore the dimensions of them e.g. problems returning students con—
front in peer group acceptance, re-entry difficulties and identity
problems.

The specific focus of this dissertation is to examine the re-entry/
adaptation experiences of one segment of third culture students, those
who have graduated from an American type overseas school and returned
to the United States and entered college. The issues addressed here
in terms of the subjects of this dissertation involve the nature of
adaptation to the college environment, the actual pattern of that
adaptation; the effect of overseas experience in creating a perceptual
frame of reference upon re-entry; the interaction of person and environ-
ment upon return, and what, if any, are the differences in their adap-
tive process as compared with the process host nationals go through in
adapting to a college environment not further complicated by re-entry.

It is important to point out here that in looking at the adaptive
process of United States students to college environment, the descrip-
tive data which emerge from the work of Max Raines and his colleagues
is preliminary and the development of further research and more
systematic approaches to recording data collected are in progress.

In working with pilot groups in the adaptation life-lab project,

Dr. Raines and his co-workers discovered that there was a gestalt

5
Operative in the dynamics of the adaptation process. The transactions
and their dynamics could not satisfactorily be explained by the separate
components of the reported adaptive behaviors.

In defining the process of the transactions further, a listing of
tasks and behaviors were postulated so that a sense of where each indivi-
dual was in terms of each transaction might be more clearly understood.
This definition of tasks and behaviors within each categorical adaptive
transaction became the transition assessment scale. This scale is help-
ful in identifying the behaviors reported by adaptors and giving a
sense of progress in the management of each task.

In approaching the interview experience with third culture students,
a very broad interview design was used (see Appendix C). The breadth
of the tool was necessary since the researcher was not sure of what
would emerge as transactions for the third culture dependents who were
interviewed. After the data were collected, a review of the verbatim
interviews suggested that the pivotal indicators of adaptive transac-
tions articulated by United States college students were similar for
the third culture students but the management of those transactions was
approached in a different manner which seemed to be the result of
perceptions of self, mobility experiences and differing value frameworks.

In Werkman's book, Bringing Up Children Overseas: a Guide for

 

Families, he quotes a re-entering adolescent: "What you gain from
experience abroad is going to be maintained, but it's better to tuck it
away. What you have learned not only doesn't get you anywhere but it
tends to threaten or irritate people" (Werkman, 1977: 208). Third
culture students in the life-lab exercises to facilitate adaptation

reported this same feeling in terms of sharing experiences in their

6
adaptation. The impact that these feelings might have on “developing
support transactions" or in the "transposing of one's identity" during
the adaptation/re-entry experience might change that process for the
overseas student.

There appeared to be differences in the management of these trans-
actions. An interest developed to study these phenomena in more depth
in order to describe the adaptation process of third culture students
and assess the similarities or dissimilarities in their college entry
with the description of college entry for United States freshmen at
Michigan State revealed by Max Raines and his colleagues.

In "A Heritage of Transience: Psychological Effects of Growing
Up Overseas," Sidney Werkman, (l978: ll6) notes:

American children who live overseas for extended

periods of time encounter unusual developmental challenges.

They face repeated experiences of separation and loss, the

hazards of transitions, and confrontations with novel pat-

terns of behavior. Such challenges, generic to the lives

of geographically mobile children, can also contribute to

the understanding of the ordinary nodal points of child

development. Although the effects of geographic mobility

on psychological processes are of increasing prevalence and

importance to the contemporary world, little has been

written about them.

The 230,000 American children who attend overseas

schools each year comprise an ongoing experiment in an

alternate style of growth and differentiation that may be

of considerable importance for our understanding of

events and stresses that mold typical character development.

In approaching the process of adaptation to the collegeenvironment
as it is compounded by re-entry to United States culture, the writer
discovered that the "meaning" of this "alternate style of growth"
experienced by third culture students remains unclear. Its importance,
however, both in the specific individual context as well as in a

society in which each year brings more geographic mobility to a greater

7

number of persons is clear. A competence in making transitions seems
to be a critical component in our growingly interdependent world.

According to Dean Mac Cannell in his book, The Tourist: A New Theory

 

of the Leisure Class:

 

The characteristics of modernity examined by social
scientists are advanced urbanization, expanded literacy,
generalized health care, rationalized work arrangements,
geographical and economic mobility and the emergence of
the nation-state as the most important sociopolitical unit.

These are merely the surface features of modernity. The

deep structure of modernity is a totalizing idea, a modern

mentality that sets modern society in opposition both to

its own past and to those societies of the present that are

pre-modern or un(der) developed (l976: 7).

If Mac Cannell sees "the tourist" as "one of the best models
available for modern man in general" and states that "our first
apprehension of modern civilization emerges in the mind of the tourist,"
how much more may be said of the third culture person who is a "tourist"
in the deeper sense of the word and remains "a part of yet apart from"
in a more permanent sense of the sojourn.

The adaptation process/re—entry event experienced by the third
culture student has meaning beyond its specificity. In terms of modern
man, or port-modern, if one chooses to use that image, the transition
experiences and the mechanics of adaptation that are self-reported
by these persons yield insights for modern persons that may have
broader applications.

There are reasons for studying third culture experienced students
beyond the writer's curiosity. Their pattern of mobility and cross-
cultural experience in a world of increasing opportunities for persons

to be mobile and to communicate across cultures is intrinsically

interesting. The experiences and perceptual frames of reference of

8

third culture persons have certain characteristics which can teach the
rest of us something about the "modern," the transitions in a mobile
life style, the opportunities as well as the challenges presented in

an ever-changing world. The writer sees third culture experienced
youth as a type of post-industrial nomad who has developed adaptive
mechanisms which are symptomatic of our mobile, interdependent times.
The structure of the adaptation process for them is a configuration
that is so integrated in its dynamics that it constitutes a functional
unit with properties not derivable from its parts in summation. This
gestalt is in a sense a part of the future, though operative in the
present. It is in one sense a prophetic gestalt. As the tourist is,
according to Mac Cannell one of the best possible models available

for modern man in general, the third culture experienced person presents
a model for post-modern man. The sojourn, in one sense, has become a
symbol of the modern mentality which is, more often than not, cut off
from roots, and unsure of future directions with an aura about it
similar to the aura of the "tourist," "nomad," and stranger in a strange
land. Post-industrial nomads qualify for their positions in the world
community by the expertise they bring to a specific area. This new
world which beckons is characterized by different rites of entrance,
rituals of passage, and experiential content, than those experienced by
nomads of the past.

Several issues will be addressed in focusing this research on the
adaptation process of third culture experienced students upon their re-
entry into a post-secondary institution: first, what are the experiences
of third culture students on entering post-secondary education in the

United States; what are the experiences of third culture students on

9

re-entry to the United States; what salient experiences occur for the
students; what common elements of experience exist in the re-entry/
adaptation process; what divergent experiences occur during the re-
entry/adaptation process for the overseas student; what is the effect
and impact of the experience of re-entry within the framework of the
perception of the student; is the effect of transition cumulative and
facilitative; has transition experience increased transition aptitude;

has transition aptitude influenced transition ability?

Purpose of the Study

 

The purpose of this study is to explore the adaptation of third
culture students as they re-enter the United States environment and also
enter college. More specifically, the purpose is to describe their
initial adaptation period, to analyze the themes they present as criti-
cal for them in that period, to learn more about the nature of transi-
tion experiences in general, and the effect of third culture experience
on students in particular. What effect does third culture experience
have in terms of the perception of the self? Beyond that, are there
themes which emerge through data derived, that give some insight into
the adaptation and transition experience for "modern“ or"post-modern"
mobile persons that might be validated and tested by further studies?

In relation to the third culture literature and materials in the
areas of adaptation and re-entry, the self-reported experiences of
these students are examined in order to provide a matrix for analysis
and a means to produce hypotheses for further work in the field. The
adaptation process itself as described by third culture students who

are the subjects of this study provides data on the definition of self

10
as perceived by each student and the aspects of that self that have
been shaped by this specific growth pattern and mobility during the

developmental period of adolescence.

Background of the Study and Definitions

 

Since World War II increasing numbers of persons have become
involved cross-nationally for the purpose of relating segments of
society to each other and to provide mediation between cultures. The
concept of "third culture" grew out of studies in India of Americans
participating in various missionary, business, diplomatic and technical
aid programs and the cross-cultural problems and opportunities that
arose from this bi-national interaction of persons from Western and
Eastern experiences. "That segment of the world encompassing third
culture called the bi—national third culture is defined as the complex
of patterns learned and shared by communities of men stemming from
both a Western and non—Western society who regularly interact as they
related their societies, or sections thereof, in the physical setting of
a non-Western society" (Useem, Useem, and Donoghue, l963: l7l). The
increase of interest, activity and interdependence among the world's
knowledge elites in the post-war period created a need for fundamental
knowledge about the nature of evolving commonalities and conflicts, the
inter-relationships among persons involved and the kinds of social and
individual selves and modal personalities developed by human beings
within this context (Useem, Useem, l963). More and more, minor depen—
dents joined adult members of the family who carried roles created by
the new world of interdependence, world organizations, burgeoning
military bases and installations, a world moving from colonial and

neo-colonial growth paradigms to relationships and interrelationships

11
that would be "more coordinate, rational, developmental and modern-
oriented" (Useem, J., 1966). Those persons who found themselves living
overseas in certain specific sponsored roles such as business, federal
civilian, military, missionary or other categories where they assumed a
representative rather than solely an individual role, were defined by
researchers as third culture persons (Useem, Useem, 1963) (Useem, R.,
1976).

Other researchers have called persons who choose to live outside
of their national states but are not necessarily functioning in a repre-
sentative role expatriates. In Erik Cohen's monograph "Expatriate
Communities" (1977) he meshes both groups; both those in individual and
representative roles. He qualifies his definition by using it to refer
to those voluntary temporary migrants, mostly from affluent countries,
who reside abroad for one or several of the following purposes:
Business, mission, teaching, research, and culture and leisure. Cohen's
definition spans themes and concepts from the writings on third culture,
through expatriate communities inclusive of some of the tourist phenomena
of Dean Mac Cannell previously addressed.

For the purpose of this dissertation, the term "third culture"
will be used because even as Cohen admits, "Expatriates is admittedly
a loose or fuzzy term, capturing that category of international migrants
who fill the gap between the tourist, on the one hand, and the semi-
permanent or permanent immigrant on the other. The term embraces most
types of people whom Angell (1967) calls 'transnational participants'
and Cleveland and his associates (1960) call ‘overseas Americans'."

The section of that population which forms the main focus of this

study is third culture students. Werkman states that there are at

12

least 230,000 American children who attend overseas schools each year.
"The United States Bureau of Census conducted its first complete count
of Americans living abroad in April, 1960. For the 1960 census, 'all
the data were collected on a 100 per cent basis' (U.S. Census, 1960),
as were the data for 1970." (Downie, 1976: 4). Downie continues to
report "that the minor dependents in the age range 5 to 19 (230,000)
constituted nearly one-third of the reported American civilians abroad
at the time the 1970 census was taken. Some 200,000 of these were
enrolled in overseas American schools. Another estimate of school
enrollments is available for 1968 through the Overseas School Directory
(Rainey and Ward, 1968). This estimates school enrollment of American
dependents abroad at 199,795." (Downie, 1976: 7). There are no
census data for the 1980 period.

The dependent children of overseas parents attend in many cases a
variety of American type schools abroad. A report by Rainey and Ward
in 1968 indicated some 600 American schools abroad; Sargent in 1975
states there are approximately 700 schools overseas in more than 110
countries. In Sargent's publication it is not clear whether the schools
are American schools but only that they are schools of interest to
Americans.

In reviewing the types of schools available to the dependents of
overseas Americans, there are several broad categories: (1) those
assisted and maintained by the Department of Defense (0000); (2) those
assisted by the Office of Overseas Schools (A/OS) of the Department of
State; (3) Embassy schools; (4) those established and maintained by
religious groups; (5) those which are business or company related; and

(6) those schools which are proprietary or entrepreneurial. Mathies

I3

and Thomas (1973) discuss the categories of schools specifically and

the constituency each serves. Sidney Werkman (1977: 106) also shares
some insights on the schools opening the section with an interesting
preliminary quote from a student, "Overseas you are something special to
your teachers. In the United States you go back to being just another
I.B.M. card." Orr (1976) categorized the research according to school
setting, institutionalization, school organization, administrative

school program, personnel and pupils. Mannino (1970) proposed a system
for improving the support given to these overseas schools; Bentz (1972)
described how administrators must work in the midst of crisis; Churchman
(1972) analyzed the values and faults of the school to school partner-
ships; Vest (1971) and Schockow (1971) studied selected personality
characteristics of overseas schools, teachers, and administrators.

King (1968) sought to define methods of selecting and recruiting teachers
for overseas service while Helms (1972) solicited patrons' reactions to
the school Operation. Flora (1972) devoted his efforts to examining
innovative practices found in overseas school settings and Simmons (1973)
reviewed the similarity of values between stateside and overseas early
adolescents. He and Werkman appear to have been focused on the needs of
the youngsters rather than characterizing, analyzing and describing the

institutional settings and their dynamics.

Nature of the Study,

 

This is essentially a descriptive and exploratory study. The
paucity of hard data on third culture students has not yet permitted
the development of sophisticated hypotheses or exact survey instruments.

In an article on third culture students, Ruth Hill Useem (1967)

l4

discussed the need for ordered summaries so that the significance of
third culture experience can be determined and understood. According
to Useem, these summaries "illustrate one of the meanings of culture -
summaries of experience are values which_are learned, shared and passed
on to the next generation ... which give meaning to personal, unique
experiences, which experiences in themselves are meaningless."

After a review of various approaches to the study of these
ordered summaries, the writer settled on one methodological approach
that seems most appropriate for the task at hand. In posing the
questions: "What does the researcher want to know?" and "What is the
best way to get that information?" Anton (1978) suggests that two
methods initially present themselves: the nomothetic involving a com-
parison of an individual with some reference or norm and the ideographic,
seeking to describe and predict by focusing within the individual. As
has been stated by Downie (1976), Werkman (1978) and Useem (1977),
enough data have not yet been produced to attempt a nomothetic approach.
Therefore, the ideographic focus seemed more productive within two
observational guides: the global type e.g. personality theory in
general as it applies to this population in terms of chronology,
Erikson‘s life stages, developmental theory in terms of Maslow‘s need
hierarchy (1954) and Prince, Miller and Winston‘s developmental tasks
inventory (1974), and the specific type as is focused on in the case
study. The experimental study of a single subject is one type of
method that is particularly suited to the counselor/researcher as a
model of investigation that can later be applied to the study of a
system such as a classroom, a family or a community (Campbell, 1969,

Thoreson and Anton, 1973). Considerable research has been conducted in

15
social science using similar methodology.

For the purpose of this dissertation, twenty-one dependents of third
culture involved parents were selected for the study of their re-entry
adaptation experiences in the effort that insights and ordered summaries
might be presented so that hypotheses might later be generated, and some

nomothetic studies might follow in the future.

Subjects of the Study

 

The subjects of this study were selected from a purposive sample of
youth who live and are educated in whole or in part in an overseas
setting. As has been stated in the BackgrOUnd of this study, these stu-
dents will be identified as third culture students. Their parents are
employed in the areas of business and missionary fields and these
students spend a portion of their student life out of the country of
citizenship and in a different nation-state as a dependent of a third
culture representative.

Those students interviewed graduated from an overseas type American
school and entered college/university in the Midwest, between the years
1977 and 1981. Third culture students who did not graduate from overseas
American type high school, or pursued areas of interest other than
attendance at college or university are excluded from this sample.

The subjects involved in this study are drawn Specifically in
terms of this sub-group within third culture from the following general
third culture population:

1. Those who lived abroad as dependents of overseas employed

 

parent(s) involved in the areas of business or missionary work.

Researchers in the area of studies available on students of overseas

l6

vemployed parents in sponsored roles indicate that the employer of the
dependent's parent(s) is an important factor in defining the range and
scope of experiences these students pursue in their overseas setting
(Gleason, 1969; Krajewski, 1979; Rainey, 1976; and Downie, 1976). A
major delimitation on this population of interest is the sponsorship of
the parent and the dependent relationship of the student while living
overseas. The subjects studied, therefore, exclude youth who are
overseas independent of parent(s) roles such as those on study grants,
student exchanges or cultural living-learning experiences.

2. Those whoygraduated from an overseas American secondary_school.

 

Since the purpose of this study is to explore the adaptation process

of these youth as they re-enter the United States and enter the

college environment, only those students who graduated from an overseas
American school are included. Those who returned from their overseas
locations earlier than the point of entering college have already
experienced the re-entry process at the secondary level of schooling.

3. Those who are citizens of the United States. Although some

 

parents of these students are foreign born, all parents of students are
American citizens. Excluded from this study are third culture students
that are not Americans but who may share many experiences with the
subjects studied; host nationals of other countries who have attended
certain classifications of American schools overseas and foreign
students who are also entering the United States for college but are
not American citizens.

4. Those who are enrolled in two midwestern institutions of

 

higher learning. The population of this dissertation is comprised of

 

21 subjects. Eleven of them enrolled at Michigan State University during

17
the years 1977-1981 and ten of them enrolled at the College of Wooster

1977-1980. Both institutions are in the Midwest section of the country.
Michigan State University is a large state institution of approximately
forty thousand students. The College of Wooster is a small private
institution of approximately two thousand students in Wooster, Ohio.

The subjects of interest in this dissertation are a small number of the
student membership at each institution involved.

Subjects of the study: Identification and Procedural Sequence

 

The subjects were obtained through two major sources: the Registrar
of Michigan State University who, after reviewing the dissertation
proposal and the approval of the research area, gave permission for a
list of students who had graduated from overseas American schools to
be generated and the Coordinator of International Admissions of the
College of Wooster who also generously supplied a list of students at
Wooster who had graduated from American overseas schools.

In the Michigan State environment, a list of forty students was
generated. Ten were freshmen of whom 7 were male, 8 were sophomores
of whom 5 were male, fourteen were juniors of whom 4 were male and
eight were seniors of whom 5 were male. Of the forty students, seven
were not at addresses or numbers indicated on the printout sheet.

Three attempts were made to locate them by phone and address. One
student contacted did not wish to participate in the study. Thirty

two students were contacted successfully and were willing to be part

of the study but ten of them were not part of the business or mission-
ary sponsorship. 0f the remaining twenty-three students, eleven students
were both willing to participate and indicated sufficient time to

complete the interview and questionnaire components of the process.

18

In the College of Wooster setting, thirty-seven students within
the third culture category were indicated by typed list provided by the
Associate Director of Admissions. After being contacted, thirty-seven
students were willing to participate. Of the thirty-seven students,
ten were freshmen of whom 4 were male, eight were 50phomores of whom 2
were male, nine were juniors of whom 7 were male, and ten were seniors
of whom 6 were male. Of the students on the college list, ten students
fulfilled the criteria of being American citizens, of business or
missionary sponsorship and having the time to invest in the process of
interviewing and completing the questionnaire.

In making the decision to interview twenty-one subjects, the con-
cern for accuracy as well as complete recall necessitated some verbatim
collection of information. Subjects were asked if they would consent to
have interviews taped and in all cases subjects agreed. Pelto and Pelto
(1978) address the considerable advantages of taped interviews. However,
they also note the problems of transcribing time for each hour of inter-
viewing. This caution of Pelto and Pelto is worthy of note and the time
estimates proved conservative. Careful notes were also taken during the
interviews and proved most helpful.

In consultation with the research committee, it was decided that
twenty-one subjects should be involved. 0f the twenty-one subjects
interviewed, 5 are dependents of Missionaries and 16 are dependents of
Business men or women overseas. 0f the twenty-one subjects, 8 are
male and 13 are female; 19 are Caucasians and 2 are Asian. All are

American citizens.

l9

Methodology

 

The Case Study and Focused Interview

 

Allport (1975) and White (1952) sought to see the world through
the eyes of an individual subject, to examine what appeared in the
self presentation from unconscious motivations, symptoms and defenses
and to consider the personality traits that seemed apparent. Allport
saw a person's own story as an initial guide to the pattern of his/her
personality. After sharing experiences, he tied together themes and
threads and attempted to form an idea of the subject's existential
relationship to the world. He explains, "To understand another human
being one must grasp the other's subjective view of life because the
phenomena of his experience are the very heart of his existence. How
he perceives his surroundings, how he fashions his assumptive world-
view - all these are the phenomenological data upon which existential
analysis rests." White (1952) gathered life histories and subjected
them to analytic tools to create a theory of natural growth. He
suggests that in order to think about natural growth one must be aware
of the continuous change a person undergoes and realize that "he is
acted upon by a multiplicity of influences to which he makes a selec-
tive response." Each person‘s situation differs from every other
person's in some way.

Since the focused interview and case study involve twenty-one
separate individuals with differing life histories the insights of
Allport and White must be kept in mind. The experimental design used
in this investigation of third culture student adaptation takes on an
ideographic character.

It was decided to approach the individuals ideographically in terms

20
of the self report of each subject and at the same time to rely on
some nomothetic observational guides for human development such as
those provided by Erikson (1950) in terms of life stages, Perry's (1970)
cognitive developmental theory, Stewart (1975), Turiel (1966, 1977),
Kegan (1977) Kohlberg (1969, 1978) and Selman (1974) as applied to
the areas of development and transition.

Depth interviews of approximately 60 minutes were undertaken with
each of the 21 subjects to determine perceptions of each on the areas of
adaptation and re-entry. (See Appendix C.)

The writer's work with Max Raines and his colleagues is most
enlightening in terms of the adaptive transition. The use of Raines'
matrix of transactions provide a conceptual base that facilitates the
analysis of the components of the adaptive process and the dynamics of
their relationship. In approaching the focused interviews, the
researcher did not use the transition assessment scale to elicit
responses but rather explored the pre-entry period, entry to the United
States period and characteristics perceived by the subject during these
periods to gather information in the broadest sense. Once the inter-
views were transcribed, the writer sought patterns identified by sub-
jects as they recounted the adaptive experience. A listing of the
areas, problems, opportunities, and coping techniques were then listed
for analysis in terms of the literature reviewed and the Raines adap-
tive transition assessment scale.

Downie (1976) used the focused interview to collect data on the
re-entry experience in order to facilitate his study on the aspects of
identity formation in third culture experienced youth. The method of

the focused interview as presented in Merton and Kendall (1946: 541-577)

21

has the following characteristics:
1. The persons being interviewed are known to have taken part
in a particular situation or event.
2. The interview focuses on situations, elements, patterns
or total structures which have undergone some previous analysis.
3. The interview proceeds on the basis of a guide developed out
of previous analysis.
4. The interview itself is focused on, but not limited to,
the subjective experiences of persons taking part in the situation

noted.

Collection of Data

 

A survey questionnaire and an Interview experience provide the
sources of data collection for this study.
The survey questionnaire is divided into two parts: A Self-

Administered Questionnaire (Appendix A) made up of 17 items giving

 

basic biographical and personal historic information and factual
information about the subject such as age, sex, travel and mobility
history, educational and parental background and career goals. The

second part (Appendix B) is the Internationally Mobile Students

 

Questionnaire eliciting information structured in a design that is tri-

 

partite in organization. The first section seeks to focus on reactions
to mobility experiences and familial interactive dynamics, educational
experiences and problem identification encountered in moving.

The second focus area samples students' reactions on returning to
the United States and on entry into college. It also seeks to obtain

data on the sequence of events prior to re-entry to the United States,

22
college entry and subsequent interaction in the college community once
entry is completed.

The third set of questions assess some generalized perceptions
about the subject's overseas experience, the perceived effect of that
experience on the subject and an opportunity for the subject to make
written entries of further impressions that might be germaine.

These questionnaire forms have been administered to similar sub—
jects (Gleason, (1969), Krajewski, (1969), Downie (1970), Rainey,
(1971), and Constantino, (1971)) and are included in the Appendix in
their original form as Appendix A and Appendix B of the "Study of

Internationally Mobile Students."

The Interview Experience

 

The design of the tool for eliciting data on adaptation represents
a series of steps taken to gather specific, appropriate information on
this subject. In 1971, the first interview design was piloted with two
subjects of the population identified as third culture students. The
interviews were taped and notes were taken during them. In analyzing
the results of these two interviews and in revising the information
obtained, certain deficiencies were evident. Some questions were too
open-ended and though subjects' projections were interesting, they
proved only tangential to the subject of re-entry and adaptation.
Revisions and amendations were made and the interview design tool was
reviewed by academic committee members and then produced in its final
form (See Appendix C).

Subjects spent approximately 1 hour in the interview session and
spent between 1% and 3 hours in completing the questionnaire after the

interview.

23

Analysis of the Data

 

 

The data derived from the in—depth focused interview provide the
primary source of material for analysis. The questionnaire served as a
check for congruence in terms of reactions and perceptions shared in the
interview session and also another source for review should areas of
confusion arise in the transcription of tapes or analysis of tapes and
notetaking.

The content analysis of data is presented as an outgrowth of the
structural design of the interview experience.

The interview process was designed to facilitate several purposes.
The interview seeks to:

1. Present an historical framework for the subject's

experience.

2. ngidg_the context of the choice to attend college/

university and examine the significant persons impacting

that choice and the information gathering process to begin

implementing that choice.

3. Examine the sponsorship of parents in terms of its

effects on the dependent's development overseas and the goals

and expectations of third culture students as a result of

that influence.

4. Explore the experiences of third culture students in

getting ready to go to college/university; in leaving the

overseas setting; in completing overseas secondary studies;

and on initial re-entry to the U.S. and entry to college/university.

5. “Prdbe_the interaction of the third culture student with

the new environment in its academic and social sense;

 

 

 

 

 

24
derive themes noted by students in this period if, in fact,
any emerge.
6. thg_the stress areas reported in this transition period
and list areas of problems reported.

7. Investigate the networking of third culture students in

 

the new setting; examine the development of support factors.
8. Analyze the events listed by subjects as the most signi—
ficant to them during this period; discover themes if they exist.

9. Scrutinize programs subjects experienced to facilitate

 

their adaptation; inquire about their views on programming

for them and the emphasis areas they felt important.

10. Interpret the data given by third culture students to

determine if the gestalt of their adaptation is congruent

with preliminary information on some U.S. students who have

not been internationally mobile; if re-entry impacts their

college adaptation in a significant sense from their point

of view; if their overseas experience has significantly

affected the selves they are and the lives they pursue.

In Chapter III, analyses of these ten areas are presented in
relation to the twenty-one interviews conducted.

Initially, a thorough review of all twenty-one transcribed inter-
views is pursued to ascertain areas of convergence or divergence among
subjects, to analyze the configuration of reSponses volunteered for
patterns, and to select six interviews for more thorough analysis of
the adaptive process, the re-entry period as a component of that process,
critical themes emerging during the process and possible transactions

present in third culture adaptation and re-entry. These six interviews

 

25

and the case studies of the six subjects that were interviewed were
selected for their level of coping with the adaptation transition as
reflected by the Transition Assessment Scale. Two subjects who demon-
strated very good coping skills, two subjects who manifested moderately
good coping skills and two subjects who did not seem to be coping well
become the case study subjects for Chapter IV.

Since the population only includes those subjects willing to be
interviewed, those subjects who indicated they were able to Commit the
time necessary for the interview, those subjects of missionary or
business sponsorship and those subjects at two identifiable mid-west
institutions (Michigan State University and the College of Wooster), the
conclusions of this study are generalizeable in the strictest sense to

those subjects studied.

Limitations of the Study

 

The limitations of any study grow out of three general areas: the
limitations inherent in the researcher, the qualifications of the design
and methodology used and the finiteness of the population used or
material analyzed in terms of more general applications of knowledge
exacted.

In the case of this study, the researcher lived and worked among
the general population studied for more than eight years. Although that
is in one sense an advantage, in another sense assumptions result as a
by-product of experience and blind spots emerge with familiarity.

There was a definite advantage in rapport with subjects interviewed, on
the other hand, there remains a possibility that where common experiences
were shared perhaps something was missed or an assumption was made

about what the subject said as opposed to what the subject meant.

26

Also, a generational gap exists between the researcher and the population.
Students frequently carry around multiple definitions of the same values,
multiple meanings of the same term. In the third culture an assumption
has grown out of interactions in the "environmental bubble" (Cohen, 1977)
overseas, that generations are only tangentially related to the age of
persons and the cycle of identification and role and time spent in

third culture transcend the chronological variable. That seemed true

in my interviewing experience but may or may not be the case. It is also
a fact that the researcher approaches the study from a network of
perceptions and conceptions, philosophies and schools of thought that
affect the presentation of data and the interpretation of material. Much
of this network remains unexamined in a scientific sense and persists as
a major limitation.

In terms of the methodology and the design of the interview
experience, the case study's usefulness is as a producer of hypotheses
rather than a tool for testing hypotheses (Van Dalen, 1979; Shantz,

1965; Hopkins, 1976) and it makes its greatest contribution as a source
of hypotheses to be verified by more rigorous investigation.

"People who write about methodology often forget that it is a
matter of strategy, not of morals. There are neither good nor bad
methods, but only methods that are more or less effective under parti-
cular circumstances in reaching objectives on the way to a distant goal"
"Homans, 1962: 257). It remains to be seen if the methodology for this
research design is the most effective. According to Anton (1978), the
study of a single subject is particularly suited to the counselor/
researcher as a model of investigation and that single study information

can be applied to the study of a classroom, family, or a community

27
(Campbell, 1969; Thoresen and Anton, 1973). Although this type of
research has been widely used in social sciences such as economics and
political science, it has limitations in the areas of size of population,
and validity and significance of data defined. Assumptions exist in the
structuring of interview questions and those questions permit certain
types of information to be shared. Other questions might elicit
another range of insights and responses.

Another limitation in terms of the research data exists in the fact
that only this researcher reviewed the interviews in depth and selected
the themes for analysis. Other readers reviewing the same data would
have provided a check on the writer's selections and guaranteed a
greater degree of objectivity and a better sense of the degree of
replicability of this study in future situations.

The nature of the process of adaptation is in itself vast from
the psychological and cultural aspects to the small transition process
studied here. This small study seeks only to present a very limited
piece of that reality.

The population is limited in terms of its size, in general, and in
terms of the twenty-one subjects studied particularly. Those studied
represent a miniscule percent of third Culture students and only those
in sponsorship categories of business and missionary endeavor. The
reason that business and missionary became a limitation for the group
studied in this dissertation emerges from the fact that missionary
children are clearly the longest term resident overseas in most cases
because of the nature of the commitment (Gleason 1969: 234) and
business dependents also seem to be involved overseas for longer periods

of time (Gleason 1969: 234). The assumption was made that those abroad

28

for a longer period of time before the re-entry adaptation period might
provide more information on that experience. Although the fact of
sponsorship affects the overseas student while that student is in the
overseas situation, differences did not seem to emerge as business and
missionary dependents interviewed for the purpose of this study confronted
the re-entry/adaptation experience. Perhaps the writer did not delve
deeply enough into a further clarification of what subjects meant by

what they said in responding to the interview questions.

The fact that the students interviewed were not all freshmen but
represented different lengths of time in the states since the adaptation/
traisition experience began qualifies the statements of experience.
Freshmen report what they are currently experiencing; juniors and seniors
report what they remember of the experience.

The schools from which the subjects were interviewed were both in
the mid-west, one a large state university, the other a small private
college. This represents once again a very small situation in the
light of the multiplicity and diversity of institutions in the United
States. Students in other geographical areas, or differing types of
institutions may indicate very diverse adaptation periods.

Finally, any study, to be done as completely as possible requires
appropriate funding. Most of the funding for research is dispensed
to researchers studying the adjustment of individuals who manifest
severe coping problems in the hope that change may occur for those
individuals. Problem-oriented research seems to be considered more
valuable than the study of adapters or persons who do not manifest
serious coping problems. There are new foci now evolving that appear

to stress "health" and wholistic approaches to human life.

29

Definition of Terms

 

l. Adaptation -- although adaptation is a term formally used in biology
to identify a process by which an animal or plant becomes fitted to its
environment, in this dissertation the term adaptation is used to desig-
nate the process by which an individual fits into a new environment.

The manner in which a person negotiates that fit with the environment

and the confrontation of specific tasks and behaviors in that negotiation

process are termed adaptive transactions according to the schema provided

 

by Max Raines of Michigan State University. Adaptation is differentiated
from adjustment on the part of the researcher. Adaptation as used and
applied in this dissertation defines a fit of the individual and the
environment that is not only superficially observable in terms of coping
behavior but is internally acknowledged by the adaptor. Thus the fit is
at a deeper level than merely the surface level and is indicated by
changes in the roles and self-definitions reported by the individual.
Adjustment is used to designate a fit in terms of behavior and externally
defined norms.

2. Adjustment -- a term formally used in psychology to mean the
behavioral process by which humans and other animals maintain an equili-
brium among their various needs and the obstacles of their environments.
A sequence of adjustment begins when a need is felt and ends when a need
is satisfied. The concepts of integrative and non-integrative behavior
clarify adjustment. An integrative adjustment is one that not only
satisfies the present moment but also facilitates the solution of
subsequent problems. A non-integrative adjustment, in contrast, reduces
the anxiety of the moment but leads to more trouble in the future. The

term adjustment in this dissertation is used to indicate the process by

30

which individuals maintain the equilibrium among the needs and obstacles
in their environment in a specific and task oriented manner and at the
surface, superficial, and observable levels. The term adaptation is
reserved for the more profound, internally acknowledged orientation to
growth and development articulated by adaptors and the strategies imple-
mented to maintain and enhance that growth orientation.

3. Gestalt -- is defined for the purpose of this dissertation as a
structure or configuration that is integrated so as to constitute a
functional unit with properties not derivable from its part in summation.
4. Role Model -- in this dissertation "role model" or "model role"
will signify the behavior of third culture students in the sense of the
ideal behavior in terms of actions as well as qualities that parents
expect from their overseas dependents because of the representative
role that parents fulfill overseas.

The actions of dependents reflect on parents and therefore codes
of behavior are carefully articulated and shared. Parents are held
responsible for their dependent's action and behavior that threatens
the sponsoring institution has an impact on parent's employment.

5. Sponsorship group -- the institution(s) which are responsible for
employment and third culture status of third culture members.

6. Third Culture —- a pattern generic to a community of men which
spans two or more societies with the expressed purpose of linking them
or mediating between them. The distinguishing characteristics of a
third culture are that it generates a composite of values, role-related
norms and social structures which set it apart from the societies it

spans.

31
7. Post-Industrial Society -- the term is used as a "speculative
construct, an d§_jj;based on emergent features, against which the
sociological reality can be measured decades hence, so that, in compar-
ing the two, one might seek to determine the operative factors in effect-
ing societal change. 'Post industrial' emphasizes the interstitial
and transitory nature of these changes and underlines a major axial
principle, that of an intellectual technology. Broadly speaking, the
concept post-industrial is counterposed to pre—industrial and industrial.

A pre-industrial sector is primarily extractive, its economy based on

 

agriculture, mining, fishing, etc. An industrial sector is primarily

fabricating, using energy and machine technology, for the manufacture

 

of goods. A post-industrial sector is one of processing in which

 

telecommunications and computers are strategic for the exchange of
information and knowledge. If industrial society is based on machine
technology, post-industrial society is shaped by an intellectual
technology. And if capital and labor are the major structural features
of industrial society, information and knowledge are those of the
post-industrial society. For this reason, the social organization of

a post-industrial sector is vastly different from an industrial

sector and one can see this by contrasting the economic features of

the two“ (Bell: 1973).

8. Transition -- used to signify a passage or change from one place or
state, or act or set of circumstances to another. In this dissertation
the transition discussed is the passage from the experience of overseas
high school student to United States college student. Certain elements
in transition management are included in that discussion: personality

variables (needs, goals, values, beliefs, expectations, abilities);

32

life skills (communicating, managing, relating, decision-making, life
planning, studying, asserting); life roles (worker, family member,
constituent, culture bearer, consumer); and life stages (early child-
hood, adolescence, early adult, mid—life adult, and late adult). The
stage focused on in this dissertation is early adult. The criteria
used to identify major transitions in this study are:

pervasiveness - the transition experience has an impact on

many facets of one's life (e.g. relationships, expectations,

health, self-confidence, family, career, etc.).

significant consequences - the transition has the potential

of shaping the events of one's life for many months or

even years.

widely recognized - the transition is an experience common

to a large number of people at a given point in time.

intensity - the transition is likely to cause periods which

have considerable affective dimensions sometimes even

emotional trauma.

duration - the transition period seems to have a beginning and

an ending. For those making the transition to college it

seems to last for at least three months.
9. Transition Assessment Scale -- an instrument listing tasks and
behaviors within each of the adaptive transactions identified by Max
Raines and his colleagues in their investigation of the adaptation
transition. The scale is presented in Chapter III.
10. Life Lab -- the basic concepts underlying the Adaptive Life Lab
were presented in a keynote address by Dr. Max Raines to the National

Association of Student Personnel Administrators held in Atlanta in 1977.

33
The "Life Lab" term is used on the non-traditional college campus of
Miami-Dade Community College in Florida. A Life Lab is a workshop.
The use of the term in this dissertation refers to the workshop ex-
perience of processing the fact of adaptive transition through confront-
ing of adaptive transactions identified in the initial investigation
of the adaptive process as experienced by 150 subjects studied at
Michigan State University. These exercises address the adaptive
transactions of activating commitment, developing support, adjusting

priorities, prioritizing goals and transposing identity.

Organization of the Dissertation

 

Chapter 1 includes the statement of the problem, the purpose of
the study, the background and nature of the study, the subjects studied,
a review of the methodology, the limitations of the study, and a
definition of terms.

In Chapter II, the review of the literature and related research
is presented. This literature is organized into four subsections:

(1) studies dealing with third culture persons, their history,
patterns of behavior, importance in an interdependent world setting and
the effect of sponsorship on them, their families and their lives;

(2) the area of adaptive and transition studies and the nature
of adaptation, as distinguished from adjustment, in its broadest sense
from social, cultural and psychological perspectives;

(3) literature dealing with the developmental processes of
young adults;

(4) studies focusing on entry/re-entry problems and the topic

of mobility and its effects.

34

Chapter III reviews and analyzes the ten information areas addressed
by the questions in the interview structure. The introduction presents
the ten areas of generalized information followed by a presentation
of the information areas, a sketch of each subject, a review of respon-
ses in the ten areas, an analysis of the adaptive and re-entry themes
reported by subjects, an overall assessment of the transition process
for each subject, and a summary.

In Chapter IV, six case studies are presented following an intro-
duction presenting the rationale for the choice of those particular
subjects, an analysis of the six case studies, and a chapter summary.

Chapter V reviews the dissertation as a whole and presents some

findings, conclusions and recommendations.

CHAPTER II
Review of the Literature and Related Research

The review of the literature for this dissertation was done over a
four year period and presented problems that could be solved only by two
specific phases present in this review.

The first phase was the review of literature conducted prior to the
interviewing of the twenty-one selected subjects. The literature was
vast but four basic areas emerged as clearly significant from a content
perspective:

(1) Studies dealing with third culture persons, their history,
patterns of behavior, importance in an interdependent world setting and
the effect of sponsorship on them, their families and their lives;

(2) the area of adaptive and transition studies and the nature of
adaptation, in contrast to adjustment in its broadest sense from cul-
tural and psychological perspectives;

(3) literature dealing with the developmental processes of young
adults;

(4) studies focusing on entry/re-entry problems and the topic of
mobility and its effects.

The second phase began after the interviews were completed and
their transcriptions in the process of being written. Certain themes
recurred in the interviews and the researcher thought it necessary to
explore some of these themes in more depth. Spradley (1979) defined

a theme as "any cognitive principle, tacit or explicit, recurrent in a

35

36

number of domains and serving as a relationship among subsystems of cul-
tural meaning" (1979: 186). Themes that recurred in interviews and were
noted by the researcher were: concept of home, importance of networks
and/or linkages, feelings of loss and the process of grieving, notions
of planned obsolescence and suggestions of the impact of "sojourn" and
"stranger" motifs. Another set of themes relative to worldmindedness,
world view and self-reported maturity levels was also indicated.

Several studies in the first phase of the review mentioned these latter
areas.

It is not in the scope or ability of this researcher to explore all
these areas completely and that is an endemic delimitation in the review
of this literature. As many pertinent sources as possible have been in-
cluded but particularly in areas such as the "grieving process" and
"sense or experience of loss" each day brings newer and deeper insights.

In terms of the process of the dissertation, an investigation of
appropriate methodology was undertaken. In setting up this descriptive
study, a separate review of sources seemed appropriate. Questions arose
about what type of information gathering would be most useful in obtain-
ing the data that would assist the researcher in examining the transition
from overseas to the United States and its relationship to the high
school-post secondary school transition.

The decision to approach this dissertation through a type of case
study based on individual interviews, a questionnaire and a section of
bio-data information was based on articles, guidelines and suggestions
provided in research settings and investigations by Anton (1978), Frey
(1973), Cronback and Miehl (1955) and Owens (1971) which will be dis-

cussed in more depth in the section on methodology. Van Dalen (1979),

37
Shantz (1965) and Hopkins (1976) point out the usefulness of the case
study method as a producer of hypotheses rather than a tool for testing
hypotheses. "Stating hypotheses in a case study has little value"
(Van Dalen (1979), Mouly (1970, 1979). Mouly (1978) attests that hypo-
theses are not useful in a case study as premature closure could be detri-
mental to gaining a broad perspective on any given subject area.

In making the decision to interview twenty-one subjects in a taped
format, the recommendations made by Pelto and Pelto (1978) were followed
and their cautionary statements found true. Pelto and Pelto stated the
considerable advantages of taped interviews but warned that it took five

to ten hours of transcription time for each one-hour interview.

Literature Review: Content Areas

 

I. Third Culture and Related Materials

Since World War II increasing numbers of persons have become in-
volved cross-culturally for the purposes of relating segments of society
to each other and mediating between cultures. The creation of networks
and linkages of people and services across the globe has become a neces-
sity in the areas of business, government, religion, and life. The
spirit is one of interdependence and the reality of post-modern society
is one of critical cooperation and new national, transnational and cross-
national identities.

Cross cultural research among the various social sciences

can be grouped into three basic types: The comparative study

of phenomena in a series of different societies; the exploration

of a society, or some aspect of it, by a foreign scientist,

and the study of patterns generic to the intersections of

societies. Each type involves a distinctive set of variables

and methodological problems and all three are in need of

further development of appropriate theoretical models. One

such complex of patterns generic to the intersections of
societies is called the Third Culture and defined broadly as

38
the behavior patterns created, shared and learned by men

of different societies who are in the process of relating

their societies, or sections thereof, to each other (Useem,

Useem, Donoghue, 1963: 169).

The distinguishing characteristics of a third culture pattern are
that it "...generates a composite of values, role related norms, and
social structures" which make it a part of yet apart from the first and
second cultures which it spans yet from which it remains distinct."
(Useem, 1962: 484).

In the last 10 years, the pattern has begun to change. A new
period, a period of patterned hostility, seems to be emerging in the
light of current international problems and the enormity of international
tasks. The impact of this new period is reported by at least three of
the subjects interviewed.

The concept of "third culture" grew out of studies in India of
Americans participating in various missionary, business, diplomatic and
technical aid programs and the cross-cultural problems and opportunities
that arose from this bi-national interaction of persons from the Western
and Eastern experiences. "That segment of the world-encompassing third
culture called the bi-national third culture is defined as the complex of
patterns learned and shared by communities of men stemming from both a
Western and a non-Western society" (Useem, Useem, Donoghue, 1963: 171).
There are many types of third cultural relationships possible. Colonial
cultures developed out of the expansionist endeavors of the Western world,
were based on a superordinate-subordinate relationship of two societies
but with the demise of the colonial period we enter into a modern third
culture period based more on coordinate relations between societies.

"The pervasive themes of the post-Independence third cultures are that

39

those relationships between members should be coordinate, rational,
developmental and modern-oriented. Generations of third-culture persons
are distinguished not by age but by the degree to which they have incor—
porated third culture patterns" (Useem, J. 1966).

The increase of interest, activity and interdependence among the
world's knowledge elites create a need for fundamental knowledge about
the nature of evolving commonalities and conflicts, the interrelation-
ships among persons involved and the kinds of social and individual
selves and modal personalities developed by human beings within this
context (Useem, Useem, 1963).

As interdependence becomes more a reality, a changing world faces
the researcher. The emphasis on heritage and tradition that remains a
theme through the models and paradigms of the 1950's shape a society
authority bound and yield an economy based on increased industrialization:
large in scale, impersonal in tone and complexly interdependent in its
modern product. The "culture-contact" in the fifties literature becomes
a theme of involvement or inter-relation in the literature of the present.
The definition of institutions as integral parts of the global whole, no
longer merely national entities, reveals a move to a newer post-modern
paradigm (Goldthorpe, 1973) which has a different criterion of membership
in the post-industrial (or perhaps more accurately mega-industrial)
reality. "If property was the criterion of membership in the former
dominant classes, the new dominant class is defined by knowledge and a
certain level of education" (Touraine, 1971). There is also a concomitant
change in orientation and market capitalists give way to technocrats
whose tasks are defined in terms of the management of massive economic

and political structures which direct development across national

4O
boundaries.

AS we review some of the possible alterations in world view in
our time the importance of the third culture person, the mediator between
these systems, nations, institutions, businesses becomes clearer and
his knowledge base a more crucial necessity for his continuance in third
culture pursuits. As the networks increase, the linkages in each compo-
nent section become more necessary. A post-modern society global in
nature demands certain expertise in its ongoing becoming process. Since
the process is global, the expertise in implementing and managing the
process calls for societal mediators. "These mediators are reflective
of the growing interdependence, both conflictive and c00perative of more
than four billion inhabitants of the globe. They are missionaries and
diplomats, teachers and military personnel, artists and oil-riggers,
United Nations diplomats and bi-lingual stenographers, reporters and
bankers, translators and technical consultants, scholars and multi-
national corporation executives" (Useem, R. 1976). They are distinguished
as a category by their high mobility (changing residence every one to
four years), their advanced skill or education, and their Sponsorship in
their mediation role.

Quite independent of the role they have is the person they are, the
selves they develop and project. The richness of their individual
experiences transcend their countries of origin, external appearance,
ethnic background or passport designation. Approximately one—third of
them marry a spouse of a different national, racial or cultural background.
The minor dependents of these third culture parents increasingly accompany
them on multiple foreign assignments and are called third culture kids

(TCK's) (Useem, 1973). Little is known about these youngsters, how they

41

grow up, how they view their world and themselves, what levels of
education they attain, whom they marry and what careers they pursue.
However, in the last fifteen years some valuable insights have been
provided by various scholars focusing on the third culture experience
in general and TCK's, their experience, schooling and attitudes, in
particular. Studies by Useem (1972), Beimler, (1972); Campbell, (1956);
Constantino, (1971); Cassady, (1971); Fry, (1973); Gleason, (1969);
Hess, (1971); Krajewski, (1969); Rainey, (1971); and Downie, (1976)
explore a range of topics dealing with sponsorship, schooling and insti-
tutions, worldmindedness, language expertise and identity formation.

Gleason's study (1969) compiled data to describe social adjustment
and an index of worldmindedness. Gleason found that missionary students
ranked first on the index of worldmindedness followed by the Department
of Defense sponsorship, business and lastly federal civilian dependents
(1968: 78). In most of the literature, Sponsorship categories have been
designated as five major sub-groups based upon the function which each
group performs, the institutional affiliation and the designated employ-
ing unit. The five groups as delineated by Downie (1976) are:

1. Department of Defense (0000): military personnel and civilians
employed by the military.

2. Federal Civilians: civilian employees of any non-military
federal agency assigned abroad, as for examples, Department of
State: includin foreign service, Agency for International
Development (AID), United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) etc.

3. Missionary: employees and workers for any Western religion-
related organization abroad.

4. Business: employees of private business firms located or
represented abroad, including American, multi-national, or
foreign national firms.

42

5. Other: a residual category which includes all others, such

as university professors under contract, representatives of

foundations, Fulbright scholars, employees of international agen-

cies such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World

Health Organization (WHO), CARE, and self-employed Americans,

and American-sponsored schools overseas.

Downie (1976: 36) reports a number of adjustment problems indicated
in five areas for at least one of the four Sponsorship groups noted above.
Finance, course content in college, deciding on a college career and
selecting a college major, and identity or "trying to find myself"
seemed Significant categories for analysis.

Using the same data base and sources as Gleason, Krajewski (1969)
explored items related to academic adjustment in college of overseas
experienced American youth. Krajewski defined academic adjustment as a
high level of congruence among three major components: (1) the factual
information regarding one's performance (grade point average), (2) edu-
cational aspiration level (academic degree sought) and (3) self percep-
tions of self-concept concerning academic performance. A high level of
congruence among these three components was regarded as good academic
adjustment and incongruities were viewed as academic dysfunction.

In the studies of Gleason and Krajewski the sponsorship of the
parent while the family is abroad emerges as a key factor in defining
these youth on return.

The studies of Beimler (1972) reviewed the concept of world-minded"
ness and explored the relationship between cross-cultural interaction and A
the social values of "concerned worldmindedness" and concluded that
length of stay and the degree of personal interaction correlated with

the worldmindedness scale. Hess (1971) compared stateside adolescents

and adolescents in an overseas American school to determine the impact

43

of the third culture experience on selected images and attitudes of
American youth overseas. Overseas students appeared to have a more
worldminded attitude and a less "ideal" image of the United States.

Missionary students, sometimes labeled MK'S as opposed to TCK's,
seem to be the group that have been studied for the longest period of
time. Parker (1936) studied personality factors in the development of
missionary children from India and identified social adjustment as a
major problem faced. Gleason (1969) discovered that finances were a
particularly difficult problem for missionary children and Krajewski
(1969) found that missionary students outperformed his other groups
(Department of Defense, Federal Civilian) in academic achievement,
though their overall level of academic adjustment was not good. The
self-concept of MK'S was found to be the lowest of the groups identified.
Campbell (1956, 1958) looked at missionary children and their rearing
and education in a foreign environment. Cassady (1971) focused on
missionary childrens' college adjustment and the education generally of
missionary children (1962, 63). Fleming (1947), Harper (1969) and
Cassady (1971) also indicate that social adjustment remains a major
problem for missionary dependents. Cleveland (1979) in preparing a
program of re-entry orientation for "missionary kids" once again
reiterates the social adjustment problem on return to the United States.
Mac Neill (1976) notes that MK'S are torn between nationalistic and
cultural loyalties; Shiner (1974) views MK'S as "caught between two
cultures" ... She also relates "...their adjustment problems have led
one researcher to compare their experiences with returning POW's ..."
Laura Sprinkle (1976: 5) discovered the validity of this problem in a

recent survey. Her purpose was to develop understanding of the feelings

44

of missionary children with reference to having been brought up on the
mission field. The responses she received to the question "Has the

United States become 'home' for you?" yielded 34% yes responses, 40% no
responses, 26% not sure responses from the 50 missionary students surveyed.

In Cleveland's study (1979) he notes that while an adequate
definition may seem illusive of the experience that overseas missionary
students live, the effects of that experience are definite.

Beyond the missionary experience and more closely involved with
the issue of Sponsorship, Constantino (1971) selects that variable
(sponsorship) and mentions it as a critical factor in much of third
culture literature. He links the variable of Sponsorship with an explora—
tion of the locus of decision-making in third culture families.

Fry (1973) discusses the extent of adjustment problems within the
Foreign student population in four selected schools in the Philippines.
Other pertinent studies have been done by Cantrell (1974), Kelly (1973),
Miller (1974) and AAFSW, (1973). In spite of these many studies in this
growing field, the study of the third culture is a new one and the focus
on minor dependents of third culture persons reveal few in-depth sources
except on some of the variables noted here previously. Useem points out
in the introduction to the Third Culture Bibliography (1975):

The bibliography is Spotty, but it is not because we

haven't tried. Much of it has come to us from circuitous

routes -- ranging from magazines left at airports to trying

to gather proceedings of conferences held in out—of—the-

way places. Most of the pertinent material in this area

simply has not been published ... it remains buried in

the memories of individuals, penned in diaries and

letters, written in term papers, dittoed in school

board minutes, and filed in reports to home offices or

recorded in the privileged notes of psychiatrists and
psychologists.

45

Sidney Werkman, in an article entitled “A Heritage of Transience:
Psychological Effects of Growing Up Overseas" states"

American children who live overseas for extended periods

of time encounter unusual develOpmental challenges. They

face repeated experiences of separation and loss, the

hazards of transitions, and confrontations with novel

patterns of behavior. Such challenges generic to the

lives of geographically mobile children, can also contri-

bute to the understanding of the ordinary nodal points

of child development. Although the effects of geo«

graphic mobility on psychological processes are of increas-

ing prevalence and importance in the contemporary world,

little has been written about them. (1978: 116)

Werkman goes on to indicate: "Among the variables involved in
overseas experience are age at time of each move, number of moves, sex,
country in which a child lives, school situation, father's career, and
parents' ways of coping with the stresses of life overseas. All these
issues must play important parts in the idiosyncratic life of a child
overseas" (1978: 116).

Another major source of information is now in the process of being
prepared. In 1978, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) highlighted
support to families as part of his number one objective, and the first
Navy—wide Family Awareness Conference recommended the creation of a
special office to provide leadership and coordination for the Navy's
expanding efforts on behalf of families. AS a result, on 30 January
1979, The Family Program (OP-152) was established as a Branch of the
CNO'S Human Resources Management Division.

In its Mission statement the program sets out to "improve the Navy's
awareness of and access to, reliable and useful information, resources
and services that support and enrich the lives of Navy families and

single service members."

46

"The Major Objectives of the program are:

To establish a network of Family Service Centers;

To provide training, technical assistance, position support, and

guidance to commands desiring to develop or improve their own

family support programs;

To develop awareness programs emphasizing the importance of

families to the Navy's mission;

To increase effective coordination and use of existing Navy and

Civilian resources;

To conduct research and studies which document and guide future

Navy family efforts and policy" (Navy Family Program Fact Sheet

9/79).

The importance of this Navy project to the study of third culture
grows out of the Navy Family Service Needs chart and the identification
of a few areas of particular interest, i.e.:

l) relocation and overseas transfer assistance

2) children/youth programs

3) DODDS/Public Schools

4) Marital and Family Counselling

Research on the dependents as well as the principal third cultural
naval personnel abroad will be included in this systematic research
effort. Sets of tapes from the Family Awareness conference are available
and some interesting information is already at hand. A cursory review
will indicate some of the thrusts of this effort in the third culture
area.

The topics covered in the Navy Family Awareness Conference in

Norfolk, Virginia ranged in scope from the effects of military-induced

47

separations (Barry: 1979) to the theory of coordinating the management
of meaning and coping with transitional episodes (Pierce: 1979); from
family stress in the armed services (McCubbin: 1978) to social supports
(Lester: 1979) and manipulation of parental behavior and attitudes
(Boer: 1979); from language learning (Rainey: 1971, 1979) and identity
formation (Downie: 1976, 1979) to re-entry behavior and studies of mixed
children from cross—cultural marriages (Cottrell: 1976, 1979).

The research presented that is most applicable to the study of
adaptation that is the heart of this research effort involves the pre-
sentations of Rainey, Downie, and Cottrell and formally deals with the
TCK experience. The presentations of Downie and Rainey provide insight
into the process of how the overseas community shapes human development
and the factors in that international community which are predictive of
language learnings, identity formation, and re-entry behavior. The
Shared expectations which perform the function of mediation between
societies and cultures is the center of the third culture, a composite
of values, role-related norms and social structures generated and
setting such communities apart from the communities they Span. These
third cultures are maintained through self-conscious efforts on the parts
of the carriers of the third culture to create a common ground of living
and working together (Rainey: 1979).

Many of these "self-conscious efforts" are supported by the re-
searchers already noted, many of whom have spent or are spending time in
the third culture experience. In reviewing the literature, connections
can be made with other closely related experiences and discoveries in
one area may add some insight in another. In her research on the

studies of children of cross-cultural parents in the military and her

48
speculations and review of literature in seeking background data on

Amer-Korean military children, Cottrell mentions a source, Oornauer
(1976) who cited studies which indicated that there were Similarities
in the roles of military parent and the cross-cultural parent in pro-
viding an essential support system to assist children to cope with
diverse and unorthodox life styles. Military parents are one sub-set
of third culture sponsorship category. Interviews with the children
from two other Sponsorship categories, i.e. business and missionary,
reflect the same self-reported coping help from parents.

In his article, "Work Patterns of Americans in India" (Useem, J.,
1966), John Useem delineates useful concepts in terms of the generations
within the third culture. The ideas presented involving length of stay,
level of competence in terms of ranking generations overseas and the
interface and effect of the impact of first-time-outers, experienced
overseas personnel, or old timers, on each other and on the work place,
raised a question in terms of the minor dependents of these generations
and the degree of identification minor dependents feel with the third
culture and overseas environment. The importance of the shift in
status as the representative works in the third culture network and
the effect of this shift on identity, work role and family also seem
critical to the researcher Since it is mentioned by subjects inter-
viewed and seems to present difficulty in their adaptation and
process of transposing identity as well as adjusting expectations on
return.

In continuing to discuss the need for ordered summaries so that
Significance can be determined and understood (Useem, R.: 1967) certain

self-fulfilling prophecies, to use Merton's term, arise. According to

49

Useem these summaries "illustrate one of the meanings of culture -—
summaries of experience are values which are learned, Shared and passed
on to the next generation“ ... "which give meaning to personal unique

experiences, which experiences in themselves are meaningless."

Mobility ~ Entry and Re-entry

 

The high mobility of persons in the third culture raises questions
dealing not only with cultural attitudes but also with the effects of
that mobility on cultural members. How the experience is perceived
seems to be a critical component. In research studying the effects of
sojourn experience on the attitudes of young Turkish students spending
a year in the U.S. certain attitude changes were obtained (Davis: 1971).
These changes were attributed to the favorable nature of the sojourn
experience:

These were mainly decreases in authoritarianism and

religiosity and increases in worldmindedness and to a

lesser degree in belief in internal control and perceived

family control. Most of these changes were found to

be of longer duration than one year. Patriotism

and achievement values decreased independently of

sojourn experience, indicating an age trend. After

returning home subjects were found to undergo a re-

adjustment process arriving at an optimum level in

about a year.

Both the two-way mirror and the U curve of favorability toward
America in terms of length of stay were found present in the responses
of returnees to Turkey from their sojourn in the United States. Pre-
viously these patterns had been reported only for foreign students Still
in the U.S. Attempts to explain the data consiSted of tests of pro-
positions derived from an aspiration-achievement framework with limited

success but when compared with studies formulated in terms of the social

contact approach, it was enough to warrant the effort.

50
The two-way mirror (Morris, 1960; Sewell and Davidson, 1969) is a

way of examining the identification of the self with the country in which
the self is operative. When the self is closely identified with the
country, symbolic interactionist explanations are relevant to a person's
general acceptance of another nation. Favorability of the two-way image
later on is inversely related to deprivation. According to Merton (1938)
the less the discrepancy between the foreign student's aspiration and
perceived progress, the more satisfied the student is with his/her
experience.

The cross-cultural adjustment process has interested many researchers.
The introduction of the concept of adjustment as a curvilinear function
or U curve (Lysgaard, 1955) described the sojourner's arrival in the
new cultural setting at a peak of enthusiasm, eagerness and optimism..
This high point of entry declines as the sojourner begins to interact,
face diversity and obstacles and becomes more pessimistic or even de-
pressed. It is then that the sojourner begins to be able to cope, to
understand better with a resulting rise in positive feelings. The U
curve concept was reinforced by other writers in separate studies
(Sewell and Davidson, 1956 and 1969) and extended by Gullahorn and
Gullahorn (1963 and 1966) into a W curve extending the concept of
Lysgaard past the adjustment phase to the intensity experienced by
sojourners return or re-entry to their home environments.

The U curve is a pattern that reflects the sojourner's attitude
toward the host country as it changes over time. (David, 1971; Becker,
1967; David, 1963; Deutsch and Won, 1963; Sewell, et a1, 1954; Scott,
1956; Coelho, 1958; Morris, 1960; Selltiz and Cook, 1963; and Pool,

1966.) According to Davis:

51

Certain variations of the U curve have also been found.

For example, an inverted U curve has been observed to

be more typical of sojourners coming from less developed

countries (Becker, 1967). An extension of the U curve

into a W curve is also proposed (Gullahorn and Gullahorn,

1963; Brein and David, 1971; Jacobsen, 1963; to take into

account the period of readjustment after returning home.

Gullahorn and Gullahorn (1966) also found that for students, profes-
sional and personal development appear to be alternative outcomes of
study abroad; those reporting more extensive interaction with host
nationals and greater personal development and satisfaction tend to be
less settled in adult roles and less committed to academic goals;
whereas those indicating that study abroad furthered their professional
development and advancement tend to be older. They also found that
students from relatively small towns appeared to establish more enduring
relationships with host nationals than did urban dwellers. Those resid-
ing in large American metropolitan centers tended to receive or accept
more invitations for public appearances related to their overseas
experience.

Simmel (1908) discussed the role of the stranger in the foreign
setting, not only in terms of the way in which he viewed himself, but
also he pointed out the way in which "the stranger" is viewed by those
in the host culture with whom he interacts. Simmel described the
expatriate as a stranger "not only in the way touched upon in the past,
as the wanderer or nomadic person who comes today and goes tomorrow, but
rather as the person who comes today and stays tomorrow. He is, so to
speak, the potential wanderer: although he has not moved on, he has not
quite overcome the freedom of coming and going"(l908: 402).

Another view of the expatriate emerges from the monograph of Erik

Cohen "Expatriate Communities“ (1977). In his original definition of

52

"expatriate" it appears clear that some third culture persons are in—
cluded in his categorization. He defined expatriates as "those voluntary
temporary migrants, mostly from affluent countries, who reside abroad
for one or several of the following purposes; business ... mission ..
teaching and research ... leisure." He continued to state that expatriate
is a misnomer but he uses it to indicate a "category of international
migrants who fill the gap between the tourist on one hand and the semi-
permanent or permanent immigrant on the other" (1977: 7).

In his trend report he states that his purpose is to deal with
expatriate communities, their structure and variety so as to "provide
a basis for a systematic comparative study of expatriates" and later
"to develop a typology of expatriate roles and adaptive styles based on
the extent to which they participate in the life of the expatriate
community or immerse themselves in the host society." Cohen continues
in his study to focus on the element of "strangeness" and to be con-
cerned with the manner in which the structure of expatriate communities
attempt to deal with it. He refers to the work of Simmel and then
differentiates three dimensions of strangeness: cognitive, normative
and social. These are key elements in looking at the adaptive process
of TCK'S and the impact of these dimensions on adaptive transactions,
re-entry activities and the whole period of re—entry transition. The
concept of "environmental bubble," a shelter familiar to the home
environment, also has applications for TCK. The similiarities and
dissimilarities of this "bubble" abroad to the re-entered "home" presents
some interesting problems which frequently confuse the adaptor at re-
entry. Nash (1969: 17) for example, points out: "Some Americans in

Cuidad Condal were wealthy enough to buy a portion of their adaptation,.

53

but others, struggling to survive financially, found themselves exposed
to the starker aspects of a foreign existence." Two principal factors,
transiency in the host society and privileged status in it are identified
as consequences of the manner in which expatriates deal with strangeness.
In terms of individual adjustment of the mobile person to the host
culture patterns illustrated by Cohen (1977) support the findings of
other scholars previously noted, i.e. the importance of the nuclear
family, establishment of cliques and friendship groups, and the inter—
locking of the family and work sectors. Cohen states, "It appears that
the deeper problems of adjustment stem primarily from the fact that
the "environmental bubble" is not a complete recreation of the home
environment, but an artificial, and often dense micro—environment in a
strange setting" (1977: 40). Some of the adjustment problems mentioned
"range from simple boredom and loneliness to lethargy, regression,
narcissism, depression, anxiety and psychosomatic complaints" (1977: 57).
In looking generally at the mobile person, the expatriate, the
third culture individual, a sea of conflicting information assaults the
researcher. By statistically precise measurement of change factors in
attitude or valuing, some little information may be acquired. In a
descriptive study based on case studies of twenty-one inedepth interviews,
questions emerge about the nature of the individual self, the effect of
host cultures on the mobile person, the importance of the sponsorship in
structuring the networking impact both in the host country as well as
the country of citizenship, the dynamics of the world Situation and
current events involving the host country, where the stranger is in tran-
sit -- all of these areas effect and affect the conclusions that emerge.

The person who enters, re-enters, is unique in one sense but also a

54
member of the group we have identified in the third culture sense. Al-
though the subjects of this dissertation are the dependents of persons
working outside of the home country and sponsored by organizations and
institutions involved in world work, a study by Dean Mac Cannell on the
tourist provides some insights as does Cohen's study on "expatriates".
In his introduction, Mac Cannell points out that the tourist in a meta-
social sense of the term is "one of the best models available for modern-
man-in-general." He continues to point out that although he had not
initially planned to do a structural analysis of the tourist in modern
society, it forced itself upon him and "the more I examined my data, the
more inescapable became my conclusion that tourist attractions are an
unplanned typology of structure that provides direct access to the modern
consciousness of 'world view', that tourist attractions are precisely
analogous to the religious symbolism of primitive peoples" (1976: 2).

In many ways as the transcriptions of interviews develop, the subjects
manifested a part of the "self as tourist." This becomes critical in
terms of their re-entry to the United States as students and the impact
of being formally students on their general mobility and freedom to
travel. They also frequently indicate that there was more "leisure" in
their overseas phase than in their present United States post re-entry
phase and they have many feelings about that. Frequently, they talk
about "life style". Another insight that Mac Cannell's work provides
is the whole concept of "a part of yet apart from" which is experienced
by the tourists and shared by the TCK. "The alienation of the worker
stops where the alienation of the Sightseer begins, as tourists view
the work of others (PYramids, factories, production facilities) by trans-

forming it into amusement so that they can apprehend work as part of a

55
meaningful totality“ (1976: 6). Another important insight gleaned from

Mac Cannell involved his introductory section on method and theory and
his base of "social structural differentiation." He states:

My analysis of sightseeing is based on social
structural differentiation. Differentiation is roughly
the same as societal "development" or "modernization."
By "differentiation" I mean to designate the totality
of differences between social classes, life-styles,
racial and ethnic groups, age grades (the youth, the aged)
political and professional groups and the mythic rep-
resentation of the past to the present.1 Differentiation
is a systemic variable. It is not confined to a
specific institution of society, nor does it originate
in one institution or place and spread to others. It
operates independently and Simultaneously throughout
society. In highly differentiated societies such as
those found in Western Europe and North America, social
life constantly subdivides and reorganizes itself in
ever—increasing complexity. The class structure moves
from single duality (owners vs. workers) to upper-upper/
middle-upper/lowernupper/upper-middle/middle-middle/
lower-middle/upper-lower/middle-lower/lower-lower.
Sexual differentiation progressed beyond its typically
peasant, biologically based binary opposition into
publicly discriminated third, fourth, fifth and Sixth
sexes. Differentiation iS the origin of alternatives
and the feeling of freedom in modern society. It is
also the primary ground of the contradiction, conflict,
violence, fragmentation, discontinuity and alienation
that are such evident features of modern life. (1976: ll)

 

 

The idea that Mac Cannell presents in stating that differentiation
is the origin of alternatives, provides some insight for the third
culture experienced students in this dissertation. Werkman addressed
the “challenges generic to the lives of geographically mobile children"
and their "alternate patterns of growth." As Mac Cannell's analysis of
Sightseeing is based on social structural differentiation, he defined the
act of sightseeing as "uniquely well~suited among leisure alternatives
to draw the tourist into a realtionship with the modern social totality."
The possible implication for the third culture persons and their minor

dependents and for the act of experiencing third culture reality by

56
third culture persons abound. Simmel defines the sojourner as "the

wanderer or nomadic person who comes today and stays tomorrow." For
Cohen, these persons are characterized by permanent impermanence, a
tourist in a deeper sense. Useem (1976) states third culture persons
are distinguished by their high mobility (changing residence every one
to four years), their advanced skill or education, and their sponsorship
in the mediation role.“ This "mediation role" suggests an integrative
effort in certain ways similar to ”the effort of the international
middle class to coordinate the differentiations of the world into a
single ideology" that Mac Cannell identified in his study.

However, the process of linkage across national states and diverse
cultures involves the mobile person in a profound experience of entry
and re-entry, and a mobility which demands a high level of coping Skills.

"The most difficult adjustment for many people occurs not in living
overseas but when they return to the United States" writes Werkman.

There have been some interesting insights on this re-entry "work of
worry" (Janis, 1958). Oberg (1958) dealt with "culture shock, personali-
ty maladjustment in reaction to temporarily unsuccessful attempts to
adjust to new surroundings and new people.". Although originally thlS'
process was discussed in terms of a person's interaction in a new
culture, students reported "culture shock" as an experience within their
respective re-entry process. Cajoleas (1959) discussed the re-entry
problem as both psychological and social in a study of American-educated
foreign students. Gullahorn and Gullahorn (1963) demonstrated a

distinct reacculturation pattern similar to the one experienced abroad.
Younger people, according to their study, had more difficulty. Orr (1971)

also found that younger people had more difficulty readjusting and that

57

foreign returnees felt they had become "more flexible, insightful and
sensitive as a result of their experience." Brislin and Van Buren (1973)
related that the person who has the least amount of trouble adapting to
a new environment may have the most when returning home.

The individual who leaves his homeland to go overseas,
does not have to become alienated from his homeland.

If he does not get re-socialized into the host culture,
he would not need reacculturation into his home environ-
ment when he returns there. The choice for the
individual moving across cultures is not either re-
socialization or reacculturation. In both the host

and the home cultures, the individual will be something
of a deviant. The most edifying choice for the indivi-
dual, and the goal of all constructive strategy is how
to make the individual a responsible deviant (Opubur,
1974 .

"In an article in Topics of Culture Learning, Stephen Bochner

 

theorized that overseas sojourners become more open and broad minded

as a result of their experience. He suggested the concept of 'mediating
men," referring to people who are able to provide a link between cul-
tures since they understand their own and the one in which they have
lived" (Bochner, 1973: 6).

The reverse of culture shock has been called “re-entry shock"
(Opubor, 1974). Ascuncion~Lande (in March, 1975) identified Six prob-
lem areas in the re—entry process: (1) cultural (2) social (3) lin—
guistic (4) educational (5) national and political and (6) professional.
Other writers have added insights on the mobility and sojourn experiences
of Americans: Adams (1962), Byrnes (1966), Cleveland, Mangone and
Adams (1960), Fayerweather (1959), Gullahorn and Gullahorn (1966),

Nash and Shaw (1963), Nash (1970), Useem (1966), Thayer (1959),
Mayntz (1960). Their writings address a variety of topics dealing with

adjustments and tasks, the problems of mobility and re-entry and the

58

and the "art of overseasmanship" in particular areas studied.

Downie (1976) includes a review of reports on the re-entry problems
of Peace Corps volunteers. He mentions two reports, Pearson (1964) and
Stolley (1964). Three crisis periods are noted by Pearson (1964: 56):

(l) engagement, first encounters with the host culture;

(2) acceptance of one's self and one's limitations as well
as capacities to do the task; and

(3) re-entry to the United States.
Winter (1964) interviewed returning volunteers and noted the self reports
that the pace of life in the U.S. was too fast; that the focus on
material goods and money in the U.S. was too great; that returning volun-
teers viewed Americans as shallow minded and provincial; and they did
not talk about their experience because people were not really interested
in it.

Khlief (1970, and Ratcliff (1969) review the mobility of youth.
Khlief investigated mobility, academic achievement, social adjustment
and the self concept of sixth grade military dependents while Ratcliff
raised questions concerning the mobility of youth and parental attitudes
toward mobility as a major factor in student attitude formation. Rat-
cliff also suggested that those students with a lower 1.0. may be more
affected in academic achievement by high mobility than they would be in
less mobile Situations. The effects of mobility, according to Ratcliff,
seem to be greatest when moves are between areas that differ greatly in
cultural habits and norms and therefore present difficult challenges to
the mobile student.

According to Downie (1976), in the area of mobility and re-entry,

"studies are focused primarily on foreign students in the United States,

59
American technicians and advisors, and Peace Corps volunteers. Few
studies have dealt with the problems encountered by dependent American
youth who experience life abroad." One of the few examples of a mobility-
re-entry theme centering and focusing on third culture dependents is a
dissertation on an orientation program for Missionary students by Cleve-
land (1979) in which he notes that missionary students experienced
separation anxiety, identity crisis, culture shock, financial problems,
the difference in purpose and discipline in churches of different areas.

and independence, as chief areas of problems.

Developmental Processes of Young Adults

 

Examination of the theories on the developmental processes of
young adults or more generally on human development revealed vast
sources of information. In the effort to manage this information and
provide a structural framework for review of the theories involved,
schools of thought that group scholars Sharing certain assumptions about
human nature in general and developmental foci in particular seemed
helpful.

"Human development is complex. Formal developmental theories are
sets of interrelated propositions about how development occurs over the
life Span.“ No formal theory or set of theories, however, can provide a
totally adequate description of development or of how developmental
change occurs" (Rodgers, 1980). In reviewing the needs of this parti-
cular study which involves third culture students of college age in two
specific United States post-secondary institutions, and seeks to dis-
cover the gestalt of their adaptation through depth, focused interviews,

literature concentrated on that particular chronological group seemed

60

relevant. The absence of literature on cross-cultural development or
on third culture development in the theoretical sense is a limitation of
this study.

The central developmental theorists selected for this literature
reviewed in terms of the insights they offered either in the general
area of human development or the specific area of college-student
development emerged from two families of thought: the cognitive develop-
mental theorists and the psychosocial theorists.

The cognitive develOpmental theorists (Piaget, Kohlberg, Perry,
Loevinger, Fowler, Harvey, Hunt and Schroeder, Isaac, Kegan, Sullivan,
Grant and Grant) postulate that cognitive conflict provokes developmental
change and that the basic element in cognitive developmental theory is
structure. "It is believed that basic structures develop from simple
distinctions and relationships toward more complex differentiations and
integrations" (Rodgers, 1980).

This cognitive conflict emerges from the interaction of a person's
stage of reasoning and the structure of the environment. Turiel (1966,
1977) and Kegan described the period of accommodating this struggle

"transition“ and Kegan (l977) characterized this period of struggle as

 

one that may take many months and involves both a sense of loss and a
sense of discovery as the subject moves through the struggle to create
a new mode of reasoning. Blocker (1978: 19-20) outlined conditions of
Involvement, Challenge, Support Structure, Feedback Application and
Integration as helps to facilitate the accommodations or structural
changes that take place in development. The major stimulus for this
approach to developmental theory is Piaget (1952, 1954, 1965). “His

work on logic-mathematical and moral development and his

61

conceptualizations of the characteristics of stages and equilibration

 

have been the bases for most theorists in this school"(RodgerS, 1980).
Although most of the Specific studies in this area are done in one cul-
ture, Loevinger and her colleagues have shown that, at least across
three cultures (the United States, Japan and Curacao), there seems to

be a uniform sequence of stages of ego development (Loevinger, 1966,
1976).

One of the insights and findings that grow out of the continued
work in this field is the finding that a subject can be at different
levels in different domains i.e. physical, social cognitive (Selman,
1977). A theory of cognitive development that addresses moral reasoning
and outlines stages that seem to be valid across many cultures is that
of Kohlberg (1978). These stages are defined by the structural dimen-
sion of social perspective, multiple aspects of moral reasoning, and
four moral orientations or decisional strategies. Each of these is
defined differently at each of the six stages. In viewing how develop-
mental change occurs, Kohlberg believes the accommodation is facilitated
if the environmental challenge is one stage (+1) above the person's
current stage of reasoning.

Perry (1970) in the cognitive area developed a scheme of positions
of intellectualized development and conceptualized Six internal struc-
tures which tend to guide one's perception, organization, and evaluation
of knowledge and values and three positions of existential commitment.
The three levels are identified as "dualism (right/wrong, uncertainty is
considered an error), relativism (knowledge is seen as uncertain or

valid only in a Specific context), and commitment (an affective stage

62

or position which describes the process and definition of identity
through commitments made). Students considered dualistic are seen as
being challenged by environments which introduce moderate diversity,
require analysis of conflicting viewpoints and emphasize experiential
learning. Dualistic thinking students are supported by environments
which are highly structured and which have limited degrees of freedom
and warm personal atmospheres. Relativistic thinking students are
challenged by encounters with extensive diversity; requirements to
narrow toward commitment; and indirect vicarious learning experiences.
They are supported in environments with extensive degrees of freedom,
less structure and genuine, warm interpersonal relationships" (Wideck,
Knefelkamp and Parker, 1975) (Knefelkamp and Slepitza (1974, 1976).
Perry's work focuses on late adolescence and early adulthood.

The studies of certain scholars representing another school of
thought within the deve10pmental approach also should be noted: the
Psychosocial theorists. In his study of the identity formation of
third culture students, Downie (1976) presented the concept of identity
and quoted from the central figure in the development of the concept,
Erik H. Erikson. In his review of the Psychosocial theorists, Rodgers
defined the basic concepts used by these theorists: stage, develop-
mental crisis, developmental task or vector, and developmental c0ping
skills (Rodgers, 1980).

At least in the adult years, the existence and order of stages,
crises and tasks seem to be culture bound. Keniston (1970) sees
"youth" as a new stage in development in our pluralistic culture that
is not found elsewhere. Erikson (1968) is the inspirational leader in

this school of thought and Chickering (1969), D. Heath (1968) and

63

R. Heath (1964) build their theories on college student populations.
Chickering's seven vectors: Developing Competence, Managing Emotions,
Developing Autonomy, Establishing Identity, Freeing Interpersonal
Relationships, Developing Purpose, and Developing Integrity are defined
in his work as those development areas that ascend and must be attended
to between the ages of 17 and 25. Douglas Heath (1965, 1968, 1977)
defines college student development in terms of stylistic types of
personalities and their journey toward being "reasonable adventurers."
His is a comprehensive, coherent theory of development which is recently
being tested cross-culturally. He has askedjudges from various cul-
tures to identify mature and immature persons in their cultural group
who are then studied in terms of his mode, the "Mode of Being" (1970).

Although Levinson (1978) does not focus specifically on the college-
age student, his definition chronologically of adult years (17 to past
70) includes college persons. He views developmental life history as
a series of transition and stable periods. Early adult transition begins
with leaving the family. Transitions are seen as periods when existing
life structures are questioned and challenged and alternatives and
options are explored. The life structure is an underlying pattern of
life. It has many differing components including aspects of the self,
world views and the interaction between these components.

Critical in the review of theorists that accept a developmental
paradigm in the life of the individual is the concept of "tasks" to be
completed at certain points in the person's on-going becoming process.
Some descriptions of tasks, the level of tasks and the appropriateness
of tasks are found in the recurrent themes of the literature.

In studying the third culture population for this dissertation the

64

developmental task inventory prepared by Prince, Miller and Winston
(1974) defined those behaviors students needed to accomplish while in
college and categorized them into three major areas: Developing auto-
nomy, Developing Mature Interpersonal Relations and Developing Pur-
pose. Subdivisions of these tasks were also generated: Developing
Autonomy (emotional autonomy, instrumental autonomy, interdependence);
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relations (tolerance, mature interper-
sonal relationships with peers, intimate relationships with opposite
sex); Developing Purpose (appropriate Educational plans, mature career
plans, mature life style plans). Although these developmental tasks
are defined clearly within the United States culture and are used
primarily with U.S. students, there seems to be some application for
these tasks in a wider framework in terms of return of third culture stu-
dents to a university where the major populations are U.S. students and
the task inventory may apply.

The key notions to be learned from the review of the literature
in the development area and the theorists' presentation of various con-
cepts are: the notion of structure, the concept of stages, the sources
of developmental change and the importance of a period called "transi-
tion“ in which a person struggles to accommodate but is not yet able to
create a new mode of reasoning. Most of the studies in this area have
been done within one cultural group and the cross-culture experiences
of third culture students do not conform to that one culture experience.

According to Rodgers:

The basic element in cognitive developmental theory

is a structure. A structure is essentially a set of assump—
tions which acts as a filter or set of lenses for defining

65

how an individual will tend to perceive, organize

and evaluate experiences and events. Less directly,

a structure also will affect how an individual will

tend to behave and feel in response to those exper-

iences (Rodgers, 1980: 14).

It is also believed that structures exhibit wholeness, that is, the
modes of rationality used in perceiving, organizing and evaluating func-
tion with logical consistency, integration, and unity of relationships.
They are total ways of thinking, not attitudes toward particular Situations.

In terms of the cross-cultural experience, the structure or set of
assumptions of third culture persons which acts as a filter for defin-
ing how an individual will perceive, organize and evaluate experience
and events differs from the perceptual frame of his United States peer.
The wholeness of that structure does become a total way of thinking and
not just an attitude toward particular situations. The experience of
living overseas in a sponsorship situation differentiates the structure
or set of assumptions as well as the individual's identity formation and
behavior. This leads to a difference in the management of tasks as
developmental stages ensue. It seems to the writer that the third
culture experienced student is structurally differentiated from his one-

culture peers and the fact of his structural differentiation is reflected

in the manner in which he confronts adaptation.

The Process of Adaptation

 

The process of adaptation whether viewed from the biosocial or
cultural perspective is complex both in its theoretical and practical
demonstrations. In order to provide coherence for the study of an
individual's involvement in that adaptive process, the anthropological

literature can provide a useful, enlightening framework. "No adaptation

66

is permanent or static, because biological change never stops and be-
cause no environment remains unchanged. Similarly, as we will see when
we turn to adaptation in living cultures, social systems constantly
seek new adaptive strategies because social change never stops and no
sociocultural environment remains unaltered. When the natural or social
milieu changes, a population must seek a new adaptation, that is, a new
relationship to new pressures and demands in its altered environment
(Cohen, 1968).

Third culture persons by the very fact of their mobility, their
differing sponsorship roles and the complexity of tasks involved in a
mega—industrial post-modern reality seek proper "fits" in various niches
of the world in which they live. Cohen (1977) referred to the"environ-
mental bubbles" they construct to facilitate adaptation or at least to
ease the strangeness of place while they commit the large part of their
energies to the world tasks at hand and the implementation of the know-
ledge base in which they are networked as a part.

The insights provided by Darwin's evolutionary theory and the adap-
tation of animals and humans to their environment, has raised interest
on the part of many thinkers in the areas of human competence, coping,
human fulfillment and growth. The developmental life cycle approach
reviewed briefly in this literature review is one focus of interest in
this field. Erikson's eight developmental stages of the life cycle pro-
vide a descriptive framework for understanding the transitions during
the life cycle. Further work in coping and adaptation come from
naturalistic studies that provide some empirical starting points.

Crisis studies have also been a focus in terms of human adaptation in

times of great stress. Studies of concentration camp survivors,

67

hostages and "POW's," are presented as cases of human adaptation in
extreme circumstances.

Adaptation literature in its broadest sense is interdisciplinary
and complex. A thorough review is not the task at hand but rather to
ground the focus of this study in the broader literature available and
to select areas of adaptive research that seem germane to this disser-
tation. According to White (1974) "There is a sense in which all
behavior can be considered an attempt at adaptation." In a much narrower
sense, the Specific literature of adaptation that has impact on this
study is that small piece that impacts on third culture students, and
in particular the linkage between adaptation and transition and
adaptation as transition. White (1974) discussed the master concept of
adaptation and differentiated it from mastery, coping and defense. He
confined defense and the mechanisms of defense (in the perceptions of
Freud: repression, projection, and undoing) to those instances of
adaptation in which present danger and anxiety are of central importance.
Mastery was applied to those problems that had a manipulative or cognitive
complexity but were not fraught with anxiety and, coping to adaptation
under relatively difficult conditions. In presenting his strategies of
adaptation he discussed compromise and the trend toward increased autonomy.

Andros Angyal (1941) characterized the fundamental property of
growth in living systems thus:

It draws incessantly new material from the outside

world, transforming alien objects into fundamental

parts of its own. Thus the organism expands at the

expense of its surroundings. The expansion may be a

material one, as in the case of bodily growth, or a

psychological one as in the case of the assimilation of

experiences which result in mental growth, or a

functional one as when one acquires skill, with a

resulting increase in efficiency in dealing with the
environment.

68

In this growing and developing, the variables that White (1974)
set down, the major tasks that must be met if adaptation is to be
achieved are: adequate information about the environment must be
obtained, satisfactory internal conditions both for action and pro-
cessing information must be maintained, and freedom of movement or
autonomy must be secured.

Adaptation is the act of making fit or suitable by changing or
adjusting; it implies a modifying so as to suit new conditions and
suggests flexibility. Adjustment, which is sometimes used synonomously
in less technically precise areas, describes the bringing of things into
proper relation through the use of skill of judgement. "Adaptation is
something which is done by living systems in interaction with their
environments" according to White. In the theories postulated by the
humanist-existential thinkers that "something" is defined in its most
ideal sense as self-actualization. Rogers (1968) pictures the self
or person in a process of becoming. The self and the personality
emerge from the experience and persons select from multiple possi-
bilities the self they will become. Maslow defines psychological
health and development by beginning with a hierarchy of needs: those
things needed for survival - deficiency needs (D-needs) and those things
needed for growth and higher level needs, being needs (B-needs).
D-needs, (safety, food, shelter) are common to all persons whereas
B-needs are idiosyncratic and can never fully be satisfied (Maslow,
1968). As might be expected, growth and fulfillment theories such as
those expressed by Rogers and Maslow have led to studies of healthy
people and their patterns of adaptation and coping.

Caplan (1964) has also identified some characteristics of

69

effective coping behavior that seem to cut across different types of
life transitions and crises. He has Specifically delineated seven
characteristics of effective coping:

1. Active exploration of reality issues and search
for information.

2. Free expression of both positive and negative feelings
and a tolerance of frustration.

3. Active invoking of help from others.

4. Breaking problems down into manageable bits and
working them through one at a time.

5. Awareness of fatigue and tendencies toward
disorganization with pacing of efforts and maintenance
of control in as many areas of functioning as possible.
6. Active mastery of feelings where possible and
acceptance of inevitability where not. Flexibility
and willingness to change.

7. Basic trust in oneself and others and basic
optimism about outcome.

On March 31, 1949 a set of papers were originally presented at
the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. The
chosen theme of these papers was adaptation, a concept central to
biology, psychology and sociology. From this transcription of papers, and
an overview of the concept of adaptation emerging from a biological
basis (Paul Weiss, 1949), extending to the organism and environment
(Howard H. Smith), on the threshold of intelligence (Howard S. Liddell),
in its neurotic potential (Lawrence S. Kubie) and through its limitations
for understanding cultural behavior (Clyde Kluckholn), important
insights emanate. Adaptation, according to Weiss, is the fitting, and
adaptedness the fitness, through which a system is harmonized with the
conditions of its existence.

Another important field of emphasis in the conceptual approach to

7O

adaptation is perceptual psychology which emerges not just as the study
of the internal lives of persons or merely the study of behavior; it is
the study of persons. Its basic postulate is that all behavior, without
exception, is completely determined by, and pertinent to, the perceptual
field of the behaving organism. This shifts the locus of the basic facts
of psychology from the stimulus or behavior to the personal field of
the meanings of the organism. Perceptual psychology is both product and
process of the humanist movement. The perceptual field is defined as
the entire universe, including oneself as it is experienced by an
individual at the instant of action (Combs, 1949, Combs and Snygg, 1959).
AS we assess the meaning of adaptation and the adaptive process
from its definitions as presented by biologists, sociologists and
psychologists through its variations of meaning in terms of its appli-
cation to organisms, the interaction of organisms with other organisms,
the interaction of organisms with the environment, different types of
relationships are evident. Some of these relationships appear to have
a cause-effect chain, or a stimulus-response linkage; others appear to
be related or connected in a field. When something occurs at one point
in Space apparently because something else happened at another point
with no visible means by which the "cause" can be related to the "effect,"
the scientist may say the two events are connected in a field which
serves as a bridge between cause and effect. This field is an inference
with the properties of stability (organized, stable, predictable),
fluidity (ability to adjust to change), direction (need and activity to
satisfy need) and intensity (a function of differentiation and awareness)
(Combs and Snygg: 1959; Combs, Richards, Richards: 1976).

In applying these conceptual insights to third culture experienced

71

students involved in the process of adaptation, it becomes clear that

for these students re-entry to the United States and entry into U.S. post-
secondary institutions is stressful. C0ping behavior is implemented more
or less successfully by the population and the need for autonomy

remains quite strong. There are Special problems for third culture
students in "fitting" into U.S. culture. Their growth and development,
and their approaches to self-actualization in the new environment
challenge the concept of self that they have. The needs they report
follow a hierarchy such as Maslow presents and the pattern of their
coping behavior may be analyzed in relation to Caplan's characteristics.
The perceptual field of the third culture student affects attitudes
toward adaptation and the analysis of interviews will Show how this
effect is demonstrated.

Downie (1976), in studying third culture experienced students in the
same particular episode of re-entry to the U.S. and entry into college
in order to gather information on identity formation of these students
described and characterized the following aspects of identity formation
that emerged:

(l) the management of their social identity upon return
to the U.S. and particularly at entry to college;

(2) their social marginality - setting aside important
aspects of one's identity during adolescence in order
to participate in college social life;

(3) their ability to cope with and adapt to the immediate
problems of entering new and changing environments;

(4) their estrangement due in part to the lack of an
identifiable group with which to relate;

(5) their development of career plans which include an
internationally mobile life style.

72

In terms of the perceptual frame of reference of the third culture
experienced youth on re—entry into the U.S. and entry into college or
university and the importance of having grown up in part outside their
country of citizenship in developing that perceptual frame, Downie (1976)
related:

Although the third culture experience is set aside in

social interaction with those not having some foreign exper-

ience, it becomes a potent dimension of an inner life which

is expressed in selective cognitive activities such as

language study, selection of educational major, elective

course work, and in cultural activities such as foreign films,

lectures on global topics, fine arts events, etc. It emerges

in those social situations which involve similarly

experienced Americans, foreign students, and faculty.

In another passage he contrasts the ascribed status which emerges
from sponsorship abroad with the fact that in the United States college
setting identity must be realized by each individual or at least the
attempt to achieve one's identity is a singular quest.

"It is now generally accepted that adaptation is one of the most
important phenomena in behavior" (Henson, 1971: l). Adaptation level
theorists contend that with changes in stimulation accompanying focal
stimuli, the quality, magnitude, and other dimensions of the stimuli
also change more or less. Developmental psychology is a relatively new
area in which adaptation level theory may be fruitfully applied in order
to investigate how internal norms become internalized and how they.are
modified and developed.

As we review the concept of adaptation within the organism itself
in a micro sense, each unit in relation to other units, and extend the
concept of adaptation to the process of attitudinal or behavioral

change in response to new stimuli, conflict and stress emerge as key

elements (Spradley and Philips, 1976). As we cross cultures Specific

73

stressors may vary. In addressing the phases and patterns of adjustment
and the variables that influence adaptation to new cultural environments
Klein (1977) delineated the following: (1) the strength of motives for
change (e.g. desire for contact); (2) the amount of change needed

(e.g. cultural distance); (3) the individual's skills and coping re-
sources (e.g. self-confidence, prior experience, interpersonal effective-
ness); (4) characteristic stress responses; and (5) reinforcements
provided by the new environment.

Klein continues, "also bear in mind that adaptation can involve
different roles or aspects of the sojourner's self (e.g. professional,
interpersonal, national self-image, etc.) and can vary in depth,
complexity or enduringness (see Kelman: 1965, Kelman and Bailyn: 1962).

The phases of adjustment have been characterized and described in
many different ways. The U and W curves described in a previous section
on re-entry and mobility themes, the spectator phase (Lysgaard, 1955),
(Coehlo, 1962), coming-to-terms with the host country, decision-to-return
phase ahd the readjustment to home Country phaSe (Coehlo, 1962).

In terms of the general patterns of adaptation Klein (1977) stated:

The four most commonly observed patterns represent
different processes of cross-cultural involvement and
attitude change:

Instrumental adaptation. Characteristic of those

with clear professional-academic goals; major interaction

and involvement organized around specific tasks, extra-

curricular social life continuous with home, i.e. contact

maintained with fellow nationals; major tensions and

adjustments in task performance; social adjustment and

contact with host minimal and limited to professional

role; changes primarily to satisfy academic needs and

interests; minimal readjustment on return home unless
professional roles are very different (e.g. adjusters).

 

74

Identification. Primary interest in involvement with
host culture: academic or professional goals secondary to
cross-cultural contact; major adjustments made to facili-
tate contacts and interaction with new culture, explora-
tion of the community; interest in learning local customs.
Interpersonal problems are the greatest source of stress for
this group, with the level of tension high. Satisfying
interactions are likely to lead to positive and/or
differentiated attitudes toward the host country and to
shifts in identification and interpersonal style. There
is danger of alienation and readjustment tensions.

 

Withdrawal. Initial interest in involvement with
host and academic or task purposes secondary to efforts
made to contact host and to explore the community;
tensions arise in the interpersonal context and impede
adjustment; there is a shift from disappointing rela-
tions with the host culture to primary contact with
fellow-nationals; efforts are directed at restoration-
maintenance of national identity. This pattern repre-
sents an attempt on the part of the sojourner to cope
with unsatisfactory social experiences. It is likely
that great cultural distance, vulnerability to stress,
and/or personal or cultural tendencies for sensitivity
and withdrawal will predispose this pattern. It is
also expected that negative attitudes toward and
selective perception of the faults of the host culture
will prevail and that strong identification with home
reference groups will be maintained where possible.

 

Resistance. The role of cultural ambassador is most
salient; primary social contacts are maintained with own
national group or other foreigners; interaction with host
is organized around exchange of information about culture
and the attitudes are largely dependent on the status
accorded to the home country. Attitude change will be
minor with no significant shift in national identification.

 

Consequences

 

Each pattern has its unique mix of costs and benefits.
Instrumental adaptation and identification both facilitate
positive sojourn experiences, but alienation from home is a
clear risk for identification. Identification, on the
other hand, probably leads to more profound and enduring
changes in outlook, including greater flexibility, tolerance,
and "internationalism." Withdrawal and resistance are
costly because the aims of international exchange are not
met, and because the individuals suffer. Withdrawal is
probably the more stressful and frustrating of the two,
and more likely to lead to enduring negative attitudes
(reinforce negative stereotypes of the host culture).

75

As the third culture student re-enters the United States and begins
the adaptive transition and adaptive transactions, the importance of
the pattern of adaptation that preceded it, i.e. the adaptation to the
previous country or countries and the nature of the overseas community
has importance and impact. Another important area is the identity group
to which the third culture student belonged in the third culture environ-
ment and the identity group he/she seeks in the new environment. Downie
(1976) addressed identity formation and its aspects in third culture
students; Singer (1969) describes the identity group as a number of
people who have learned to perceive some aspect of the external world
more or less similarly, and who communicate that similarity of perception.
In setting forth these ideas on identity Singer selects the terms learned,
groups, Similarity of perceptions and communication for further defini-
tion.

It is Singer's position that virtually all behavior is learned; that
groups come in unlimited varieties, sizes and types of which the group
into which we are born (inherited group), our major experience group
(e.g. having travelled, worked or studied abroad), our role groups
(children, parents, businessmen); and our other referent groups (reli—
gious belief, different ideologies or sexual identities) are most impor-
tant. Singer continues to assert that each group teaches us a common
language and shows expectations for modes of behavior thereby communi-
cating a framework for Similarity of perception. The identity group
for Singer is virtually identical to a culture. Since each human being
belongs to many groups and these groups seek to share values, attitudes
and expectations for behavior, we cope by ranking the order of these

groups in terms of those identities to ourselves. This ranking changes

76

in different contexts and the mercurial nature of the ranking makes
systematic study of identity very difficult. "One recognizes some
identities most clearly only when juxtaposed against a threatening
'they.” The more threatening 'they' are the more likely we are to

recognize that particular identity" (Singer: 1969).

Individual Themes Tangential to Major Areas

 

Some aSpects of third culture life experienced by this highly
mobile group of persons set a frame of reference for the study of the
adaptation of dependent third culture students on re-entering the
United States and entering the college/university environment. One
concept important to discuss is that of "planned obsolescence" or
"obsolescence" in general. Toffler (1970) noted that obsolescence
occurs with or without planning. There are very few "old" people
in the third culture. It is not a culture that has a "need" for old
people nor a function for them to perform. Therefore, there is a
built-in temporariness or transitoriness that seems to be a part of
third culture persons. It affects the level of commitment in each
geographic setting and at the same time it generates ambivalent yet
intense feelings about the nature of "home." Schutz in his papers on

The Stranger and the Homecomer (1971) addressed some of the problems

 

of learning and acquiring a "ready made standardized scheme" which one
can rely on as a guide to social situations. AS long as the assump-
tions upon which this scheme rests continue, the "recipe" for under-
standing situations will function. However, the failure of any one of

these assumptions, according to Schutz, will precipitate a crisis and

the stranger will be forced into a situation of questioning everything.

77

He carries his group and the system of his group with him. Yet, he does
not fit into the new group's particular history. He does not share the
common language or coding to share meaning in the new Situation. When
the stranger returns home, as homecomer, he anticipates finding what he
left with little or no change. Schutz notes: "To feel at 'home' is an
expression of the highest degree of familiarity and intimacy. Life at
home follows an organized pattern of routine; it has its well determined
goals and well proved means to bring them about, consisting of a set of
traditions, habits, instituting timetables for activities of all kinds,
etc. Most of the problems of daily life can be mastered by following»
this pattern" (1971: 108).

However, the chief problem of the homecomer remains the assumption
that the system of social recipes which have proven useful in one con-
text will continue to do so in another (1971: 117).

The Stranger-Homecomer reality is a complex one. In the act of
homecoming, aspects of strangeness become present. The person who is
both the stranger and the homecomer has changed through this process.

By being the stranger in another environment, he has changed in order

to adjust, adapt, cope with reality. As he is changed, he finds that
home is also changed or different for him. He begins to experience mar-
ginality, a lack of being involved at the center of things, a lack of
complete understanding of the group as Singer has discussed it. The
literature on marginality and the concept of "marginal man" is quite
vast. Much of it relates to personality and identity. Home and rooted—
ness concepts have a substantially different meaning for those who have

been "uprooted" or mobile in terms of their life patterns. The World

Federation for Mental Health (Soddy, 1962) addressed this problem and

78

suggested that the establishment of a "home" with which one identifies,
but in which one does not necessarily live may be an important feature
in the lives of some people. Gist and Wright (1973) delineate the con-
cept of marginality by stating that "marginality is intended to provide
a sociological perspective of the individual's relationship to groups
that restrict or prohibit social interaction between their members,
that in one way or another bar them from social admission, or groups
from which participants are voluntarily alienated. These relationships
will be conceptualized as marginal, their social settings as marginal
Situations and the actors in these situations as marginal men" (1973:
211).

This idea of marginality or of being a marginal man; a part of yet
apart from, involves a sense of loss and frequently is accompanied by
feelings of grieving.. In studying immigrants and the area of personal
loss and grief as a result of immigration, Fried (1977) noted that
immigrants manifested feelings of painful loss, a sense of helplessness,
direct and displaced anger and idealizations of the lost place. Toffler
(1970) and Packard (1969) reported that moving to a new geographical
location is a life change that creates a sense of loss. Patricia M.
Arrendonda-Dowd (1981) contended that reflection is part of the grieving
process in her study of immigrants. Research by Triandis (1980) and
Cochrane and Stopes—Roe (1979) provided further insight into the
psychological impacts of immigration and frameworks for adjustment by
minority by minority persons in a majority society. Successfully
resolving a loss experience entails going through a series of adjustments

that incorporate critical changes into our view of ourslves and our view

of the world. Not to do so can result in our becoming fixated at the

79

stage of development we were in at the time the loss occurred (Krueger,
1978). According to Martha Romero (1981), "We seldom deal with the
individual's loss of identity and subsequent grief. This identity
loss comes from movement away from an experience shared with family and
peers, and from people who have a unique value of self and others."

According to Bowlby (1961) in the first phase of the grieving
process, persons experience numbness, shock and disbelief. In Phase
II symptoms of pain, despair and disorganization are manifested and
homesickness sets in. Home is then idealized and longed for. In
Phase III, feelings are hopeful and positive. It follows the commitment
to stay in the new place or Situation. According to Kubler-Ross (1969),
Kavanaugh (1972) and Westberg (1962) the rather common emotions associa-
ted with 1055 are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and panic, guilt,
worry. According to Feinberg (1978) each loss is a “good-bye" to a
part of our life, but is, at the same time and in the truest sense a
beginning. This process of leave taking is essential to our growth as
"we part from people, places, things, states of life."

The third culture student in leaving the third culture and re-
entering the United States experiences an identity loss which comes
from movement away from an experience shared with family and peers, and
from people who have a unique value of self and others (Romero, 1981,
Downie, 1976).

The third culture student also is involVed in the transition from
High School to a post secondary institution. Richard Hayes (1981)
discussed high school graduation and states that as an experience

graduation from high school also includes an identity loss. Graduation

80

from high school is a rite of passage. Spiegel (1977) has written that
fthe application of the ritual of the rites of passage occurs when the
status transition of an individual is performed within a social group
which signifies usually a lengthy process of separation from the former
status (Spiegel, 1977: 110). In graduating from high school a crisis
arises with the adolescent's awareness of the impending loss of child-
hood (Hayes, 1981) which represents a turning point or "crucial periods
of increased vulnerability and heightened potential" (Erikson, 1968:
96). “A successful negotiation of the adolescent identity crisis re-
quires a re-evaluation of the self, which leads to a stabilization of

a sense of self and a lasting personal commitment to self-evaluated
goals" (Hayes, 1981). In the senior year of high school, we have what
can be viewed as a state of anticipatory grief (Schoenberg, Carr,
Kutscher and Peretz, 1974). "For the adolescent, to die is to fragment
into nothingness (Keniston, 1970) and in the senior year, the adolescent's
world is falling apart. Von Gebsattel, in talking of the bereaved notes,
"not the world, but the world of being is disturbed, i.e. the world, as
far as it is 'my world,‘ the world which becomes a center, meaning,
peculiarity, abundance, reality only by the fact I exist with regard to
it" (In Spiegel,1977: 106). According to Hayes (1981) solutions to this
anxiety usually involved keeping busy, yet at a certain point, no amount
of keeping busy can indefinitely postpone the overwhelming anxiety this
situation brings. A common name for this phenomenon when seniors stop

doing the very things that have sustained them thus far is "senioritis."

81

Summary

The review of the literature for this dissertation is divided into
four major divisions and a tangential fifth division looking at themes
emerging from interview experiences.

The first major division of literature reviewed is the scope of
studies of third culture persons, their histories, patterns of behavior,
the institutions that serve them and their importance in a modern and a
post-modern relaity. A definition of third culture persons, delinea-
tions of the importance of sponsorship and sponsorship categories, and
studies of third culture dependents are summarized. The major areas
reviewed deal with studies of the schools and institutions that serve
third culture dependents, studies of third culture dependent persons
themselves, studies of the problems identified within the varying
Sponsorship categories and a general overview of the meaning of third
culture and the importance of the mediation role in modern and post-
modern reality.

The second major area explored is the area of entry/re-entry
studies and the general themes of mobility and transition. In this area
studies of foreign students or foreign experienced students and their
entry/re-entry process are described through the process of the "U"
curve (Lysgaard, 1955), the "W“ curve explicated by the Gullahorns
(1963 and 1966), the two-way mirror offered by Morris, (1960) and
Sewell and Davidson (1969) as a way of examining the identification
of self with country and the adjustment process involved. The litera-
ture developed by Cohen (1977) provide significant insights to the
life and patterns of those living outside their home country environ-

ment as well as the societies and sub-cultures they create in their new

82

settings so that coping mechanisms may be facilitated. Cohen, in his
systematic approach to expatriate communities offers significant insights
in his description of the "environmental bubbles" in which many overseas
persons live and work. He also defines patterns of interaction such as
establishment of cliques and friendship groups, the interlocking of
the family and work sectors and the importance of the nuclear family.
In developing the mobility theme, the work of Dean Mac Cannell (1976)
in his study of tourists provides further insights into mobility and
the identity of mobile persons and their perceptual frame of reference.
Mac Cannell sees the tourist as "one of the best models available for
modern-man-in-general." In following mobile and transient persons,
Werkman (1968) notes some alternate patterns of growth and difficult
adjustments on return and Oberg (1958) presents the concept of culture
shock and Janis (1958) and Opubor (1974) re-entry shock in the reports
of persons involved in the entry or re-entry process. Cajoleas (1959),
Orr (1971), and Brislin and Van Buren (1973) review re-entry problems
and the amount of difficulty mobile persons experience. Downie (1976)
discusses re-entry in terms of aspects of identity and Khleif (1970)
and Ratcliff (1969) review the mobility of youth. A study by Cleveland
(1979) specifically addresses the problems missionary students report
on re-entering, i.e. separation anxiety, identity crisis, culture shock,
financial problems, independence and functional church division issues.
A third area for examination in grounding the base for analysis of
the problem, presents the developmental processes of young adults and
some of the major theoretical foci in approaching a population of
young adults and a study of their adaptation. A cursory examination of

two specific theoretical frameworks that are developmental in process:

83

the cognitive developmental theorists and the psychosocial theorists are
reviewed. The period of "transition in creating new modes of reasoning"
(Kegan, 1977) as the person struggles with the environmental differences
and the conditions of involvement, challenge, support structure, feed-
back, application and integration (Blocker, 1978) are noted. Piaget's
(1952, 1954, 1965) conceptualizations form the bases of the cognitive
developmental theorists. Loevinger's studies (1966, 1976) cross three
cultures in exploring stages of ego development and the finding that a
subject can be at different levels in differing domains (physical,
social, cognitive) is offered by Selman (l977). Kohlberg's stages are
reviewed and his insight that accommodation is facilitated if the environ-
mental challenge is one stage above the person's stage of reasoning is
noted. Perry's (1976) scheme of positions is sketchily addressed.

The psychosocial theorists and the central figure in that theory,
Erikson, are reviewed in terms of the work involved in adult development
and the developmental vectors (Chickering), stylistic types of personali-
ties (Heath 1965, 1968, 1977) and student developmental tasks (Prince,
Miller and Winston, 1974).

The fourth major literature area is the area of adaptation. The
aspects of the concept of adaptation are vast and an attempt is made
to review from the social as well as the cultural perspectives concepts
of adaptation. The concept of differentiation is a critical one in
exploring the sense of adaptation culturally. A general definition of
adaptation, the strategies of adaptation and the process of adaptation
draw from the writings of Angyal (1949), White (1974), and Rogers (1968).
"Adaptation is something which is done by living systems in interaction

with their environments" (White, 1974). In the theorizing of the

84

humanist-existential school and one of its central figures, Rogers,
that "something" in its highest personal sense is the work of self-
actualization (Rogers, 1968). Maslow, in the same area of emphasis
delineates a hierarchy of needs (1968) and beginning studies of adapted
healthy persons are pursued to explicate the nature of self—actualization
and the processes self-actualized persons undergo. Caplan (1964) iden-
tifies characteristics of effective coping behaviors in adaptive transi-
tions and lists seven basic characteristics. A set of papers originally
presented in 1949 with adaptation as the major theme once again reiterates
adaptation as the fitting and adaptedness the fit through which a system
is harmonized with the conditions of its existence (Weiss, 1949). Adap-
tation was selected as a theme for these papers because it is seen as a
concept central to biology, psychology and sociology (Romano, 1949).

Perceptual psychology as another approach to the adaptive process
and as an outgrowth of the humanist movement emerges as another area of
insight. 'A broad review of this area of information in terms of the
field of perception, perceptual framework and the relationships between
an individual and his environment as a function of his frame of reference
are explored (Coombs: 1949; Coombs and Snygg: 1959; Coombs, Richards and
Richards: 1976). Downie's (1976) aspects of identity formation in third
culture experienced youth on re-entry to the United States and entry
into college offer another important insight to these students.

The importance of adaptation is noted by Helson (1970) when he
states, "It is now generally accepted that adaptation is one of the
most important phenomena in behavior. Adaptation Level theorists
indicate that with changes in stimulation accompanying focal stimuli
other dimensions of the stimuli also change more or less." The

further application of adaptation theory into development psychology in

85

terms of the investigation of internal norm establishment seems a rich
area for new information on adaptation in general and the process of
adaptation in particular.

In relating to new cultural environments and addressing the phases
and patterns of adjustment, Kleipell977) reviews five areas and reiates
them to the U-curve (Lysgaard, 1955) and chuFEé (Gullahorns, 1963 and
1966) already described. Singer's insights on identity groups in terms
of the adaptive-transition process are offered in the closing of this
section.

The last section reviewed deals with themes which currently
address issues related to transitions, mobility and aspects of the self.
Some of these issues are touched on in the major literature sections but
not in as much detail as may be necessary for this study.

There seems to be, amidst the transition and mobility of third cul-
ture persons, levels of transition and transitoriness. In the first
section of literature review on third culture, John Useem (1966) notes
that third culture generations are not chronological. They are derived
from years of experience in the third culture. There is not a "retire-
ment" in the third culture nor a role for those in advanced years. There
seems to be a natural concept of obsolescence involved in the deep
transitoriness of third culture involvement. This obsolescence
activates an awareness of the importance of selecting a "home" to which
one will return when one's third culture years are terminated. This
awareness differs in persons; sometimes it is quite conscious, other
times, not articulated at the conscious level. Yet it is always present
as each year brings the return of some, and the entry of others in third

culture life.

86

The concept of "home" is a complex one and one that Downie (1976)
reviews in his study of aspects of identity and identity formation of
third culture students. In reviewing the concept of "home" and "rooted-
ness" and the converse of these concepts "stranger" and "uprootedness"
or mobility, Schutz (1971) addresses some problems in the adapting of
"schemes" or "standardized recipes" that facilitate in the understand-
ing of situations. However, the third culture person in his mobility,
his cross-cultural and inter-cultural involvement has "coped" to a
greater or lesser degree by using different recipes, different time-
tables, modified or abandoned traditions. In some senses, he has
become a "marginal" person. In extrapolating the idea of "home" from
the patterning that Schutz defines, Soddy (1962) suggests that the
establishment of a "home" with which one identifies but in which one
does not necessarily live may be an important feature in the lives of
some people. The concept of marginality previously examined in the
thidd culture literature is further specified as a theme by reviewing
some ideas from Gist and Wright (1973) further defining the concept.
This longing for home, and the factor of marginality are frequently
accompanied by feelings of loss or grieving. For the minor dependents
of third culture members who are the population of this dissertation,
in the passing of a few months they graduate from an overseas high
school, leave the country in which they have been living, separate from
nuclear family and friends, travel large distances to the United States
and enter a post-secondary U.S. institution. These major geographical
changes and important transitions occurring in a short time frame
represent losses and acquisitions at a critical developmental period

in their lives. In reviewing the place of grieving and loss in

87

transitions, themes presented by Bowlby (1961), Kubler-Ross (1969), and
Kavanaugh (1972) are examined in terms of the stages of loss. On geo-
graphical mobility and loss experienced by immigrants, Triandis (1980)
and Cochrane and Stopes-Roe (1979) provide ideas. The transition from
high school and the problems of graduation are addressed by Richard
Hayes (1981) while the identity loss is commented on by Martha Romero
(1981). Toffler (1970) and Packard (1969) report that moving to a new
geographical location is a life change that creates a sense of loss.

It is on the basis of these various research orientations that
operational assumptions are made during the course of this study.

Some of the key areas that seem to apply involve the importance
of the fact of sponsorship of the parent in the developmental structure
of the third culture experienced student. The set of assumptions that
become the structure of perceptions seem strongly influenced by the
cross-culture experience, the environmental bubble of third culture
overseas environment, the perception of sojourner that evolves from
the mobility experience and the sense of marginality that occurs as a
result of cultural participation in a limited manner. A sense of self
as observer seems to emerge, heightening the experience of being a

part of yet apart from physical surroundings. The family, overseas

network, and benefits of Sponsorship separate the third culture youth
from a series of direct confrontations with the host society and a
sense of protection and security results. The third culture student
develops an upward-focus toward adults who determine the structure of
life, and mobility in an environment unchallenged by the existence of
a peer group culture. Standards are set by adults and a sense of his-

tory communicated through them.

88

Upon leaving the overseas setting and returning to the United
States, the third culture student finds himself in a college environment
where social standards are set by peers and participation, not observa-
tion, is valued. Their identity management in the new setting requires
a setting aside of their overseas experience in order to facilitate
their social interactions. There is a period of grieving and a sense of
loss in this transition experience. They experience resentry with its
problems and opportunities.

In Chapter III, a review of the summaries of interviews of the
twenty-one third culture experienced youth will be presented and some
themes explored in the light of many of the concepts contained in this

review of the literature.

CHAPTER III
RE-ENTRY AND ADAPTATION EXPERIENCES
In the Post World War II period, many adults in sponsorship
roles representing differing institutional affiliations such as the
Department of Defense, federal civilians, missionaries, businessmen
and other representatives of foundations and international agencies
took their minor dependents overseas with them for their respective
tours of duty. Few studies are available concerning the socialization
and upbringing of these students but the various aspects of the
lives of youth who have lived in the third culture, a term used to
define the Sponsorship representatives living in a national culture
not their own for the purposes of mediating across the intersections
of societies, interested many as the number of minor dependents
increased. In support of the American presence abroad an array of
community institutions developed and it is this network of services
and institutions that provided the milieu in which American dependent
youth obtained their experiences. Although the major focus of this
dissertation is the analysis of the adaptation process of third culture
students as they re-enter the United States, such an analysis is not
possible except in the framework of the re-entry experiences that
simultaneously take place. The selected population for this dissertation
re-entered the United States at the point when they entered college. It
is in this context of the re-entry experience that initial adaptation

for these students occurs.

89

90
Chapter III is presented in six parts: (1) introduction;
(2) capsule descriptions of the subjects of this study; (3) summary
descriptions of the re-entry and adaptation experiences of each
subject; (4) a presentation and analysis of the major themes of
re-entry and adaptation in the framework of the literature review and
the self-reported experiences of the subjects; (5) presentation of a

transition assessment scale for each of the students; and (6) summary.

Introduction

 

The major focus of this dissertation is to examine the adaptation
of third culture students as they re-enter the United States and enter
a post-secondary institution. For the purpose of this dissertation,
third culture students are those minor dependents of adults repre-
senting the United States in official sponsorship roles overseas who
have graduated from an American type school overseas and entered
two specific post-secondary institutions: Michigan State University
and the College of Wooster.

In Chapter II, the third culture experience is defined and
described through the statements of various writers and the questions
surrounding mobility and re-entry experiences are reviewed. Adapta-
tion is a process described as "something which is done by living
systems in interaction with their environments" (White, 1974).
Adaptation is the fitting and adaptedness the fitness, through which
a system is harmonized with the conditions of its existence (Weiss,
1949). Adaptation is the act of making fit or suitable by changing
or adjusting, it implies a modifying so as to suit new conditions
and it suggests flexibility. It is critical in describing the

adaptation of third culture students as they re-enter the U.S. and

91
enter a post-secondary institution to review how the student
perceives himself and perceives the environment in analyzing the
process of adaptation and the adaptive transactions that occur.

In this chapter, a summary of the subjects' descriptions of
their experiences upon re-entering the United States and entering
the college environment is presented. It is through these
situations that the process of adaptation is discerned.

A certain amount of ambiguity exists as a result of exposure to
diverse cultures in the formative years thereby posing problems in
identity formation in bi-or multi-cultural settings. Multi-cultural
backgrounds may obscure the socio-cultural situation with which one
is to interact and formulate identity (Downie, 1976: 78). Since
the adaptation process is an interaction between the self (system in
this case) and the environment, it is important to understand
aspects of the self as reported by third culture students. Third
culture students also seem to perceive the environment differently
from others (Gleason, 1969; Hess, 1971). Role and status positions
upon re-entry are not clearly defined.

The experiences related by the twenty-one subjects studied for
this dissertation reveal certain commonalities which will be
discussed as themes. These themes will provide the matter for the
analysis of adaptation and the adaptive transactions that these

students reported.

Capsule Descriptions of the Subjects Interviewed
Each subject has been assigned a fictitious name which will be
referred to throughout the remainder of this dissertation. The

capsule descriptions outlined here contain sponsorship of parent,

92

number of years lived abroad, number of overseas moves up to the

time of entering college, year of college entrance, and locations

lived abroad.

The subjects marked with an asterisk * have been selected for

analysis in Chapter IV. The basis for their selection is discussed

in Chapter I and will be reviewed in Chapter IV.

*Geoff

Delores

*Elizabeth

 

Harriet

Wayne

Benjamin

Barbara

Male. Missionary. He lived abroad for fifteen years
in Cameroon, England, Zaire and Taiwan. He records
9 moves before entering college in 1976.

Female. Missionary. She lived abroad for sixteen
years in India. She experienced 6 moves before
entering college in 1978.

Female. Missionary. She lived nine and on-half
years abroad in Kenya, Tanzania and England. She
notes 3 moves before entering college in 1978.
Female. Missionary. She lived abroad for twelve
years. She records 5 moves while living in Jakarta.
She entered college in 1976.

Male. Missionary. He spent thirteen years abroad.
He lived in Turkey and France and reports 6 moves
before entering college in 1976.

Male. Business. He lived abroad twelve years in
Brazil and Holland. He reports 5 moves prior to
entering college in 1978.

Female. Business. She lived abroad for two years
in Colombia. Before entering college in 1979,

she had moved only once.

*Bonnie

Beatrice

Frederico

Frances

Gavin

*George

Henrietta

*Hans

Hilda

 

93

Female. Business. She lived abroad four years in
Japan. She reports only 4 moves before she entered
college in 1976.

Female. Business. She lived abroad for two years
in Karachi. She reports 4 moves before entering
college in 1977.

Male. Business. He lived abroad for sixteen years
in Lima, Peru. He reports 1 move before he entered
college in 1979.

Female. Business. She spent seventeen years abroad.
She reports 3 moves while she lived in England and
Japan. She entered college in 1976.

Male. Business. He lived in Iran, Afghanistan,
Okinawa, New Delhi and Japan for eighteen years.

He reports 6 moves. He entered college in 1976.
Male. Business. He spent eight years abroad. He
lived in South Africa and Iran and reports 3 moves.
He entered college in 1976.

Female. Business. She experienced living abroad for
eighteen years in Sweden, Jamaica, Italy, Germany
and Luxembourg. Before entering college in 1977
She reports 5 moves.

Male. Business. He spent five years abroad in
England. He reports only 1 move before entering
college in 1976.

Female. Business. She lived abroad for eighteen

years in Taiwan, Japan and Korea. She reports three

94

moves. She entered college in 1979.

59129. Female. Business. She lived in Argentina, Brazil
and Spain. She entered college in 1976 and reports
5 moves.

IEDIE. Female. Business. She lived in Holland for seven
years and reports one move. She entered college in
1977.

IQIE. Female. Business. She lived abroad for six years
in Germany and reports one move. She entered college
in 1977.

*Thomas Male. Business. He lived abroad for eight years
in Germany. He reports only one move before entering
college in 1979.

Weddy Female. Business. She lived abroad for seven years
in Brazil, England and Mexico. Before entering

college in 1977, she reports three moves.

Summary Descriptions of Re-entry and Adaptation Experiences

In this section brief descriptions of the re-entry-adaptation
experiences are reported for each of the twenty-one subjects. These
descriptions with appropriate quotes from the subjects have been
edited, paraphrased and condensed for their presentation in this
text. Different subjects chose to highlight and emphasize different
experiences and the uniqueness of each subject is manifested. A
common design for presentation of the interview material is consistent
for each subject: a brief identification of each subject, a review
of the preparation for college entry made by each, the sponsorship

of the parents and its perceived effect on the students interviewed,

95
the nature of the college entry experience, the interaction of the
student with the new environment and transactions with the environ-
ment, the areas of transition that were easiest and most difficult,

and the source of support critical to each.

Missionary Dependents

 

l. Gedjf, a male college senior of missionary Sponsorship abroad
entered college in 1976. He lived abroad fifteen years and reports
nine moves.

In discussing his pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Geoff
notes that it was assumed that he would go to college and that he
wanted to go. Ninety-four percent of his class went to college
but the preparation for college did not exist. The mail was slow
and delayed and representatives did not come to this school to
talk about colleges. He did not know what a liberal arts education
was. He states: "Initially I resented coming to the states. I
call Cameroon home and . . . I think that makes a difference in how
one will related. I want to return overseas Since I don't consider
the states my home." He also notes that "the change of places
affected me more than the change of schools." He selected the College
of Wooster and he had visited it with his sister who had attended
school there. He received information after being accepted.

Upon entry to college, Geoff states that the most difficult
experience sprang from his discovery that he "wasn't going to fit
in"; "for some reason, I was going to be different." However, he
notes that the students in his hall committed themselves "to get
him educated on how things go here" and that surprised him. He

felt lucky to be with those people. He was reluctant to interact

96

actively in the new environment and felt extremely awkward going
by himself to events. He was well prepared academically and only the
size of the school seemed overwhelming since his high school was no
more than 250 persons. Academic areas were the easiest for him and
social life the most difficult. He relates, "I was not that
interested in partying with the seething masses. We didn't have
T.V., cars, movies or the theater as Options overseas, we had to be
imaginative. I was semi-conscious of having most of my leisure time
provided for in the United States -- it was there; flip the switch."

In discussing his adaptation process Geoff perceived himself
as "really glad he had lived overseas" because "college wasn't so
scary after boarding school." "Living overseas makes a big
difference, it gives a more liberal view of world affairs and it makes
you sensitive to others' points of view." "I was looking forward to
coming to the states for school. I didn't articulate any goals and
peers stressed goals and goals were stressed in class." In discussing
his sense of home, he felt that in his four years in the states he had
acclimated himself here and that "subconsciously, I'm an American and
I've readjusted myself to my new home -- which was always my home
on paper." Geoff found support from floor members in his residence
hall and in his network of friends from overseas who were in the
states. Letters from family and time spent with his sister were
his only back-up system. He became acutely aware of this fact at
Thanksgiving. He travelled to visit friends as a way of dealing with
the holiday and his feelings of not having a back-up system. "I
feel comfortable travelling and in another culture -- where things

are at first alien or strange. I really enjoy it."

97

2. Delores, a female college junior of missionary sponsorship
abroad entered college in 1978. She lived abroad sixteen years
and reports six moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences,
Delores states that her parents and the school she went to were
significant in her college choice. "It didn't bother me to leave
overseas to go to college, since everyone was leaving at the same
time to do the same thing." She says she felt ready to graduate and
to go on to something different. She talked to people coming back
from college and asked them what it was like. Catalogs were
also available at her school. She relates that although She considered
India her home -- it was simultaneously a foreign feeling because
of her color. Yet, when she came to the United States, her cultural
values didn't fit. "I've considered being a missionary just to get
oVerseaS because I just feel so unsettled being in the United States.
I'm studying social work so I can work internationally."

Upon entry to college, Delores was fascinated by the luxuries.
"I had no trouble with the place physically or with the academic
work. It was the kids my age that were difficult. Since my
experiences were so different they couldn't relate to me. I had
trouble relating socially." She indicated that attitudes toward
sex, drugs and drinking were more open and that coming from a
missionary environment, she was stricter and more conservative. She
enjoyed the outings and orientation events and was moderately active
in exploring the environment. She felt the large size of college and
not knowing everyone personally were significant changes for her.

Academically, she was well prepared and enjoyed classes.

98

In discussing her adaptation process, Delores was committed to
graduating and articulated the goal that she would choose her major by
the end of Freshman year. Home for her, at this point in time is
college. "I usually feel at home wherever I am." The easiest
transition was boarding since she had been in a boarding school.
The most difficult area for her was social and the "idea of going
out." She disliked parties, crowds and the drinking and loud music
associated with social events. She enjoyed reading books, watching
T.V. and just visiting friends. Her support system consisted of
letters to and from parents and a network of parent's friends
across the country. The presence of international students on
campus also comforted her in the critical times of her transition.
3. Elizabeth, a female college sophomore of missionary sponsorship
abroad entered college in 1978. She lived abroad nine and one-half
years in Kenya, Tanzania and England and reports three moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences,
Elizabeth states that she can't imagine not having lived overseas.
She feels she has a more international outlook on life and doesn't
know if she'll ever be able to settle down. She was very excited
about graduating, the majority of her fellow students would also be
leaving London. According to Elizabeth,"In London we lost 1/3
of our students every year . . . you lost friends quickly and at
graduation I think only one person out of one hundred fifty at my
school didn't go on to college." Her feelings were sadness to leave
London, and excitement about going on to college. She was also
scared. She chose Wooster because of its reputation and the fact
that Wooster had a large number of students from overseas and from

similar situations to hers.

99

Upon entry to college she realized that leaving England was
a sad moment and she was reluctant to give up her life style there.
The fast pace of life was the first fact that struck her on arrival
and she realized that her values and the things she felt important
were not shared by her peers. She experienced acute homesickness
which was reinforced by her accent, choice of words in situations and
the attention that brought from others. She injured her arm and had
to drop off the swim team and that heightened her malaise. She notes
that she actively explored her new environment and discovered she had
been assigned to a special programs residence hall. The size of the
school was overwhelming to her. She set goals for herself to be
happy at the college of her choice and to remain there for four years.
"I've lived many places and I know I can get along if I give the
place a chance." "I'd always known that I would come back to the
United States and I hoped I would fit in, learn and be open to the
people and places." However, she saw many things she didn't like and
wasn't sure the things she liked outweighed the things She didn't. "I
might just end up being overseas for the rest of my life." Home, for
Elizabeth is England, but she can get along here. She misses her family
very much. She became quite ill on arrival and also stayed ill during
the winter quarter.

In reviewing her adaptation, the academic transition was easy.
She mentioned that she had the hardest time in terms of the social
areas and what people like to do: driving, partying, drugs and
drinking. She felt She hadn't experienced very much. She missed
public transport a great deal and felt trapped by a lack of

mobility. Her support network existed in frequent letters to and from

100

the family, and some family friends that lived near the college. She
made one very good friend from her dorm and he helped her to understand
her peers and adjust to her new situation. Elizabeth mentioned
culture shock in terms of the size of things, pace of life, assertive-
ness of people, the availability of goods and the materialism and
ethnocentrism of people in the United States.
4. Harriet, a female college senior of missionary sponsorship
abroad entered college in 1976. She lived abroad for twelve years
and reports five moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences
Harriet notes that she liked it overseas. It's home to her, her
parents are still there and her memories are there. She hopes to
return to Jakarta at the close of college and find work. Harriet
made the decision to go to college herself with the support of her
parents. She discussed the choice with school counsellors, teachers
who were alumni of different stateside schools and by perusing the
catalogs in the school library. "I was a little apprehensive, not
so much about going to college but living in the states on my own
because I had been very dependent and never away from my parents for
any length of time." Harriet was sad to leave Jakarta but excited
about "being an American yet never having been in the states."
She felt this was her chance to discover what being an American
meant. "I was ready to leave high school and come to college and I
felt well prepared."

Upon entry to college, Harriet stuck close to her Freshman
residence hall. She did not actively explore the environment. "I
didn't venture outside the hall. I felt very homesick and did not

feel able to call home when the others did." Harriet didn't know

101

what to expect other than what she read in the catalogs and she found
the information she had read there fairly accurate. Her roommate was
supportive of her and a friend She had known in her overseas school
helped her a lot. He was a class ahead of her. COllegeewasn't.as
rigid, classes were fine although she found keeping up with history
difficult and she articulated goals for herself. Her major goal was
to be a music education major though now she's not sure she wants to
teach. "College is the only environment I've experienced in the
states." She feels at home in the college setting and considers
Jakarta her permanent home.

In discussing her adaptation process, Harriet remembers ten
intensive weeks of being aware of interacting with her new environment
and trying to fit in. "The easiest part for me was academics,
classes. The hardest was relating to my peers because of the
difference in background." "I felt from travelling I was more
open-minded to cultures, other types of people, whereas peOple I came
in contact with lived only in Ohio or in the states and were narrow
in that aspect. That was most difficult." Harriet found support
through letters from home, a brother in Texas, and a network of
overseas friends that lived on the east coast. She visited these
people at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Overall, Harriet notes that
she adapted easily and that surprised her. She expected it to be
much more difficult.

5. .HQXflE: a male college senior of missionary Sponsorship abroad
entered college in 1976. He lived abroad thirteen years and reports
six moves.

In discussing his pre-re-entry, pre-college experience, Wayne

102
states that he learned a lot living overseas. He had integrated
into Turkish society, spoke Turkish and understood living in a
Turkish community. His college counsellor and french teacher helped
him to decide where to go to college and he received some catalogs.
Upon arrival, he noticed a lot of color all over and the varieties
of commodities for sale shocked him. He was extremely conscious of
the packaging of articles and a sanitary feeling. "The amount of
electricity used surprised me. Huge lights all over the place. It
was accepted to use stereos or radios six to eight hours a day."
Wayne needed to learn a new language. "I spoke English but was
afraid of what people might think if I started talking so the first
month I was mute. I didn't speak to anyone unless I was asked a
question and I just absorbed things and observed people without
saying anything." He was happy to be accepted at a School in the
states and did not resent leaving Turkey but rather was excited
at new learning ahead. Wayne did not have any other expectations. He
decided he would take things as they came and he took his first plane
trip across the world alone.

Upon entry to his college environment, Wayne just observed
"figuring out why people did and how they did. I learned a lot faster
but maybe not better." Classes were interesting, difficult and
challenging but he felt more or less prepared. His main goal was
"to understand people around me and get as much out of my classes as
I could and so I had a different attitude from a lot of other people
there." He feels at home in both Turkey and the United States yet
mentioned that he becomes ill when he returns to Turkey now because
he has lost his resistance to bacteria while in the United States.

The easiest transitions for him were classes and being with his friends.

103

The most difficult was social especially "talking to females and
wondering what he should say and why."

In discussing his adaptation process, Wayne noted that for a
long time he was an observer. "By observation it was easier than
learning by mistakes 'cause I didn't have to suffer. I began to
analyze pe0ple." His adaptation process took over a year which
surprised him. "I thought it would only take a couple of months- *I
found that I am adaptable and I can go and live but to find out why I
live in a certain way takes at least a year." "I'm interested in
people and because of that I first observe and try to learn fundamen-
tal things about civilization and integrate them and after that I
go into other things." He developed support from letters from
home and in writing to parents shared impressions of the states with
them. An uncle in the United States also helped him initially. He
felt that his experience in an American type school overseas prepared
him generally for dress and behavior codes on return to the United

States.

Business Dependents

 

6. Benjamin, a male college sophomore of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l978. He lived twelve years abroad and reports
five moves.

In discussing his pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Ben-
jamin relates that the time he spent abroad was the best time of his
life, especially his high school experience in the Netherlands. He
enjoyed the liberal atmosphere there after coming from Brazil and it
was in that environment that he made his decision to go to college.

He had visited an aunt and uncle the summer before his senior year, had

l04
visited Michigan and Michigan campuses, received information
and brochures, applied and was accepted. However, the process of
being accepted was complicated by mail problems at two schools who
sent information to him without appropriate postage and he had to
rely on his Aunt and Uncle to straighten the problems out. In
preparation for coming to college, Benjamin remembers a lot of
pressure. He took his SAT's but feels that living overseas really
distracted him from his studies because there were a "lot more
important things to do: skiing in Austria, lots of fun, exploring
different places." He experienced a very restricted life in Brazil.
"We were not allowed to play in the streets because of security
problems and many threats of kidnapping."

Upon entry to college, Benjamin first noticed ”the big
difference, however, the most difficult thing was not the size but
adjusting to the homogeneity of American life." I'I felt everything
here was mainstreamed; the sameness of the music -- it was all of
one type; the drinking age and all that nonsense here really bugs
me." Benjamin felt many restrictions on his life upon entering
college and re-entering the United States. He actively explored
his new environment and learned about it. His classes were not
difficult for him but the "transition between high school and college
missed or lacked the personal touch." "In the general American
community in Holland people were intensely interactive and open
to relating, over here it was very impersonal. I felt the people
in my dorm were immature. My only goal was to graduate and to enter
engineering." Benjamin said that he expected it to be harder

academically but he also might have had some "repressed expectations"

l05

of the social scene. The academic area was the easiest transition;
the most difficult areas were social and cultural differences.

In discussing his adaptation process, Benjamin reports that
he still has not adapted or adjusted and he is choosing engineering
as a field so he can seek a job that will take him back overseas.
Benjamin characterizes himself as a loner. He derived some support
from the rugby club and his circle of friends in it. He notes that
adapting is different from adjusting. He can adjust to any environ—
ment but culturally, differences complicate things in the adaptation
process. He doesn't feel comfortable in the states. "I also feel a
little alone -- I guess it's an ego-trip -- the idea of being
different." Everything from the music to the police irritate him.
"There's a different idea of everything here: bars overseas are quiet,
living room style places; here they're noisy." In addition to his
rugby club, he developed some support by calling home and visiting.
His parents returned to the states when he did. He also had a
network of overseas friends that he kept in contact with across the
country and in Canada. According to Benjamin, the adaptation period
for third culture students is really very long and sometimes friends
from overseas become crutches for an individual who does not expand
his social circle.
7. Barbara, a female college freshman of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in 1979. She lived abroad for two years and reports
one move.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences,
Barbara mentioned that she really enjoyed the experience overseas.

In being exposed to a new culture, she became aware of her own

l06

narrowness and began to see things in a broader perspective. The
school she attended in Colombia was college preparatory and her parents
supported her in her decision to attend college. A recruiter came
to the school and she wrote and received quite a bit of information
on Wooster. She applied and was accepted. Barbara felt panic in
getting ready to go to college. She is very close to parents and
didn't want to leave them or her friends. She felt she had been
"out of the states so long" that going back was hard to face. She
also was the chief interpreter for her parents and wondered how
they would do without her. Upon entering the United States, however,
she was very happy. She felt that she needed the formal break with
parents and to seek independence. She also was happy to speak:
English and to watch the change of seasons here. Barbara wasn't
sure she was ready to graduate but she was excited by the challenge
it presented.

Upon entry to the college environment, Barbara was passive
in the environment. She felt shy and stated, "even the Americans
in Colombia were sort of Colombianized; they had taken on many
Colombian ways." She was well prepared for her classes but found
them challenging. She found college free and more open where her
high school had been clique-ish. She enjoyed the freedom women had
in the United States and felt the United States was more her home
because the discrimination against women was not so intense. Her
goal was to become independent. Her easiest transitions were to
classes in college and to making friends with women. The most
difficult transition experiences were homesickness and missing

parents and making friends with males.

l07

In discussing her adaptation process, Barbara notes that she
did not have a large back-up system or network of support. Her
roommate helped a great deal and a speaker who spoke on adjusting
during the first week of school was tremendously supportive. She
called home and wrote letters frequently. She became aware that
she was very uncomfortable with some of the standards in Colombia
relative to women as her adaptation proceeded. She was confused
about her feelings on Colombia and felt she needed more time to
completely process them.

8. Bonnie, a female college senior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l976. She lived abroad for four years and
reported four moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences,
Bonnie said she wouldn't trade her experience overseas for anything.
She had always planned to go to college and in her senior year two
of her teachers were very supportive of her in that effort. She
was interested in science, applied to three schools that had fine
science programs and was accepted at all. She chose the one that
had a program that interested her greatly. Bonnie was sad leaving
Japan but others would also be leaving. She had been moving quite a
bit since she was born, both within the states as well as overseas.
Her parents were leaving Japan also though, and she wished that
was not so because she would have liked to be able to go back to
see them.

Upon entry to college, Bonnie was faced with many differences.
She did not understand the social scene, the importance of alcohol

and drugs, the new music, the fact that no one was interested in her

108

experiences or uniqueness. "The culture shock that I didn't have

when I went to Japan, I had on re-entry here." The third culture
community overseas tries to alleviate culture shock. They went through
it themselves and they know ways to prevent it from happening at all.
They know what to do so you don't go through these awful feelings
whereas the kids here ridicule and they're so awful about your

not understanding the language, or slang . . ." Bonnie experienced

a lot of competition in her honors classes. She expected people to be
mature and study oriented and she was "appalled at cheating and the
laissez-faire attitude." Bonnie felt well prepared for her classes
and challenged by them. Her goal was to decide on a career. She
actively explored her new environment, felt the academic areas

proved her easiest transitions and socialization was her most
difficult area of transition." My key problems were being lonesome
and not really fitting in, and sometimes I felt so old in comparison
to others 'cause my values were different and at the same time I

felt really immature."

In discussing the adaptation process, Bonnie notes that it was
her whole freshman year. She felt alienated, homesick for family
and immature. She sought support from a few friends, many calls to
parents and frequent letter writing. In commenting on her feelings
of home and belongingness, Bonnie reports, "There are times when I
still feel out of place in the states but I think I've adapted to
that too. I'd like to go back to Japan but at the same time I
couldn't because I know it's changed -- so I guess I'm more comfor-
table in the U.S. as it is now and in my memories of Japan as it

was then."

l09

9. Beatrice, a female college junior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l977. She lived abroad for two years and reports
four moves.

In discussing pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Beatrice
states that her experience overseas was a very positive one. She notes
that she is not going to stay in the United States and wants to
return overseas. It was always assumed that Beatrice would attend
college and she wished to attend the school her parents had attended.
She had great difficulty getting an application and finally had to
rely on stateside relatives to intervene when letters, telegrams
and telephone calls had not been effective. Beatrice admits being
really petrified at the thought of college. She knew she wouldn't be
home in time for orientation activities and that further worried her.
Her school in Karachi was a "positive, pleasurable school and she
wasn't eager to leave it." She felt "out-of-touch." "I had no
desire to leave overseas mainly because the pace is so much slower
there and I was very, very happy there and not knowing what I was
getting myself into made it much worse." She had developed relation-
ships with Pakistanis and she did not want to leave all that behind her.

Upon entry to college, she actively explored the environment
with her roommate who became a good friend. She noticed many differ-
ences. The size of classes and impersonal presentation of material
overwhelmed her. "We socialized with the teachers overseas. They
were really good friends of mine and I knew them very well." It
was also overwhelming when she went from knowing everybody in the
class overseas to not knowing anybody in the class at Michigan State.

Her major goal was to keep her average above a three point and she

llO

is accomplishing that. She feels more at home in her "overseas"

home than in the United States. Beatrice says she finds it difficult
to relate to the things people think are important here. She feels
American students are narrowminded, prejudiced, and not very open to
new experiences. She feels United States students are cut off.

"We were in Karachi when there was a 24 hour curfew and martial law
and it didn't affect me the way a lot of people would think it did."
The easiest transitions for her were in the academic areas; the

most difficult were in the social area. As Beatrice put it, "bringing
myself down to where they look at things was very difficult. I had
trouble establishing that."

In discussing her adaptation process, Beatrice drew a lot of
support from her family and took on three jobs to finance a return to
Pakistan in that summer. She feels she is still in her adaptation
period and she still observes and watches people. Not being able to
drive, or having a driving license was critical during this period
for Beatrice. Her key event was getting her license and being able
to be mobile again. She disliked the cold in the United States and
found it added to feelings of despondency. Beatrice reports,
"Students who graduate from overseas schools have a different outlook
toward a lot of things that affects how they deal with people." A
friend from her overseas school visited her and she found that even
though they had not been close overseas, she could relate better to
her than the closest stateside friend because "she could totally see
where I was coming from and why I felt the way I felt." Keeping
in contact with the overseas network of people helped Beatrice a

lot. Beatrice feels her adaptation period is awful. Her goals are

lll

to stay alive while in Michigan and to go overseas through the Peace
Corps when she graduates.

l0. Federico, a male college freshman of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l979. He lived abroad for sixteen years and
reports one move.

In discussing his pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences,
Federico states that he feels and identifies as a Latin American
since he has lived his life since he was four years old in that
environment. He decided to come to college in the United States
because the program in the field of telecommunications was more
advanced here. He applied to the most progressive programs listed in
catalogs and decided to come to Michigan State. He was nervous
before coming to college in the United States. He knew he would
miss orientation activities and hoped he could cope with the new
environment. In another way, he was excited about a new horizon
and a new frontier. He was very busy before coming and so he
didn't think too deeply on it. He noted that coming to the states
for school was much more expensive than staying in Lima so he
wanted to learn as much as possible from the experience.

Upon entry to the United States and arrival at college,

Federico experienced what he called culture shock. He was in an
overassigned room, floor party behaviors (drinking and smoking pot)
upset him greatly and his roommate threw him out of his room so that

a girlfriend could stay there. Federico felt these behaviors were

too liberal and he changed rooms and sought to modify his situation.
He was passive in exploring the environment. He characterizes himself

as an observer, "as one who interacts after others have made the

ll2
first move." He found he was well prepared for his classes, had good
study habits and the academic transition was the easiest. Most
difficult for him was adjusting to the social aspects of college
life, the American style of life and culture shock in general.
He feels his home is definitely Lima and he will return there as soon
as his academic work is completed.

In discussing his adaptation process, Federico explained that
he could not adjust to the liberalized social mores he found in the
United States. A friend of his father's who lived in the community
invited him to spend most of his free time with the family. He chose
to do this. He also wrote many letters home, telephoned frequently
and returned during vacation periods. Federico does not think he
will adapt to the United States; in fact, if he adjusts at all he
thinks it will only be in the academic area.

ll. Frances, a female college senior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l976. She lived abroad for seventeen years and
reports three moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Frances
reports that living abroad broadened her view of the scope of the
world. She feels very fortunate to have "seen everyplace and
experienced different cultures." She applied to a university near
where her brother lived in the states and once accepted, made plans
to attend. Before coming to the United States and entering college,
Frances began to withdraw from others in her overseas setting. She
lost a lot of weight and describes herself during this period as a
loner, selfish and scared. She felt she wanted to leave Japan and

leave her overseas high school. She accelerated her senior class

113

year, graduated in January and worked in a Japanese restaurant for six

months while touring Japan for the last time. She came to the states

and reports, "I was ready for a change with open arms when I came."
Upon entering college, Frances felt like a left-over from Japan,

noticeably different and very naive. She reports that she didn't know

how to drive, or balance a checkbook and found it degrading to have to

use her passport for identification purposes. She was amazed at the

bigness of everything from cars to the school itself and she felt

anonymous. She experienced cultural and academic problems, was

treated by others who didn't appreciate her experiences as "Miss

rich girl," and couldn't play softball. She learned to play softball

and is now on the team. Frances feels her adaptation is still on-going

but the beginning was the roughest time for her. She expected to jump

right in and be mature and adapt quickly but that did not happen.

She was passive at first in exploring the environment. She felt that

she needed to work so She got a job in the area of nutrition. She felt

well prepared for classes but found that difficult at the outset.

Her goals were to get through college, to do well and to please

her parents. Presently, Frances feels at home in Michigan. Both

parents are American citizens and so she knew at some point she

would surely return here. She is very sad about leaving Japan and

forgetting the Japanese language. Her most difficult area of

transition was in the social area of being accepted. She relates,

"I was very much different and when I first wanted to come back I

was proud of that difference. I was proud of saying I was

different but ggt_proud of the difference. She reports that her

loneliness was self-indulged and her peers built a wall because of

ll4
her father's executive position overseas. She very much cherished

the idea of going to college, being with people who could speak
English and having the same culture as those around her.

In discussing her adaptation, Frances says it's still happening.
Building support consisted for her in many telephone calls to family.
She also wrote many letters and got together with family as much as
possible. Not having a car presented a big problem. Her friendship
with a male peer was very important to her and working brought her
great satisfaction. She notes that she chose to be lonely at the
beginning and indulged herself thereby delaying the on-going
process of adaptation. She was firmly committed to completing
college but was sad about the losses of overseas experience.
l2. gang, a male college senior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in 1976. He lived abroad for eighteen years and
reports six moves.

In discussing pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Gavin
discusses his feelings about being overseas. He reports, "I
absolutely love being overseas and I hope to continue to go abroad."
He applied to the college his two sisters went to because he was
impressed with alumni from there. Gavin had been to the states once
every year so going to college was not an overwhelming step for him.
He was excited, ready to leave but apprehensive about unfamiliar
American customs such as T.V., drinking and drugs. He did not do
any significant preparation, just decided "to feel the experiences
out.“

Upon entry to college, he was happy to be coming to a small

school and that made a difference to him. He felt he would be an

ll5

underdog since he was so unfamiliar with the environment. He actively
explored the environment. Gavin states, I'I jumped into everything
and sank. I participated in student government, craft classes,
lectures, frisbee, waterpolo, everything." In sports, you came
from being a star overseas to barely qualifying for participation.
It was a blow to his ego. The easiest transitions for him were just
making friends. The most difficult transition areas were academic
competitiveness, the social practices of drinking, drug use and
homogeneity of music. People were not aware of diversity in either
music or recreational activities. "I wouldn't want to use the word
ignorance in a derogatory sense, but they just were not aware,"
Gavin states.

In reviewing his adaptation process, Gavin notes that he
has adapted to Amercan ways. He made different groups of friends to
fill his support needs: those willing to discuss and those not.
"I've made myself aware that - not being cocky - I'm the international
person they can refer to. I start up arguments and discussions . . .
I try to get them into my Sphere of thinking." I joined a local
fraternity and that helped me with the balance. He returned to
Iran for visits and he wrote many letters. Peers were significant
to him. "They didn't understand where I was coming from but they
were willing to put up with me.
l3. geeege, a male college senior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in 1976. He lived abroad eight years and reports
three moves.

In discussing his pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, George

relates that he enjoyed living overseas, meeting all the different

ll6
people, getting a world perspective, seeing the geography and the
beaches. His parents were significant to him in making the choice to
go to college and when his family came home on home leave, he looked
at colleges in the area where his parents had lived. George didn't
prepare for coming back and it was only when his ideas for a con-
struction job didn't pan out that he decided to actually enter
college. As far as returning from Iran to attend college, George
notes, "I always thought it was going to come and we'd have to come
back," He felt good about graduating and entering college since he
hadn't really planned on it.

Upon entering college, George experienced culture shock. He
experienced more "culture shock" in returning to the United States
than he had in moving from South Africa to Iran. That fact surprised
him. He had trouble getting back into the American life style and
way of life. He describes it as "doing bongs, jive talking and
playing basketball." George had never played basketball; overseas,
rugby and soccer had been his sports outlets. He did not initially
explore his environment actively, but he waited for things to happen
and didn't participate much. He felt academically well prepared and
had expected to fit in quickly. He felt college work was more
interesting and rewarding. He did not articulate any goals. Easiest
transitions fOr him were in the academic area and most difficult were
social events, "group things, parties and floor activities." He
couldn't get along with his peers on his residence hall floor.

"Whey were jocks and only into football. I lived there a year and
then moved off-campus. It was much better."

In discussing his adaptation experiences, George notes that

ll7

"culture shock" was a large part of it. His support base consisted
of one good friend that he made early in the year, calls and letters
to parents, visiting his brother in the states and returning during
Christmas and summer holidays to Iran. He feels South Africa is home
but is devel0ping an interest in international politics and in choosing
a major in that area has become disturbed about apartheid and its
ramifications. "I experienced a lot of alienation. I was
alienated by attitudes people had about things that were different ~-
the grOUp mentality. Expressions and ways of doing things were strange.
It was a stage in my life. Moving -- you don't have a firm base to
set growth in or look back on or set future goals from." George
immersed himself in studying politics and reading.
l4. Henrietta, a female college junior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l977. She lived abroad for eighteen years and
reports five moves.

In discussing pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences Henrietta
stated that she felt positive about her overseas experience. She
noted that the experience gave her a world perspective and she
viewed countries more objectively. Her decision to go to college was
most influenced by her parents and the environment of a college
preparatory school. Everyone in her class was going to college so it
seemed a natural event. She reviewed catalogues and brochures, met a
recruiter from one college and applied to three schools. Her family
made a trip to the states the summer of her junior year so that she
could view different college environments. She selected an environment
close to some family friends. Henrietta spent her whole year thinking

about what she had seen in the summer and she felt that visit

ll8

helped to reduce the culture shock she experienced. She was excited
to be going to college because she wanted to be a certified teacher.

Upon entry to college, Henrietta experienced feelings of
strangeness. She says, "I thought I could never live here. But
then I thought I could probably live anywhere." "I think I could
stay in the states for a while but eventually I would like to live
in Europe." Conversation, according to Henrietta, had to do with
peers sharing high school experiences. She felt detached from
varsity sports and high school band chatter and it made her feel very
different. People were not interested in her high school experiences.
She felt very homesick and uncomfortable and searched for people with
foreign experience. She associated with some foreign students but
that wasn't exactly the same. In recounting her expectations of the
new environment, Henrietta says, "I expected that people would not
understand and so I purposely detached myself. I think I expected the
fast pace, big shopping center, lots of chewing gum: the stereo-
typical. I also expected a tranquil college environment. I wasn't
really sure how to act as a college student in terms of what is
done and what isn't." Henrietta was really passive in terms of
exploring the environment for half of her first year. Easiest areas
of transition for her were academic and the freedom she experienced
to structure her own time; most difficult were social areas, fitting
in, knowing how to act. Her goals were to prepare to teach school and
to have a really good college experience.

In discussing her adaptation process, Henrietta notes that
initially it was a negative experience fraught with culture shock,

confusion and general ambiguity of feelings. Although she enjoys the

ll9

freedom in the United States, she still views Europe as her home and
wants to return there. During initial adaptation, the need to talk.
about what you're experiencing with someone is very important. She
wrote letters and received them frequently. She also called home
and returned overseas twice a year. Each time she returned she went
through a mini-shock again. "Each time I came back with somewhat the
same feelings. Perhaps going home wasn't real good." According to
Henrietta, "bringing people together who can share experiences is
the best thing" and would provide the most support.

l5. Heee, a male college junior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l977. He lived abroad for five years and reports
one move.

In discussing his pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Hans
notes that living overseas taught him a lot and he feels he under-
stands people better but in another sense it hindered him because
when he returned he experienced strong culture shock. Hans' parents
were significant in his decision to go to college and since he figured
that eventually he would be living in the states permanently, he
decided to go to school in his home state, Michigan. Originally, he
decided to go to a school that had an excellent wrestling team and at
the same time an osteopathic medical school. He reviewed catalogs and
brochures and made his choice. Hans talked to people who were going
to college when they returned to England to visit. He felt it was
hard to prepare himself for the experience because he didn't have
enough information. Counselors were helpful to him but he wanted to
see the campuses. It was hard for him to leave London and his girl-

friend there but he was excited to be coming to University.

l20

Upon entry to college, Hans experienced social problems. He
disliked his freshman male peers intensely. "They seemed about five
years younger than the people I had been with over in England. They
were all getting away from home for the first time and going nuts,
going wild." Drinking behaviors disgusted him. He had been
drinking for several years but not merely to get drunk. He was
extremely homesick for his family and his girlfriend. He felt that he
had been set down in "a whole race of teenagers," living in a town
where everybody was the same age. He was passive in terms of exploring
the environment but if he had to do it over again he would be much
more active. Professors tested you, not on the material but your
ability, according to him. He had to quit the wrestling team because
coping with the environment and attending to academics became full-
time pursuits. He felt intense stress and culture shock. The
easiest area for him to cope with was academics. The most difficult
area was the peer group. He got involved in a fight and changed
residences. He found two alumni from his overseas school and moved
on the floor where they lived. He socialized with them and began
to be more a part of things.

In discussing his adaptation to the new environment, Hans
says it lasted in its initial phases more than six months. People
were not interested in hearing about his experiences so he didn't
share information but felt a great need to do so. He felt he was
broadminded as a result of his overseas experience, open to diversity,
more cultured. He knew-more than his peers and had developed
more from his point of view. Teachers overseas were personable and

cared as opposed to the professors he met in the University. His

l2l
interest in science grew out of a biology class and a physiology

class in High School that was fantastic. At the University level,
teachers weren't interesting and didn't care about students according
to Hans. He changed from a science major, abandoned ideas of medical
school and went into packaging which he is enjoying. His major goals
were to get good grades and continue wrestling. He discontinued
wrestling because culture shock, academic pressure, dieting and
practice were too much for him. He returned to England for vacations,
called and wrote home. His two overseas friends at the same college
were also a support for him.

16. Hjlge, a female college freshman of business sponsorship

abroad entered college in l979. She lived abroad eighteen years and
reported four moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Hilda
reported that she was grateful for it. She felt lucky, broadened by
the experience ofneeting new people and experiencing other cultures,
and excited and scared anticipating college. Her parents encouraged
her in making the choice to attend college and a college recruiter
who visited her school shared many ideas with her on college choice.
She received brochures and made her choice. She chose a college where
other friends had gone. Her school had a senior seminar course to
prepare the seniors for the college experience ahead. Hilda felt
it was very helpful. Forty seniors out of forty in her graduating
class went on to college. "Although I didn't want to leave Korea,

I guess I had always planned on coming back to the states to go to
college so I accepted the fact of return."

Upon entering the United States, she was met by her grandparents

122

and taken to college.. She mentions that she had a good advisor and

that her only expectation was to get a good education. She was
passive in interacting initially with the environment. The easiest
transitions for her were in the academic area. The most difficult
area was the social one. Coming from a Missionary school, she was
conservative, shy. She felt old-fashioned and didn't like partying
behavior. She felt there was a great emphasis on drinking. Another
key problem for her was that her parents had returned to the states
and her father had been called off on business to China while her
mother was eXperiencing intense culture shock. Both she and her
mother shared the difficulties of adjustment over the telephone.

It was quite depressing.

In discussing her adaptation period, Hilda notes that she made
two good friends who helped her a great deal. She wrote and called
home frequently and kept in touch with a network of overseas friends.
She continues to regard overseas as home since she grew up there.
"Overseas people mind their own business more. I don't know if
that's really true but overseas you live in big cities and here
it's more rural." In terms of leisure time, Hilda remarked on the
fact that in the United States people always had to be doing some-
thing. Overseas, there really wasn't much to do because there
was curfew from l2p.m. to 4 a.m. but people had fun just being
together. People here in the United States had different values
and the environment was too liberal for her taste. Hilda chose to
go into the Computer Science field so she could be employed overseas.
"I like moving around rather than living in one place." According
to Hilda, it is important to be able to share experiences during the

adaptation process with other third culture students. Two really

l23

good friends of hers were interested in her overseas experience and
let her talk about it. She also got involved in a volunteer program
-- Boys' Village -- which made her feel wanted and needed during this
period. She is continuing her involvement with it.

l7. Keeee, a female college senior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l976. She lived abroad fifteen years and reports
five moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Karen
relates that her overseas experience was wonderful. She enjoyed
getting to know the people, different life styles and the beauty of
different countries. Teachers played a significant role in Karen's
decision to attend college and her choice of school and program was
made on the basis of which ones would facilitate a return overseas
for her. Since she had spent so much time living in hotels and she
liked it, she decided on a Hotel and Restaurant major and a university
that offered a fine program in that area. Karen was sad leaving
her overseas high school and her friends. She originally wanted to go
to Switzerland and stay in Europe so she wouldn't lose her languages
but part of her also wanted to come to the United States. She felt
ready to go to college and thought the time right to re-enter if she
ever was going to re-enter.

Upon entry to college, Karen thought the dorms were like
prison cells and "I swore I'd never stay in them." She started to
work immediately in the dorm on a paint crew and made friends with
her fellow workers. She actively explored the environment and
articulated her goals as graduating in Hotel and Restaurant Manage-

ment and returning overseas. The easiest area of transition for her

l24

was getting to know people. The most difficult was starting to talk
to people. She found they were not interested in her experiences.
She wanted to talk about things she knew. Others would "tune out."
Her English wasrnt too good on return and that was another problem
for her. Classes were not difficult except in the area of English
writing. She received word of friends from her overseas school and
one of her best friends had a nervous breakdown upon return. She
found that depressing. She feels at home nowhere. "I have no sense
of home, now."

In discussing her adaptation, she notes that it was difficult
but she feels she made it. The Counseling Center had good programs
and the support of her boyfriend and the paint crew were crucial.

She was upset by not being able to drive and got her license as soon
as possible. Karen felt that was an important part of what people
did here. Her adaptation is still on-going. She did not return
overseas since her parents are now en route to a new post, Venezuela,
after having returned to the states. Working helped her adapt more
easily.

18. Iegje, a female college junior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l977. She lived abroad seven years and reported
one move.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Tania
reports that her overseas experience enriched her background and
helped her to appreciate diversity and differing cultures. Her
parents were significant to her in making the choice to go to college.
In fact, it was not a choicefOr her but a parental expectation.

Tania wanted to go to Veterinary School and some student teachers

125

assigned to her overseas school interested her in Michigan State.
She applied to four schools; was accepted at four and chose Michigan
State. Tania had transferred from British to American school to
avoid the pressure of A levels and to facilitate her entrance to
college in the United States. As a United States citizen, she felt
it important to come to the United States for college and she noted
that overseas "Americans and British don't associate even though they
speak the same language. They stick in their own little groups and
it's hard to understand when they're all part of an English-speaking
minority!‘ Her American school helped her to apply and facilitated
her acceptance to college.

Upon entering college, Tania felt lost. The largeness of the
college environment overwhelmed her. She expected fences around it
but didn't see any. She was moderately active in exploring her new
environment. She found the academic area her easiest transition
even though her pre-vet classes were challenging. She liked the
convenience and modernness of the states but felt the pace was very
fast. Social patterns were the most difficult to handle, the use of
slang, the things American teenagers did that she didn't know about.
She said her values were British -- and Chinese-American and noted,
"I had to keep my eyes open and observe to see what I was supposed to
do!’ It was very difficult realizing that people were not going to
do things for her here. She had to do things for herself. That
represented quite a change for her.

In discussing her adaptation, Tania says it took a good term.
It was difficult to adjust to the freedom especially in social life.

She wasn't used to the spontaneity she found in the states. "I was

l26
always turning around to ask permission and I couldn't so it was
strange." She developed support by visiting at Christmas break,
calling frequently and having her father call her. She became good
friends with her roommate and visited her roommate's home. She
noted a “bunch of adaptive things' in talking about her own adaptation.
For a third culture person, it is important to share what you're going
through with people who understood. The fast-pace in the states
combined with culture shock makes re-entry a difficult time. It
is important to realize that people in the states "can't understand
other places or bi-lingual settings" and that makes it all much more
taxing.
19. Ieee, a female college junior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l977. She lived abroad for six years and she
reports one move.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre—college experiences, Tora
notes that she enjoyed living overseas a great deal but she initially
had trouble adjusting to her overseas move. It took her at least a
year and the realization of the fact that she could travel to make her
attitude a positive one. In retrospect and irrespective of the first
year, Tora valued the experience highly. The decision to go to
college was not hers but an enduring expectation her parents had for
all children in the family. She was in a college-preparatory
environment where 98% of the students attended college, the rest
some specialized European post-secondary experience. She attended
the same school as her parents did. She had visited the school on a
trip to the United States when she was in tenth grade and talked to

the Admissions Director. She enjoyed her visit very much. She was

127

worried about the size of the institution but the Director

pointed out that it was like a small city and sooner or later the
transition to largeness would have to be made so it might as well be
made at the college level. She registered for a small residential
college within the larger University environment. In addition to her
visit to the states, her college had a college day and she wrote for
information brochures and catalogs and filled out applications to
three schools. Once she had made her choice of schools, she was

able to be in the states in time for Orientation which was helpful

to her.

Upon entry to college, Tora saw her peers with their parents at
Orientation and she felt independent to be able to go through it
alone. "I was independent and I could walk on my own and get around
by myself. . . I thought: I can do it on my own and my peers seemed
as children with their parents.“ She was exhausted. The conveniences
in the United States amazedher and she couldn't believe that
students could have pizzas delivered to their rooms by making a
telephone call. Although there was a feeling of independence, Tora
also felt very alone. She remarks, "I knew I was going to be the only
one from my high school there and I had no connections anywhere in the
United States." She observed people carefully and met a young man the
first week who was to be her boyfriend for a long time. Easiest
for Tara were her classes but although they did not present over-
whelming difficulties, they were challenging. Most difficult for her

was the experience of culture shock, managing her time in doing final

128

papers and balancing the academic and social aspects of life. "When
I came here it was like I blossomed." "Socially, I had a blast."
People's attitudes were another problem for her though she could be
friends with anybody, she felt people in the states were narrow.

She did not enjoy the way people "party-ed" but found they accepted
her even if she didn't participate in the drugs and drinking.

In discussing her adaptation, Tora states that she called home
frequently and wrote many letters. The president of her overseas
class committed suicide in California, another overseas classmate
developed anorexia nervosa and Tora wondered how she was hanging on.
She felt tension building and worried a lot initially. She mentions
that her network was really important to her and when things built up
to a fever pace she "wrote like crazy" or visited a friend from
overseas at another campus. When her parents returned to the United
States it re-opened the whole adaptation process for her. She had
become aware of the telephone as a way of doing business errands,
she felt adapted and tried to help the rest of the family on their
re-entry. She sought help at the counseling center during the toughest
times. She notes that adaptation is experienced differently by
different people based on how you view the experience, how independent
and outgoing you are and how well you are able to adjust. Tora feels
if you adjusted well to your overseas posts you probably will on
re—entry and the adjustment pattern may be a parallel one. For her,
it seemed to be. She also felt that length of stay made a difference.
One of her friends who had been overseas for only a year had the
worse re-entry experience reported to her by her overseas friends.

She also notes that it's important to know that you can go back.

129

"I would have died if I couldn't go back." Going back gave her
closure, a sense of finishing. Finally, Tora felt how much you
interacted with the culture you were in and how much a part of the
overseas host culture you become is a crucial factor in re-entry and
adaptation on return.

20. Ibemee, a male college freshman of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in l979. He lived abroad for eight years and reports
one move.

In discussing his pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Thomas
states that he loved living overseas. His parents were more free
and living was less restricted for him. It was assumed that when he
graduated, the family would return to the United States and parents
were significant in helping him with his college choice. All his
friends were leaving. He was sad to leave Germany and his friends but
excited to go to college and involve himself in a wider variety of
activities and events.

Upon entry to college, Thomas went through the orientation
process and was overwhelmed by the size of the place. He enjoyed the
friendliness of people and attended the opening football game. His
sister was attending the same university so he also spent some time
with her. He actively explored the campus and tried to get involved
though he says that is not his usual style. He prefers to observe
and wait for things to happen. His goals, though he didn't articulate
any at that time were in the areas of sports and academics. Easiest
for him were transitions in the academic area. Most difficult for him
was dealing with the United States environment which he felt was

very restricted. He felt people always telling him what to do. It

l3O
built up so badly one night that when his Resident Assistant in his
Residence Hall told him to turn his music down, he went outside and
started to steal license plates. "It was my frustration I would
guess you would say, from all this buildup." He is now on probation
and working on some special projects with a counselor. Thomas feels
his adaptation is still going on. He doesn't like his peers and
says he's difficult to live with so it's hard to find people to move
off campus with and get an apartment. His family has been his
support base. He feels his morals are different and different
things are important to him. Thomas notes that young people
drink to get drunk and those who don't drink put on a self-righteous
attitude. "Overseas the people that drank and the people who didn't
drink would all get together and have a good time.“ He feels that's
not so here and he misses the openness and freedom he felt he had
overseas.
2l. Weggy, a female college junior of business sponsorship abroad
entered college in 1977. She lived overseas seven years and reports
three moves.

In discussing her pre-re-entry, pre-college experiences, Wendy
noted that she loved being overseas, seeing different things,
different cultures, peoples and attitudes. It had a great effect on
her. Wendy had no intention at all of going to college. She went as
a result of a friend in the states sending an application request in
for her and pressuring her to follow through.. She did so, was
accepted and decided to study microbiology as a way of returning
overseas. She did not get ready to go to college because she didn't

expect to go and after her acceptance she just left Mexico and arrived

l3l
here in the states. She felt if she were going to college at all, it

might as well be in the United States so that her degree would be
internationally recognized. She was ready to graduate and ready for
a new experience.

Upon entry to college, Wendy found that she was tripled in her
room and that was a disaster for her. Easiest areas for her to adjust
to were the academic ones. She also enjoyed meeting people but
didn't feel she got to know them and loved being in a youth environment.
She went to every concert possible and actively explored the environ-
ment. Most difficult for her was the lack of public transportation.
She says, "You can't travel around the City of Lansing as easily as
you could around Mexico City which was five times as large. She
missed the personal contact in her classes but made a close friend
out of one of her roommates. She expected pe0ple to be very intelli-
gent at college and involved in intellectual discussions. She did not
find that to be true. She found major differences in the area of
sports and had a lot of trouble getting involved in varsity sports
since her school had not been scouted. Her goals were to keep her
grade point up, to graduate, to get to know the United States again
and to return overseas. She feels that her sense of home is still
connected with overseas. ”People overseas are easier to get to
know, more Open and they appreciate me more over there." Americans
were friendly on the surface but in reality more cold, according to
her perceptions. She also hates the cold weather and had no winter
clothes.

In discussing her adaptation process, Wendy felt that her

participation in a spanish dialogue conversation group helped her a

l32
great deal. She called home a few times, wrote many letters and
got a good deal of support from her friend in Detroit, who had
pressured her to come to college, and her one roommate. She spent
time with her roommate's family and they made a "home away from home"
for her. She was surprised at the narrowmindedness of the American
public school system and the lack of exposure Americans had to
other people and other cultures. She missed her overseas environ-

ment very much.

Analysis of Re-Entry and Adaptive Experiences as
Reported by Interviewees

 

 

In the foregoing section, a description of the pre-re-entry
situation, college entry experiences and perceived adaptation trans-
actions are presented for each subject. These presentations are
included for the purpose of identifying themes both reported on
re-entry to the United States and on entry to the college environ-
ment so that the adaptive process of third culture students may be
studied and significant themes for this population may be further
analyzed in the light of current literature and scholarship and
the scheme of Dr. Raines in investigating the adaptation of United
States students. An overview of all the experiences of all the sub-
jects provides a framework for understanding the perceptions subjects
have of their overseas environment, the initial impressions they make
on re-entering the United States in their college enviornments and
the process of adaptation involved as they re-enter the United States
and enter college. For purposes of analysis, major themes from among
some of the commonalities observed are selected.

As the transcriptions of interviews were studied and the per-

ceptions of the subjects reviewed, it appeared that Raines' adaptive

133

transactions did play a part in the adaptation process of the subjects,
however, although the components were similar, the dynamics and content
of the transaction management differed. In identifying themes, it
seemed appropriate to begin with the areas identified by Raines and

his colleagues yet to state those areas in terms of the approaches

and descriptions that third culture experienced youth gave them.

There appears to be a high degree of congruence in the content of each
area but a divergence in process as third culture youth approach their
adaptive transactions from their experiential base and sense of self
discussed in the previous chapter.

The themes students articulated the most frequently centered
around the importance of their overseas experience to them and the
positive value they placed upon it; the "fact of return" that they
internalized while living overseas and the appropriateness of that
return event at the time of college entrance; the sense of loss and
feelings of grieving associated with return to the United States;
the frustration of not being able to share their overseas experi-
ences fully with peers and certain judgments they made on their
United States peers because of that fact; the difficulty they exper-
ienced in the social area of interaction and the ease they experienced
in the academic area; the articulated goal to return overseas for
career possibilities; and the perception of self as observer, not
participator, in the entry to college, re-entry to the United States
event.

In reviewing the transcriptions of the interviews, it appeared
that these expressed themes did conform roughly~ to some of the

adaptive transaction areas identified by Raines and his colleagues in

134

investigating the adaptation of United States freshmen. The content
of the transactions: activating commitment, developing support,
adjusting expectations, prioritizing goals and transposing identity,
appeared to be present in the adaptive process of third culture
students but the complications of mobility experience, re-entry and
culture shock, divergent valuing frameworks and a developmental
difference in third culture students in the areas of identity formation
and ambivalent perceptions of self, emerge strongly.

The analysis of the experiences shared by third culture inter-
viewees through the matrix of adaptive transactions postulated for the
United States college entry students at Michigan State seemed appro-
priate in order to assess the degree of congruence in the nature of
adaptation to college for third culture students as compared with their
United States peers and the areas of divergence within these adaptive
transactions. The reasons why this divergence might occur is also
explored from the framework of experiences shared in the areas of
perception of self and perception of environment articulated by third
culture interviewees.

Commitment to the New Environment in Relation to
the Subjects' Perception of Home

 

Success in adjusting or adapting to a new environment requires a
certain level of commitment to that adjustment. An ability to fit
readily into normal patterns in an environment facilitates the deeper
aspects of adaptation in a new environment. The subjects in this study
share the reality of a mobile overseas pattern of life. They have
experienced series of adjustments to different countires and cultures

in the framework of integral nuclear families. They are all sponsored

l35
in their overseas role by business or missionary groups and their
presence in the overseas setting is derived from the fact of sponsor-
ship. Since in all cases presented here, that sponsorship center is
located in the United States, orders to move, levels of position,
salary and economic benefits are determined in the United States and
periods of "home leave" designate the United States as a "home" base.
This is true for both the missionary and business TCK's interviewed
and is expressed by them. The very fact of ”return" and when it will
be is determined in the United States by the sponsoring organization's
executive leadership. These facts are critical in viewing the commit-
ments both to re-entry and to college entry on the part of the sub-
jects interviewed. In discussing the level of commitment more diffi-
culty arises.

The third culture is a homogeneous one in relation to the facts of
entry to the culture and return from it. Entry to the third culture is
generally determined by a sophisticated knowledge base in a certain
area. Return is assured, at some point, because the generations in the
third culture exist only in terms of the length of time and experience
in that culture. There are no "old age roles“ in the third culture nor
need for a gerontology of third culture persons in a chronological sense.
The "fact of return" is internalized in each third culture member but

feelings about return orvabout what will happen on return or how return

 

activities will be managed are not carefully planned.
Geoff (missionary) relates:

Subconsciously I'm an American and I've readjusted myself
to my new home what was always my home on paper.

Elizabeth (missionary) notes:

I'd always know that I would come back to the United States

136

and I hoped I would fit in, learn and be open to the
people and places.

Harriet (missionary) notes:

I was excited about being an American yet never having
been in the states. Coming to college was my chance to
discover what being an American meant.

Beatrice (business) offers:

It was assumed by my parents, school and myself that I
would attend college and return to do that in the United States.

Frances (business) was anxious to return to the states and
comments:
I was ready for a change with open arms when I came. Since
my parents were American citizens, I knew I would surely return
to the United States.

George (business) relates:

I always thought it was going to come and we'd have to come
back.

Hans (business) notes that he always figured that eventually he
would be living in the states so he decided to go to school in his
parents' home state.

Hilda (business) states:

Although I didn't want to leave Korea, I guess I had always

planned on coming back to the states to go to college so I

accepted the fact of return.

Tania, as a United States citizen, shared that she felt it was very
important to come to the United States for college.

Students interviewed always responded to questions about return as
if it were a definite phase in their mobility process. However, the fact
of return and the implementation and duration of that return are different
matters. Return for most was but one more move, one more phase in the

mobility process.

Acceptance of the"fact of return" generated an initial commitment to

137

re-entry. Many felt that the adjustments made to other cultures and
other geographic locations would help them in the re-entry process.
However, most expressed that indeed it was not so for them and they
were surprised. This affected the level and intensity of their commit-
ment after the first days of re—entry.

In their overseas environments, subjects were very much influenced
by their sponsorship reality, and the support services provided directly
or indirectly by their fathers' work in the overseas area. They enjoyed
privileges, travel, and a better than average socioneconomic reality
as a result of the sponsorship role that their fathers were expected to
play in the international Sphere. The responsibility deriving from
the privilege of such an enhanced life-style became the obligation to be
role models in the social, academic and personal spheres. Norming in the
third culture resulted from observing both within the "environmental
bubble" as well as the host national environment. Parents are held
responsible for the behavior of dependents and behavior which threatens
the sponsor has an effect on parental employment. Observation was im-'
portant and the subjects referred to themselves frequently as observers.
The third culture American environment was assumed by subjects to be a
valid piece of American culture, complete with school and services. The
overseas school fostered that impression. It was expected that this
"environmental bubble" was what each would find on return. Dissonance
resulted when the "environmental bubble" experienced abroad was not
congruent with the culture to which they returned. Levels of commitment
were reduced in the case of many and surface adjustment became the
priority. The subjects who considered themselves very highly visible

Americans overseas found themselves peripheral Americans on return. This

138

was less true for some of the missionary subjects in third world environ-
ments than for missionary or business dependents in Western environments.
Unfamiliar with the socialization patterns experienced by peers, unable
to share experiences and feel understood, unaccustomed to the social
norms and uninitiated into the developmental stages that United States
experienced high school students had undergone, they were shocked into
realizing that they were more different from their United States peers
than they had anticipated and that diversity and uniqueness were not
highly valued in the new environment.

Barbara relates:

Even the Americans in Colombia were sort of Colombianized;
they had taken on many Colombian ways.

Frances states:

I was very much different and when I first wanted to come
back I was proud of that difference. I was proud of saying that
I was different but not proud of the difference after a while.
Many subjects commented on the differences of scale, the size was

overwhelming to them and the impersonality of the environment.
According to Benjamin:

In the general American community in Holland people were
intensely interactive and open to relating. Over here it was
very impersonal.

The homogeneity of the college culture, which for this population
became American culture, also alarmed them. Benjamin reports:

I felt everything was mainstreamed: the sameness of the
music -- it was all of one type; the drinking age and all that
nonsense here really bugs me.

Hans relates that he felt he had been set down in a~"whole race of
teenagers", living in a town where everybody was the same age.

Most subjects agreed that they were committed to graduation and to

adjusting to the environment in order to facilitate that objective but

l39
for many the level of commitment to return to the United States and to
adapt to the United States environment remains a superficial one. Sub-
jects continue to chronicle this experience as one of many in a mobile

life pattern.

 

VDevelopjng Support in the New Environment

Building a resource system that facilitates transition is an impor-
tant aspect of adaptive transactions. In the overseas environment, net—
works of support are established to facilitate the mission of persons
representing the United States abroad. From one geographic location to
another these networks differ but they are usually present in each loca-
tion. There has always been a type of parochialism attached to American
communities abroad and at this particular historic time that appears more
true than ever of the "environmental bubbles" of American culture the
subjects experienced. This parochialism is necessary to protect the
primary reason for third culture mediation to be there and to success-
fully address their primary tasks. Changes in the international situation
affect the third culture community rapidly. Strategies to implement
safety and security measures are planned and immediately implemented.
In a time of increased terrorism and political instability, hostages,
international kidnapping and curfews, subjects stated the support they
felt from leaders of the overseas community was extremely strong and
reassuring. On their return to the United States, their expectations of
a support group already established, were an internalized part of their
overseas historic experience.

Bonnie relates:

The third culture community overseas alleviates culture

shock. They all went through it themselves and they know ways
to prevent it from happening at all. They know what to do so

140

you don't go through these awful feelings whereas the

kids here ridicule you and they're so awful about your

not understanding the language or slang..."

Overseas communities are frequently protective of their members.
Valued persons in representative roles are frequently vulnerable in the
international sector. The absence of the extended family group is filled
by the network of friends and colleagues stationed in a particular place
at a particular time. Parents provide the overwhelming support for
their dependents. The series of particular moves of a family experi-
ence are unique to that family and the bonding that results from this
uniquely shared mobile history is compounded by the fact that parents as
well as children are in representative capacities and the behavior of
children in an international setting is strictly prescribed. Parents
and their dependents must cooperate to remain valued members of the
community and support is given and received in the nuclear unit. Problems
are not shared in the peer group often because of the effect of these
problems on role and status within sponsorship categories. Third culture
dependents, therefore, are very much dependent on parents for support in
a unique way. Parents are also dependent on their children for support.
This co-ordinate relationship sets up a non-peer related pattern and
third culture students appear to seek support from adults. This becomes
a crucial variable when developing a support group with a United States
college situation where a peer culture exists and the categorical age
definitions within groups are significant. Students in overseas schools
related personally and socially with many adults including their teachers.

Beatrice's views on support in the college environment grow out of
her inability to make personal contact with teachers as friends. She
says:

We socialized with the teachers overseas. They were really

141

good friends of mine and I knew them very~well.

According to Hans:

Teachers overseas were personable and they cared. You

could be friends with them. They cared for you and about you.

Professors here don't.

Although the experience of overseas teachers is not the focus of
this dissertation, it is important to include here in terms of the
perceptions the interviewees have of their teachers, that overseas
teachers are marginal persons in the third culture. They do not have
extended "lives" as teachers in the host culture, nor do they have the
series of responsibilities in the environment that the sponsorship mem-
bers have, so that a great deal of time is available for them to spend
with the students they teach. This time is spent both in the classroom
in a highly personalized sense and in leisure hours after school.

This "upward-focus" in seeking a support group hindered TCK's in
the process of developing support in the personal interactive realm.
Most found support in extensive letter writing to overseas contacts, and
to third culture peers at different institutions. Many telephoned their
parents or visited their third culture home during vacation periods.
Some made friends of roommates or found other third culture students in
the new environment. Many sought a work experience in addition to their
academic experience and found a support group at their part—time job
that was role-related and allowed them to sidenstep the "sharing high
school experience dilemma" upon which initial peer support groups in the
college environment seemed to be based. This sharing of high school events
was part of the process of grieving that United States students confronted.

Building a support group begins with the self and what the self
values. Third culture students have deVeloped highly complicated selves

as a result of their mobile, culturally diverse, role model existences

142

overseas. Although they characterize themselves as observers, the
network of values within which they judge is extremely ambivalent.
Being a part of an adult world, many of these values are those that
have been shared with them by parents and not tested by them in an
open, unrestricted peer environment. They related with peers in their
school environments and in selected social environments but their high
visibility as foreigners in the host culture placed restrictions on
them in diverse cultural settings. In one sense, it is similar to the
experience in the upper-upper class where everyone is known; but in
another sense, that smallness is set in a universal, urbanized
sophisticated work network. Feelings of ambivalence abound. Third
culture subjects report an uncomfortable feeling in turning to the peer
group for support. What do they know about the world? What can they
offer on any situation? Why do they drink? The dissonance created
between the behavior prescribed as a living pattern for third culture
students overseas and the developmental United States stage of "finding
one's limits through choice" results in negative judgments on peers
made by third culture students. These negative judgments frequently
distance peer support. If mentors or adults are not found in the en-
vironment to provide the support, subjects experience loneliness and
senses of estrangement.

Hans chronicles it in this way in discussing his initial efforts
to find support among freshmen peers on entering college:

They seemed about five years younger than the people I

have been with over in England. They were all getting away

from home for the first time and going nuts, going wild.

He disliked them intensely.

Delores notes:

I had no trouble with the place physically or with the

143

academic work. It was the kids my age that were difficult

Since my experiences were so different they couldn't relate

to me. I had trouble relating socially.

Harriet says:

The easiest part for me was academics, classes. The

hardest was relating to my peers - the difference in

background.

Wayne states that one of his main goals was "to understand people
around me. I had a different attitude from a lot of people."

Benjamin reports that he felt the people in his dormitory were
immature. "I also felt a little alone. I guess it's an ego-trip,
this idea of being different."

Bonnie adds that her key problems were being lonesome and not really
fitting in. Sometimes she felt so old in comparison to others because
her values were different. At the same time, she felt really immature.
Beatrice characterizes her American peers as narrowminded, prejudiced
and not very open to new experiences. She indicates that from her point
of view students who graduate from overseas schools have a different
outlook toward a lot of things that affects how they deal with people.

Federico explained that he could not adjust to the liberalized
social mores he found in the United States. A friend of his father's
became his mentor in his development of a support base.

The clarification of differing values and the basis of making judg-
ments on peers manifested a wide degree of variance. Although there was
not a peer culture, developing support at the peer level overseas was
a fast, intense process with structures of its own honed in an environment
of comings and goings, making or losing friends, and changing and exchang-
ing geographic locations. Friends were important, acquaintances abun-

dant. There was little sexual freedom or opportunity to relate in the

exploration or implementation of "dating" relationships. There are

l44
gendered relationships overseas but very few sexual relationships. "I
acquired a boyfriend," Tora relates "after being in the states a few
days. Here (Germany) I had gone through four years of high school in
Germany never dating anyone."

Many felt uncomfortable in meeting or talking with peers of the
opposite sex. Wayne mentions the most difficult area was "talking to
females and wondering what he should say and why." Barbara reported
difficulty in having male friends in the United States. Federico
expressed shock at the sexual freedom of male-female relationships and
said he could not adjust to them. Those who did develop support and
interacted with members of the opposite sex qualified those inter-
actions as friendship interactions only. Bonnie relates:

There was no dating or very little dating. It's a
difficult atmosphere (Japan). There was just no such

thing as dating at our high school like I hear about when I

come back here. We went out in groups. I mean we couldn't

afford going through all the petty hassles -- I mean in a

6,000 person high school, O.K., you can avoid the person if

something goes wrong. In a class of 100 persons, you couldn't

avoid someone, so, we went out in groups. There were a few

couples but they were an exception. What a change when I
came back here.

Aspects of Grieving and "Culture Shock" Upon Leaving
the Overseas Environment and Entering the United States

 

The subjects involved in this study commented frequently on the sense
of loss they experienced and the feelings of sadness which afflict them.
Graduation from high school is always a type of loss experience yet
graduation from the overseas high school experiences these students
describe seem almost traumatic. The architecture of the support network
for these students is grounded in family, the expatriate community, and
school. The schools and classes are small, attention is given to indi-

viduals, the process of education is a highly personal, interactive one.

145
What schools lack in physical resources are compensated for by the

human resources in the school environment and the time taken with each
individual student. The "upward focus" non-peer related support system
is enhanced and strengthened by the teacher-student rapport. The lack
of community sports facilities and recreational adolescent structures
promote the school as the center for many of the extracurricular
activities in which students become involved. This totality of environ-
ment is a critical component of the third culture dependents' "environ-
mental bubble." For those who go to boarding school, the phenomenon

is even a stronger one.

In addition to the loss of this environment at graduation, friends
leave simultaneously to go in directions that may never cross again.
Unlike the graduating seniors from a United States high school who may
see each other during holiday times or over a summer, these students
feel a special type of closure, one they have experienced before, yet
upon graduation, the intensity is even stronger.

Graduation also means leaving the culture of the country of residence,
the public facilities and recreational sites, the family and the ambiance
in which one has learned to be most comfortable. This "geographical
leaving" involves thousands of miles for many, a change of living style,
pace and structure. Mobility, one of the key patterns of life, is left
behind for at least four years. There is a great sense of loss in not
being able to travel with the family anymore. The break with the family
heritage and experience is a critical one. The problems of "scale"
experienced by these students also represent a loss of the small,
personal, highly-visible identity in exchange for large, impersonal,

one-of—theefreshmen identity. The loss of feeling connected to the world

146

and world-events and immersed in that which is American is another
aspect of loss and another cause for grieving reported. Those who
consider themselves as observers of their host country settings became
even more the observer in these new settings. But the loss of the fan-
tasy of being a special American, model adolescent, a valued member of
the business or missionary community was one of the most difficult
losses of all. Feeling peripheral in the country of citizenship is
quite different from feeling peripheral to a foreign host country, There
is not an exotic, multi-lingual challenge that one can build a fantasy
around, only the realities of being one of many, one who looks as if
he or she should be an expert, a belonger in the culture, yet one who
remains a part of yet apart from American college culture.

The third culture student experiences a loss of etetee derived
overseas from parental sponsorship and the privileges derived from that
fact of sponsorship, a loss of the "environmental bubble" a protective,
selective, enhanced socio-economic level of life, a loss of international
mobility, the loss of family and friends in a special way, the loss of
high visibility and specialness that come from being different.

There are also more subtle losses experienced that affect the
subjects' perception of comfort and home. Public transportaion, an
urban-ness in surroundings, adult recognition, a connectedness with world
current events and a change of sports and public events participation.

Elizabeth notes:

I realized that I was going to be 4,000-5,000 miles away

from home and in another culture. I'm not going to be in

England and I'm not going to be living that life style and I

didn't think it was going to be thet_different but it was. The

pace of life is different and what people think is important is

different and what I think is important is different. It was
sad because when you're in a school in London you lose one-third

147

of the students every year but a lot of parents would try
to stay for the child's junior and senior year to graduate
them. Then, everyone moves back to the states and you
lose contact.

She continues:

I really missed soccer 'cause it's so different and it's
such a part of our life. I think our family is diseased by
it 'cause my older brother plays semi-professional soccer and
I played and we went every Saturday and watched it all the
time. We had books on it and we almost lived around it.

George relates:

I experienced alienation by attitudes people had about
things that are different -- the group mentality: expressions,
ways of doing things. I was only seventeen and just waking up
to a lot of things. It was a stage in my life. Moving, you
don't have a firm base to set growth in, look back on, to set
future goals from like a set job.

Henrietta comments:

I felt very homesick, uncomfortable being in the United
States. I couldn't find enough people who had foreign experi-
ence. I associated with some foreign students but that wasn't
exactly the same. I didn't come across too many students like
myself and that made the transition very difficult.

Hans relates:

At first it was real hard to leave London 'cause I was
going out with a girl who was there who I met at the American
School of London and that made it real difficult. The parents
were 3,000 miles away so I couldn't talk to them. I thought my
high school classes in London were more interesting, the
teachers really care about you. Not so here.

Tora offers:

I got mono but I think that was plain stress and cultural
shock. I was going though culture shock and I experienced it
on several levels. Occasionally I would realize I was thinking
in "marks" instead of dollars or I was converting different
things. Those are the kind of things you experience in culture
shock. I needed someone to understand that I can't put up with
people who won't accept various viewpoints, people who can't
understand what it would like to have a drinking age that's
non-existent. It's important to find someone you can talk about
these things with.

Thomas felt a loss of safety and security. He notes:

148

Frankfurt had the largest crime rate in Germany. It
ranked high on the European scale but I could walk and my
sister could walk on back streetsand nothing would happen.
Here, I would be afraid to do that.

Tania experienced the loss of the "smallness" of the overseas
environment. She comments:

I didn't think it was going to be this big. I had
never seen a university before and I didn't know what it
was like and I expected it to be smaller and when we drove
around campus -- I expected fences.

Wendy comments on her loss of mobility and the option for public
transport. She notes:

You can't travel around the city of Lansing as easily
as you could Mexico City which is five times as large.
Transportation is incredibly better overseas. There were
a lot of things I missed. I missed small classes and personal
contact with people. I missed sports which were a large part
of my high school life but, of course, my school had not been
scouted.

Wayne missed his former environment intensely. He felt very uncom-
fortable and uncertain about what to do. He states:

The first month I was almost mute. I didn't speak to
anybody unless I was asked a question and I just absorbed things
and observed people without saying anything and I learned about
what people talked about here and how they talked about what
they did. After a while I became more comfortable and able to
talk about the various things that people do.

Lack of Goals and Unrealistic Expectations Articulated on Entering the
New Environment

 

In generally reviewing the subjects' interview transcripts, there are
a purposeful lack of goal statements with the exception of the commitment
to graduate from college and hopefully choose a career path that will
lead overseas. In terms of expectations, the subjects differ markedly.
Benjamin relates:

I expected it to be hard academically but I think I might
have also had some repressed expectations -- I'm not sure -- I

149

took things as they came. As far as goals, I hoped to graduate.

Beatrice had one goal. She comments, "I was going to stay above
a three point for four years. That was my goal." Barbara states, "My
goal was to learn to be independent." Bonnie shared her expectations
and goals in this manner: "I expected people to be mature and drive
oriented. My primary goal was to decide on a career. I was very
pragmatic." Delores also expressed the goal of choosing a career as
did Elizabeth, Harriet and Hans. Hans also had a goal in terms of
wrestling. He notes, "My goals were wrestling, and to get real good
grades." George and Geoff state that they had no specific goals. Geoff
relates, "I didn't articulate any goals. Peers stressed goals and goals
were stressed in class and people asked what you wanted to do but I
didn't have goals." George notes that being a mobile person you don't
have a framework to set future goals.

Henrietta in relating her expections offered, "I expected that
people would not understand me and I purposely detached myself. I
expected the fact pace, big shopping centers, the chewing gum, the
stereotypical." Tania relates that not having goals or expectations is
optimal. She states, "I wasn't at a psychological disadvantage. I
didn't expect it to be hard and so I was able to cope with it better."
Thomas queried in response to the question on goals, "I don't understand
what you mean by goals." Some subjects chose careers that would facili-
tate their major goal to return overseas. Karen stated that she had
spent so much time being mobile and living in hotels that she decided
a Hotel and Restaurant major would lead her back overseas. Gavin chose
an international business major for the same reason. Wendy also relates

that microbiology was a field that would facilitate her mobility and

150

return overseas.

The subjects demonstrated some difficulty in their response to
the exploration of goals and expectations. The family network over-
seas and the effect of sponsorship in directing the families' task
role as well as structuring the support roles, services, house
arrangements does not lend itself to the model of individual goal
setting nor does it leave room for a range of choices. The business
or missionary sponsoring group transfers the parent sponsor in terms
of the needs of the organization. Through its international support
facilities it directs choices of housing, optimal locations, and a
register of approved schools or services for families. Lists of doctors,
housekeepers,gardeners, shops are passed down as the old-timers facili-
tate the orientation of the first-time-outers or new arrivals. A lack
of complete information on the new host culture prohibits a range of
choices initially. Dependents experience very little unilateral oppor-
tunities for privatized, individual goals that are not part of the
family's goal in the appointed post. Choices seem to emerge in the area
of leisure or vacation spots and once again parents decide on the families'
destination. Third culture students do not have the experience in goal
setting or making choices in their overseas environments. On arrival to
college, faced with the freedom and independence found there, many experi-
ence a need for structures experienced in the past.

Transition Areas of Reported Problems and Opportunities: Academic Ease,
Social Malaise

 

The areas of ease and difficulty in the transition period reported
by third culture subjects in this study reflect a high degree of congru-

ence. In terms of re-entry, the major problem areas subjects report are

l5l

the largeness in scale, overchoice in every area from supermarket to
college majors, the impersonal tone of interaction, the lack of interest
of United States peers in overseas events, and the lack of appropriate
credentialling for the United States college culture. The lack of a
driver's license both in terms of mobility as well as for purposes of
identification is frequently noted by interviewees.

The academic area presents few obstacles for third culture
students who report they were well prepared in their private overseas
schools for the academic demands college presented. They experienced
an ease in making acquaintances and in mastering the requirements in
the new environment. The major area of difficulty for them was the
social area. Developmentally, the subjects interviewed were not ready
for the social activities of the peer group. They simultaneously
experience immaturity in terms of dating patterns and behavior in social
gatherings and perceived maturity in viewing these activities as unworthy
of them as a rationale for distance from the social challenge. The
subjects offered severe judgments in terms of peer use of drugs and
alcohol, subjects of conversation, values expressed by peers and the
spontaneity they observed in the peer group. Values are very different.
Bonnie reports:

The easiest areas were study habits and discipline but

socialization was a problem. It was not a big deal for me to

go and get drunk on a weekend and it set me aside from a lot

of people I had a lot in common with. I wanted to be rowdy and

stuff but without artificial stimulants. My key problems were

being lonesome and not really fitting in. Sometimes I felt I was

so old in comparison to them 'cause my values were different and

I felt really old. At the same time I felt immature. They had

their cars and a kind of freedom we never had overseas.

Henrietta states, "The hardest was the fitting in aspect socially:

how to act, what one did on weekends, when do you sit alone. There was

152

a big party group and I didn't want to be part of it but how was I to
negotiate belonging and compensate for not wanting to party in their

way. Would I make any friends?” Beatrice notes, “The most difficult
area for me was relating to the students that hadn't experienced what

I had experienced and bringing myself down to where they look at things."
Delores comments, "The idea of "going out", dating, was difficult for

me. I don't see the point of going out to a party and just drinking and
not being able to socialize because the music is so loud and the room is
so crowded. I try to avoid all that." Elizabeth relates, "I don't even
know how to drive yet 'cause I never needed to learn." Federico remem-
bers, "There was a party on the floor. Everyone was smoking pot at it
and drinking a great deal. Their faces were disgusting to me." Frances
felt that the acceptance of others was hard to gain because of socio-
economic differences. She says, "Their fathers worked on the line. Mine
was an executive. They build a wall between us. It was difficult to be
accepted." For Geoff, social life was also the biggest challenge. He
notes, "I was not that interested in partying with the seething masses.
Overseas, we had to be imaginative and creative in spending our free time.
Things weren't provided for us." Gavin offers, "At times I get really
frustrated and disgusted. They are not aware of what's happening inter-
nationally. They are not aware of different types of music, art, theater.
The use of alcohol and drugs is more relaxed over here though those
commodities were more available overseas." Harriet notes, "The easiest
part was academics, the hardest relating to my peers. They'd find out
I was from Indonesia and they'd ask what is was like and I couldn't
answer in two sentences so they weren't interested. I found it really

hard to take."

153

Aspects of Transposing Identity in the New Environments

The concept of self is a critical one in addressing the area of
transposing identity. The subjects of this study characterize them-
selves as overseas dependents. Although there is a specificity and
uniqueness as that category is applied to each subject, there are also
many commonalities. The third culture student has experienced a
selective environment as a result of his/her sponsorship dependency
abroad. This selectiveness includes private small school education
with a great deal of personal attention, membership in a population
characterized by expertise in the task area and the socio-economic
rewards that recognize that expertise, opportunities for international
travel and participation in a sophisticated adult international network.
As a result, many of their respective views might be characterized as
elitist. The status that parents enjoy as a by-product of their
representative role overseas is extended derivatively to their off-spring.
They consider themselves special and do not seem to consciously realize
that these are benefits extended to them because of the accomplishments
of parents. It becomes a part of the self-concept that one is special
and has a right to enhanced experiences that demonstrate that specialness.

The transposition of academic identity from high school student to
college student for this group is not essentially a difficult one. Super-
ficially, the largeness of the college environment initially disturbs
them, the impersonal nature of the teacher-student relationship impedes
them and the red tape and bureaucracy of registration and orientation
confuses them. However, the content of academic areas presents acceptable
challenges and the subjects indicate they are well prepared to cope with

it.

115111.)

154

The area which is not so facile is the transition from being
consciously aware of oneself as American, to a person in the United States
in which one is not consciously aware of being American. In order to
transpose identity considerable effort must be expended. The new
identity has to be perceived as a fine identity to have, a better way
to be for certain specific reasons. Values are involved in the sense
that it is only after we place a value on the new identity that we seek
to realize it. This creates several problems for the third culture
student. In tracing the transposition from third culture dependent to
United States college student, many changes are involved: a loss of
the status of sponsorship role conferred, a loss of privilege in terms
of life-style, a loss of speicalness as one enters a large, not fully
understood, college peer group, a loss of mobility for most of the
college years demanded by academic residence, a forfeiture of the
fantasies allowed by overseas life and exotic experiences. The positive
aspects that this transposition offers is an opportunity to belong as
others belong in the country of citizenship, a chance to establish
rootedness and a national sense of home, the chance to share ideas and
interests with those in the immediate environment and participate more
fully in that environment, the occasion to become independent, to make and
prioritize goals for the future and to choose one's own life-style. In
order for third culture students to avail themselves of the opportunities
offered by transposing identity, they have to value these opportunities.
For many of them, mobility, not rootedness is valued, derived status not
independence, affluent life-style, not making it on one's own, a sense
of uniqueness and individuality and not community participation in the

broader sense. The self manifested by the third culture student is complex,

155

ambivalent and multi-faceted. Third culture students as a result of
family heritage, of mobility and enhanced life-style have differentiated
themselves in terms of the perceptual frame through which they view the
new environment and the values they embrace. For many of them, these
values are cross-cultural comprised of parental sharing, experience
with peers of similar sponsorship from many world centers and an intri-
cate network of the do's and don'ts in each national setting experienced.
The fact that third culture students are raised in an adult world and
are upwardly focused toward adults in forming values creates difficulty
for them when they find themselves in a college environment, essentially
a culture of peers. In the academic sphere and in personalized friend-
ship relationships their focus broadens. Some of them seek mentors and
for those who successfully find a mentor, the transposition of identity
to a United States college student is facilitated. The upward focus
toward the mentor allows the "credible source" to explain, to offer
information on the new environment that the third culture student can
accept since it comes from someone older. Mentors, also, as part of the
mentoring relationship are interested in hearing the unique experiences
of the third culture student, sharing and processing the transition from
a broader base of information.

Benjamin relates:

I still feel very much at home overseas yet basically able

to adjust or be adjusted to any environment. Culturally the

differences complicate things and adapting is different from

adjusting. Overseas things are broader. People are more mature.

You get leave every two years and in l977 I got really paranoid

and went to see my girlfriend in Minnesota to talk about changes.

I found it very socially different in the states. I have been

exposed to different cultures and I don't feel comfortable here.

The music was critical for me. Americans party nearly all
the time. There's a different idea of bars -- overseas, they are

156

quiet, living room-style places where you can talk with

friends; here they're noisy. You always know you're

different over here. You can spot an American by his

jacket, haircut. I also feel a little above that -- I

guess it's an ego-trip, the idea of being different. The

police are also more lenient overseas.

Benjamin expresses a range of themes presented in transposing
identity. His sense of home, cultural values and appreciated experiences
are not related to the United States, his new environment. He articulates
a superior attitude in assessing his new surroundings, an elitist per-
ception of himself and his third culture framework. He reduces "Ameri-
cans" to stereotypical caricatures and surface impressions. He is not
inclined at this point to transpose his identity.

Beatrice, who had been overseas only for her junior and senior
years, accounts for her feelings in trying to fit in and transpose her
identity in recounting:

I expected things to be pretty much the same as before I

left. I had been away two years. Things weren't the same at

all. People had changed, situations had changed. Friends of

mind had gone through the same experiences I had gone through,

the senior prom, graduation, but I felt really separated from

all that. It was a let down. I think I expected to be able to

relate“ to these people a lot better. I just couldn't.

Experiences of senior prom and graduation overseas differ from the
same experiences in the states. The realities of the intensity of closure
imminent when friends leave each other and great distances are crossed,
the moment of leaving the host society and the style of life one enjoyed
in it, the move away from a family that has been extremely close and
shared a special dynamics in its shared heritage overseas impact simul-
taneously. These components heighten the experience and third culture
students seem to idealize those moments, memories in a special way.

Henrietta reports:

I remember feeling very different. The girls on my hall

157

would go to dinner and the conversation had to do with
high school experiences. I felt detached from talking
about high school band, varsity sports and basketball.
We had that too in our overseas school but very differently.

Hans notes:

I'd say I feel more at home, more myself in London
'cause it seems I was brought up there all my life even
though it was only from age thirteen but that was when I
was really growing up and reaching out to things and I
know the ins and outs of London like the back of my hand.

I know what's normal and what people should do and shouldn't
do -- I guess I know more about that in the states now

than I did when I came -- I think now I'm learning what
people in the states do too but sometimes it feels weird.
The peer group in the states seems pretty immature to me.

Hilda relates:

I lean toward feeling my truest self overseas just 'cause
I've grown up in it. I just feel more comfortable in that '
environment. Overseas people mind their own business more.
Oh, I don't know if that's really true. Overseas, I always
lived in big cities and that's a change here on campus. See,
overseas there really wasn't that much to do because there was
curfew from 12 p.m. to 4 and so, like, we didn't do that much
and that was o.k. because we had fun. But here people always
expect to be doing something or they say how boring it is.

According to Tania:

I grew up with British values and then at home we had a
mixture of Chinese-American values 'cause we lived in the

states for a while and it's just like learning to talk again.

To learn about the stuff American teenagers did was pretty

difficult. You had to keep your eyes open and sit back and

watch.

Interestingly enough, many subjects characterized themselves as
observers, passive in the environment, ready to "sit back and watch"
rather than participate and make mistakes. Part of living in the third
culture and assuming a representative role, a role-model type of exis-
tence, includes making as few mistakes as possible. Mistakes may have
ramifications on the parents and the expatriate community. Many read

about expectations in the new culture before arriving in it and the

experiential component, so vivid in the fantasy and memory worlds

158

reported by these youth, was not a component of cultural immersion, of
participative activities but rather the internalization at a deep level
of the fruits of observation. Observing others participating, norming
on third culture persons who were experienced in the host culture,
asking questions of adults when unsure of protocol, seemed the
acceptable pattern. The value American youth place on "experiencing
and participating" is not shared by many of these subjects interviewed.

The support experienced by the third culture student is intense in
their overseas setting. It begins with the family and extends through
the small, personal, overseas network in a given host culture and often
beyond that culture to the peculiar mapping and intersections of third
culture members. Youth and parents are in the environment as role
models in a special way. Cooperation is key. Rebelliousness is negatively
reinforced. The family needs each other in a special survival sense.
Inappropriate‘ behavior on the part of a family member may affect the
position and job of the sponsorship parent and impact intensely on the
whole family and community. An ambivalence results in terms of dependence
and independence that appears to surface as the third culture student
attempts to adjust and adapt in the United States environment.

Tania pinpoints some of this ambivalence when she says:

The worst was coming over here and realizing that no one

was going to do anything for me. You had to go out and do it

yourself and at first that upset me 'cause I'm used to parents

doing things for me. On the other hand, the best was the

freedom of that and that there were so many things out there that

you could do and get.

Bonnie recalls:

I was tired of being the big sister on the floor and helping
with everyone's problems. I thought it was a type of maturity
that I developed in Japan, but in some ways I was really immature

'cause I wasn't used to things here but it was a type of maturity
that was different from theirs and it just struck them that I was

159

used to putting people at ease. When you go to school overseas

everyone leaves and you get a totally new population. You're

an old-timer if you're there three years to see the complete

change of personnel and you get used to anticipating what people

are going to have problems with.

Negotiating the process of transposing identity represents an
effort at adaptation as opposed to mere surface adjustment. Third
culture students are experienced at adjustment but that experience of
adjusting has occurred in a highly supportive ambiance. Their major
adaptation has been to the third culture. The identities they share,
the sense of aspects of the self they articulate are differentiated
in a special sense from the identity of a person adapted in the
broadest sense to his own culture. Downie (1976) in summarizing his
study on aspects of identity formation of third culture students
tentatively suggested that an important feature of the identity
formation of thesayouth emerges from the management of their social
identity upon return to the United States and particularly their
entrance into college. At that point, according to Downie, they are
socially marginal and they have had to set aside their third culture
identity in order to participate in the social life of college. Ambig-
uities and ambivalences about themselves, others and the future are
aggravated by their multi-cultural experience but in spite of that they
demonstrate an ability to cope with their estrangement from the country
of citizenship. Their career plans often involve a return to an over-
seas environment and mobile life style. This new identity, the mobile
identity, seems to be the transposed identity and therefore their trans-
position of identity within the United States setting is not the same.

The ability to cope and manage in the new environment is essentially

the ability to fit in at least on the surface, to adjust, until the

160

processing of adaptation can begin. The adaptation process involves
a deeper fit, a belonging, an internalization of rapport with the
environment in which aspect many of the subjects experienced difficulty.
The continuity of the self is ruptured on return and the inability of
many to process that separation, that loss, and to experience a
grieving process heightens the sense of estrangement experienced. The
environment of peer reality and the search for credible sources to map
the way as parents and teachers in the overseas network had done is often
unsuccessful. However, the search for credibility of the self and for a
credible source outside the self that can be trusted resulted for some
subjects in the selection of a mentor who facilitated both the adjustment
process and beginnings of adaptation.
Tania recalls:
I was looking for the student teacher as soon as I
stepped off the plane. She had done her student teaching
in my overseas school and offered to help me in the transition.
Federico states:
My relationship with this doctor who is my father's friend
is very close. We share problems and that's very nice. My whole
adjustment and adaptation has been better since I met him and his
family. They helped me to get my ticket home and I spent holidays
with them.
Elizabeth notes:
The dorm director helped me a lot. She made me feel welcome
and she listened to the problems I was having. She knew I wasn't
from the United States and tried to help me. There was also a
professor I was very close to. She was teaching witchcraft and my
father had experience in religions, witchcraft and Christianity
and the conflict between them. I helped her and assisted her with
the class and she became a good friend to me. I would discuss
problems with her: academic, emotional or whatever.
Elizabeth summarizes the ambivalence and difficulty in transposing
identity by saying:

Well, I'd always known that I would come back to the

161

United States and I hoped I would fit in and learn.

I knew I had to be open to the changes and to the
things people do and I have been pretty much. However,
I also see the things that I don't like and I can't
decide if they outweigh the things that I like. Who
knows? I might just end up being overseas.

The Questionnaire Results
Third Culture Subjects' Responses in the Areas of
Perceptions of Self,_Environment Problems and Career Decisions

 

 

 

As a check on the information and data derived from the interview
experience, a questionnaire composed of two parts was self-administered
by each third culture experienced subject (See Appendices A and B). In
coordinating the demographic data for Chapter III, Appendix A was most
helpful since, in the interviews, subjects gave dates and time abroad
rather casually and made assumptions that the writer would know the exact
dates and times of re-entry to the states, entry to college and time spent
overseas. The questionnaire data were more accurate.

Certain areas of Appendix B seemed highly germane to the adaptation
re-entry period. As interviews were transcribed, and commonalities iden-
tified, those areas most mentioned as significant by the subjects were
compared in terms of the responses given on the questionnaires so that
a greater degree of clarity might be achieved.

In order to more clearly identify the behaviors articulated within
the interviews, the Transition Assessment Scale was employed for each
transition area. Where interviewees articulated a task confronted or a
behavior identified, it was logged and a summary for these transactions

appears here. The Transition Assessment Scale is delineated here.

162

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

TASKS

Risking
Self

Assuming
Responsibility

Developing
Centeredness

TASKS

___(l)
____(2)
__(3)

Recognizing
Resource
Awareness

___11)
___(2)
___(3)

Acquiring
Resource
Acquisition

ACTIVATING COMMITMENT
BEHAVIORS

Shows reluctance to use or risk personal
capacities.

Demonstrates intentions and periodic willingness
to risk personal capacities.

Typically does the things that will help even
when risky.

Seems to shift responsibility to others to
take the lead.

Is taking on a sense of ownership for dealing
with transition.

Uses transition as a way of developing self-
management skills.

Seeks continuing reassurance that things will
be O.K.

Demonstrates some responses that reflect self-
directedness.

Uses transition experiences to test personal
ingenuity.
DEVELOPING SUPPORT
BEHAVIORS
Seems unaware of potentially useful resources.
Shows some awareness of useful resources.

Has a clear picture of a wide range of useful
resources.

Obtains resources by chance more than by design.
Obtains resources when needs are pressing.

Develops systematic strategies for acquiring
resources.

Finding
Support

TASKS

Processing
Losses

Tempering
Demands

Accepting
Reality

TASKS

Finding
Direction

Establishing
Priorities

163

No meaningful contacts with compatriots in
transition.

Shares experiences accidentally more than
deliberately.

Cultivates relationships with transition
"compatriots".

ADJUSTING EXPECTATIONS

BEHAVIORS
Focuses on personal inconveniences of transition.

Accepts losses as an uncomfortable part of
transition.

Admits losses honestly, then seeks acceptable
alternatives.

Expresses expectations as "anyone has a righ "
to expect.

Can acknowledge when expectations need tempering.
Translates "shoulds" into preferences.

Distorts realities that conflict with personal
desires.

Acknowledges personal distortions as they emerge.
Shows pride in facing reality regardless of
discomfort.
PRIORITIZING GOALS
BEHAVIORS
Manifests lack of effort to manage transition.
Seeks to manage but with hazy or scattered efforts.

Focuses energy toward clearly established
intentions.

Shows limited awareness of alternative choices.
Sees alternatives but has difficulty in choosing.

Sees alternatives, weighs outcomes, makes decisions.

Establishing
Perspective

TASKS

Modifying
Roles

Accepting
Change

Testing
Beliefs

164

Chooses immediate comfort when faced with
sacrifice.

Tolerates loss of comfort for longer range
purposes.

Focuses on larger patterns and integrates them
into life pattern.
TRANSPOSING IDENTITY

BEHAVIORS

Continues role patterns regardless of transition
requirements.

Recognizes when roles may need modification and
adjusts.

Explores new role patterns that could enhance
growth identity.

Interprets change requirements as threat to
self-hood.

Accepts change as sometimes uncomfortable but
necessary.

Approaches change as a chance to make new
discoveries about self.

Rejects change when belief system is threatened.
Explores personal beliefs when absolutely necessary.

Examines beliefs in the face of new evidence.

165

Summary of Transaction Experiences
and Self-Reported Levels of Task Management
as Identified through the Transition Assessment Scale Tool
(Raines, l980, see pp. 37-40)

Table l: Activating Commitment

 

 

Subject Sponsorship Year In Risking Assuming Developing
College Self Responsibility Centeredness
Benjamin Business Sophomore l 2 2
Beatrice Business Junior 2 2 2
Bonnie Business Senior 2 2 3
Barbara Business Freshman 2 2 2
Delores Missionary Sophomore 2 2 2
Elizabeth Missionary Sophomore 2 2 2
Federico Business Freshman l l l
Frances. Business Senior 2 3 3
Geoff Missionary Senior 2 2 3
Gavin Business Senior 2 2 3
George Business Senior l l l
Harriet Missionary Senior l l l
Henrietta Business Junior 2 2 2
Hans Business Senior 2 2 2
Hilda Business Freshman l l 2
Karen Business Senior 2 2 2
Tania Business Junior 2 2 2
Tora Business Junior 2 2 2
Thomas Business Freshman l l 1
Wendy Business Junior 2 2 2
Wayne Missionary Senior 2 3 2

 

166

Developing Support

 

 

Table 2
Year In Recognizing Resource Finding
Subject Sponsorship College Resource Acquisition Support
Awareness
Benjamin Business Sophomore 2 l l
Beatrice Business Junior 2 2 2
Bonnie Business Senior 2 3 3
Barbara Business Freshman 2 2 l
Delores Missionary Sophomore 2 2 l
Elizabeth Missionary Sophomore 3 2 3
Federico Business Freshman 2 l l
Frances Business Senior 3 3 2
Geoff Missionary Senior 3 3 3
Gavin Business Senior 2 3 2
George Business Senior l l 1
Harriet Missionary Senior l 2 2
Henrietta Business Junior 2 2 2
Hans Business Senior 2 2 3
Hilda Business Freshman 2 2 2
Karen Business Senior 3 3 2
Tania Business Junior 2 2 l
Tora Business Junior 3 2 3
Thomas Business Freshman l l 1
Wendy Business Junior 2 2 2

Wayne Missionary Senior 3 3 2

 

167

Adjusting Expectations

 

 

Table 3
Year In Processing Tempering Accepting
Subject Sponsorship College Losses Demands Reality
Benjamin Business Sophomore l l l
Beatrice Business Junior 2 2 2
Bonnie Business Senior 2 2 3
Barbara Business Freshman 2 2 2
Delores Missionary Sophomore 3 2 3
Elizabeth Missionary Sophomore 2 l 2
Federico Business Freshman l l l
Frances Business Senior 3 2 2
Geoff Missionary Senior 3 3 3
Gavin Business Senior 2 2 2
George Business Senior 2 l 1
Harriet Missionary Senior 2 2 2
Henrietta Business Junior 2 2 2
Hans Business Senior 2 l l
Hilda Business Freshman 2 2 2
Karen Business Senior 1 2 2
Tania Business Junior 2 2 2
Tora Business Junior 2 2 3
Thomas Business Freshman l l l
Wendy Business Junior 2 2
Wayne Missionary Senior 3 2 2

 

168

Prioritizing Goals

 

 

Table 4
Year In Finding Establishing Establishing
Subject Sponsorship College Direction Priorities Perspective
Benjamin Business Sophomore 2 2 2
Beatrice Business Junior 3 3 3
Bonnie Business Senior 3 3 3
Barbara Business Freshman 3 3 3
Delores Missionary Sophomore 2 l 2
Elizabeth Missionary Sophomore 2 3 2
Federico Business Freshman 2 l 1
Frances Business Senior 3 3 3
Geoff Missionary Senior 3 3 3
Gavin Business Senior 3 3 3
George Business Senior 1 l l
Harriet Missionary Senior 2 1 2
Henrietta Business Junior 3 3 3
Hans Business Senior 3 3 3
Hilda Business Freshman 2 2 2
Karen Business Senior 3 3 2
Tania Business Junior 3 3 3
Tora Business Junior 3 3 3
Thomas Business Freshman l l l
Wendy Business Junior 2 l 2

Wayne Missionary Senior 3 3 2

 

169

Transposing Identity

 

 

Table 5
Year In Modifying Accepting Testing
Subject Sponsorship College Roles Change Beliefs
Benjamin Business Sophomore l l l
Beatrice Business Junior 2 2 2
Bonnie Business Senior 2 2 3
Barbara Business Freshman 2 2 2
Delores Missionary Sophomore 2 2 l
Elizabeth Missionary Sophomore 2 2 l
Federico Business Freshman l l l
Frances Business Senior 3 3 3
Geoff Missionary Senior 3 3 3
Gavin Business Senior 2 2 2
George Business Senior 1 l 1
Harriet Missionary Senior l 2 l
Henrietta Business Junior 2 2 2
Hans Business Senior 2 2 2
Hilda Business Freshman 2 2 1
Karen Business Senior 2 2 2
Tania Business Junior 2 2 2
Tora Business Junior 2 3 3
Thomas Business Freshman l l l
Wendy Business Junior 2 2 2

Wayne Missionary Senior 2 3 2

 

170

Transition Assessment Cumulative Scores

 

 

Table 6
Transition Assessment
Scale Score Subject Sponsorship Year In College

43 Geoff Missionary Senior

40 Frances Business Senior

38 Tora Business Junior

38 Bonnie Business Senior

37 Wayne Missionary Senior

35 Gavin Business Senior

33 Beatrice Business Junior

33 Henrietta Business Junior

33 Karen Business Senior

32 Barbara Business Freshman
‘32 Hans Business Senior

32 Tania Business Junior

3l Elizabeth Missionary Sophomore
29 Wendy Business Junior

29 Delores Missionary Sophomore
27 Hilda Business Freshman
23 Harriet Business Senior

2l Benjamin Business Sophomore
l7 Federico Business Freshman
l6 George Business Senior

l5 Thomas Business Freshman

 

171

A review of the overall tables of task management as defined
in Tables l through 5 manifests certain patterns in the approach to
transition management by the subjects interviewed for the purpose of
exploring the adaptation process of these third culture dependents.

Even among those strong in demonstrating the management behavior
within the identified task areas, some differences between missionary
and business sponsorship areas emerge. It does not seem to be an
extremely significant difference but further analysis might prove
insightful. Missionary students seemed to be strong in activating
commitment and acquiring resources with the exception of Harriet; and
weak in adjusting expectations particularly in the area of tempering
demands with the exception of Geoff.

Business subjects seemed to be weakest in the area of activating
commitment yet strong in prioritizing goals.

In terms of transposing identity, both groups demonstrated
difficulty. A major agenda that emerges from the interviews in this
area seems to be a commitment to maintaining a "third culture identity"
though that identity may be set aside to facilitate adjustment.

The year in school seems to make a difference also. Many subjects
mentioned their transition periods lasted a long time. Those who mani-
fest the highest scores in terms of the Transition Assessment Scale are
upperclassmen.

An example of how the assessment scale is applied to one page of
interview report is included in Appendix F.

In Chapter IV, a complete assessment sheet for each of the six case

study subjects is included to demonstrate the process specifically.

172

Summar

The major focus of this dissertation is the analysis of the
adaptation process of third culture students as they re-enter the
United States. Such an analysis is not possible except in the frame-
work of the re-entry experiences that simultaneously take place with
the college entrance experience. The selected population for this
dissertation re-entered the United States at the point when they
entered college. It is in this context of the re-entry experience
that initial adaptation for these students occurs. In order to
investigate the process of adaptation, experiences at the time of
re-entry to the United States, pre-entry and entry to college and
recollections of the adaptation process were obtained for twenty-one
subjects. These data are summarized and presented for each of the
twenty-one subjects and are arranged according to their sponsorship
group, i.e., missionary and business sponsorships. The summarized
descriptions of the re-entry experience and the recollections of
adaptation transactions are intended to provide some information on
the adaptation in general and commonalities on themes that emerge
from the interviewees' reports. From their stated experience certain
areas of concern, significant themes and experiential data are
shared. These themes give insight both into the perceptions of
self that these third culture students have and their perceptions of
the environment both upon return and during their adaptation process.
Since the essence of the adaptation process involved the interaction of
the individual with the environment this information is critical.
Analysis of these data reveal complex patterns of relationship

between features of the subjects' experiences. It becomes clear that

173

there is a high degree of complexity that the third culture experience
adds to the lives of these youth and patterns of behavior established
in the third culture during their developmental years become patterns
that are natural for them upon return. The themes which evolve from
these interviews are:

l. commitment to the new environment in relation to subjects'
perception of home;

2. need for developing support in the new environment;

3. aspects of grieving and culture shock experienced on
leaving the third culture environment and entering the
United States;

4. a lack of goals and unrealistic expectations articulated
on entering the new environment;

5. theme areas of ease in transition and areas of difficulty;

6. aspects of transposing identity to the new environment as
reported by the subjects.

As the information is gathered from the interviews it becomes
clear that re-entry, college entry and the adaptation process take
place in a structure or configuration that is integrated so as to
constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable from its
parts in summation. This pattern or figure assumed becomes a system
or gestalt structure. In analyzing the experiences reported by third
culture youth it becomes clear that at a certain point re-entry and
college adaptation mesh into one experience for them. The dynamics of
that experience are a gestalt in terms of the process of adaptation.
The fact of return, the need for support, the aspects of grieving
and culture shock, the expectations of the new environment in terms
of the former environment and the lack of goals, the areas of problems
and opportunities and the effort to participate and transpose identity

occur dynamically as a configuration or a dynamic of experience that

174

is this gestalt. It is important to understand that this dynamic
experience is a wholistic integral one and not a series of chrono-
logical stages in the adaptation process. The content of the gestalt
is the adaptive transactions and the confrontation of transition
tasks that compose them. Many mention that the only United States
life they know is the college pattern of life. The theme areas that
have been articulated contain for many of the subjects significant
experiences reported as critical for them during their adaptation
period.

Commitment to the New Environment in Relation to the
Subject's Perpeption of Home

 

 

Success in adjusting or adapting to a new environment requires
a certain level of commitment to that adjustment. An ability to fit
readily into normal patterns in an environment facilitates the deeper
aspects of adaptation in the new environment. The subjects in this
study share the reality of a mobile, overseas pattern of life. They
have experienced series of adjustments to different countries and
cultures in the framework of integral nuclear families. In the review
of the literature it was revealed that the parents and the sponsorship
group accept a tremendous responsibility in an overseas setting to
create an environment which facilitates the major work of the sponsor-
ship unit. A commitment is established and expectations for behavior
of dependents are clearly communicated by the sponsoring institution
through parents. Support is given in as many areas as possible. It
is also quite clear in the reported experiences of these third culture
youth that a commitment to return is implied and communicated in the
very nature of the third culture experience. The patterns of everyday

life are filled with the transit of friends and colleagues, and the

175

temporariness for most of a tour of duty. This temporariness implies

the fact of return. There is a commitment to that return revealed in

 

the subject's interviews in terms of the internalization of returning

to the country of passport-origin, returning to the country of

parent's citizenship, returning to the country where parents had

gone to college and seeking a degree which has international credi-
bility. The fact remains that the country of sponsorship, the country
from which these persons derive their status and meaning in the third
culture is an important part of the support network of third culture.
The fact of return to that umbrella organizational/institutional

home or base of general support is clearly communicated to the depen-
dents in the third culture. It is assumed that university education
will be in the parents' country of origin or citizenship since it is
through a proper education that one may avail himself or herself of

the optimal range of choices for career in the post-modern interdepen-
dent world. This is the route role modeled by parents. Entry to

the third culture, a culture the dependents enjoy and love, is generally
determined by a sophisticated knowledge base parents have developed

in a certain area of expertise. In effect, then, the third culture
dependents are committed to return to the United States and committed

to complete their degrees in that environment in relation to percep-
tions shared with them by parents on the proper attaining of credibility
and legitimacy. These third culture students in their roles abroad

have been Americans "writ large", however, they have little real
information on what Americans in the United States, and particularly
their peers, are about. There is a felt need at a deep level to acquire

the type of legitimacy their parents have, to establish, if possible,

176

some congruence in terms of their first language, their passport desig-
nation which allows the facts of their mobility, travel, work, public
identity and even the benefits of sponsorship. The need to acquaint
themselves with the culture of origin and to connect with the meaning

of that culture forms the base for a genuine commitment to re-entry and
college entry at a substantial level. Though this commitment is deep,

it is ambivalent. They are not their parents. Their experiences have
been different in their developmental stages. Their dependent stage is
congruent with their parents' adult stage in an unusual, unique coordinate
manner deriving from the parents' role and their active participation in
the success of their parents' role. It is difficult because of the deep
and intense shared experience of parents and children in the third culture
and the open communication within the family unit, for parents to realize
the uniqueness of the effect the third culture membership has had on

their children. Since the children have attended college-preparatory
schools, the natural point for re-entry and leaving the family, in terms

of the felt needs of parents and children becomes college entrance.

Developing Support in the New Environment

 

Third culture students in their third culture environments
experience networks of support to facilitate the mission of their
parents. Expectations for supportive environments derive from the
experience they have had overseas. The mobile third culture community
networks across the globe in providing for its members. Parents are
a critical source of support for their offspring and the adult community
is the source of support both in an economic as well as a social sense.
Third culture youth develop a non-peer upward focus toward adults in

meeting their needs.

177

On arrival in the United States a very different situation
confronts the third culture person. The college environment is
extremely peer-oriented and categorically, their United States peers
have been seeking independence and freedom from parents through the
Middle and High School years. Independence is valued. Support is
developed within the peer group from which a great deal of credibility
derives. Seeking and developing support generally begins with a sharing
of experiences and some degree of self-disclosure. Third culture
students perceive that their United States peers are not interested in
their overseas experiences, their disclosures about travel and world
affairs. Though the third culture student has experienced a highly
mobile, individuated sense of history and experience, it has been as
a dependent and within a highly structured framework. The values of
American teenagers differ from the values of the third culture
experienced youth as do interests, leisure activities and sense of
self. The third culture youth characterize themselves as observers
and it seems to them that the peer group requires active participants
and a high degree of homogeneity in interests and activites. Difficulty
is experienced in developing support at the peer level. Social activities
are confusing and behaviors frequently judged from an adult overseas
perspective. Some third culture students find mentors in the environ-
ment to facilitate the transition for them. Many feel unappreciated and
de-valued when adult interaction and recognition are not present. Most
maintain contact with the third culture network through letters, and
visits to find a support base. The dissonance created between the high
standards for adolescent behavior prescribed as a living pattern for

third culture students overseas and the developmental United States stage

178

of "finding one's limits through experiential choice” makes developing
support a problematic theme area for third culture students.
Aspects of Grieving and "Culture Shock" Upon Leaving
the Overseas Environment and Entering the United States

The third culture student articulates the losses of family,
overseas culture, style of life, international mobility, high school
friends and associates and a world of meaning, values and experiences.
The "environmental bubble" overseas was supportive, structured,
understood. The mobile life of a protean type of change criss-
crossing the globe was facilitated by a network of structures and
personal helpers. The loss of sponsorship brings a loss of identity,
and uniqueness and a sense of being alone, lonely, unappreciated,
devalued. Students grieve the losses of these valued components of
their life. They also grieve the fact that they are different, simul-
taneously placing a high value on that difference. Third culture
students have intense feelings of ambiguity but do not demonstrate a
tolerance for ambiguity. The overseas network in terms of
prescriptions and support was provided for them and derived from
parents' sponsorship roles. On arrival, they grieve for what's left
behind and what was missed while overseas. Yet they value their
overseas experience intensely. They grieve that they don't fit in;
yet they are proud of that fact and feel elitist and superior. They
grieve that they did not learn to drive when they were sixteen but
value public transportation more and judge the lack of it in their
United States environments severely. They grieve their loss of status as
well as their approach to and participation in sports. They especially

grieve the loss of their "small is beautiful" personal world and

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interactive environment as they attempt to understand the large
scale United States approach to education.

Third culture students perceive that they have moved from a
culture that understood them and one which they understood to one that
does not understand them and is not interested in doing so. Though
their overseas experience made them culturally marginal, they were
unaware of this until re-entry. Their role as representative "highly
visible Americans" abroad further complicates the experience of loss

in that realm.

Transition: Areas of Reported Problems and Opportunities

A high degree of congruence in the area of ease and difficulty
in transition is reported by these subjects. The prescriptive overseas
environment derived from the sponsorship role of parents presents a
predictable structure and support network to facilitate the protean
change and mobility of the population. Moving companies, hotels,
transition services assist so that a flow of continuity through the
changes that occur can assist in maintaining an equilibrium. The
dependents have few choices to make; parents are involved in that process.
The spontaneity in such a setting is more formalized and the demands of
the family quite encompassing. Social life revolves within the third
culture generally and often specifically within the familial units of
sponsors in a specific setting. Third culture students experience diffi-
culty in adjusting to peer social norms in the states, the freedoms
United States students take for granted in terms of driving a car, spon-
taneously planning peer events, arranging their time to meet their needs,
making choices and prioritizing goals. The use of alcohol and drugs in

a social sense is not as controlled as it was overseas or in the home

18O

environments of the United States students for that matter. The large-
ness of scale, impersonal tone of interactions, and the lack of
interest in world events, seen by United States students as remote from
their level of interest, also alienates and causes difficulty to the third
culture person. The overseas person struggles with overchoice, while
the United States student complains of boredom and there not being enough
to do. Dating is also a difficult area as reported by interviewees. In
many settings overseas where populations are small and group support is
necessary, there is almost a taboo on dating as we know it here during
the adolescent years. United States students have been socially meeting
and dating through the high school years and are more comfortable with
autonomy in that area than are their third culture peers. Overseas,
third culture dependents experience gender relationships but not sexual
relationships with few exceptions.

The academic area is an easy one for the re-entering overseas
person. Well prepared, competent, and generally task oriented,
academic responsibilities are discharged successfully. Also, meeting
people and making acquaintances presents no problem. It is in finding

deeper, more meaningful friendships where the real challenge lies.

Aspects of Transposing Identity in the New Environments

 

In the area of transposing identity, recognizing and owning changes
in roles, and self-definitions, the real adaptive challenge emerges. In
assessing the transition process the elemental components of modifying
roles, accepting change and testing beliefs are critical.

The third culture student demonstrates difficulty in the area of
modifying his/her role. Although adjustment on the surface level is

easy, practiced and part of the pattern of mobility, adaptation is a

181

different matter. Modifying a role when that modification represents

a loss of status, identity and meaning in the perceptual frame of the
adapter is virtually impossible. Processing the losses that the third
culture student experiences is an important activity so that the
"self-talk" of internal transactions can be positive and motivating in
seeking good things and opportunities which will grow out of the trans-
position to the new identity. The changes in the life as viewed by

the adapter, the third culture student, are not positive. Although
independence is valued, the sudden collapse of such an all-encompassing
support network and the difficulty of developing support in the peer
world challenge the subject extensively. Beliefs are tested in terms

of the onslaught of peer culture in its most extreme sense at the college
level, a world of young people homogeneous in many ways and not especially
valuing diversity in norms of behavior set by the peer group. Many
subjects express the desire to return overseas as soon as possible and
some have chosen career paths that will facilitate that end. A major
part of cultural cohesiveness is the shared meanings that members possess,
assumptions that are made, and activities that are enjoyed. The
differences in the case of third culture students are heightened because
there are no external clues to the fact that they have not shared a
similar experience with their peers. In other settings, they have been
different and often looked different and those with whom they interacted
had cues and clues of their apartness. That is no longer the case. What
the third culture subjects call "culture shock" really appears to be
re-entry shock. However, re-entry presupposes that at some conscious
point one had belonged. Since the changes that these students experienced

were during developmental periods of growth central to the establishment

182

of identity and of self, it is questionable whether the re-entry
process is such in their respective cases. Transposing identity is
a formidable challenge for them and often the support they get or do
not get for that transition comes from the third culture network and
mentors in the new environment.

Chapter III closes with an overview of the twenty-one subjects
in terms of their management of the tasks and behaviors with the five
adaptation transaction areas as assessed through the Transition
Assessment Scale.

Now that the outline of re-entry adaptation process has been
reviewed for the twenty-one subjects of this dissertation, the
writer proceeds to six in-depth case studies. The objectives in
Chapter IV will be to find the case by case representations of the
themes of adaptation as actUally experienced by six of these third

culture experienced youth.

CHAPTER IV

THE ADAPTATION PROCESS OF THIRD CULTURE EXPERIENCED YOUTH

The adaptation process involves the interaction of the individual
with the environment and the "fit" that exists for that individual in a
specific environment. The youth in this study spent a portion of their
adolescent years, years crucial in identity formation, in settings that
are culturally different. The developmental periods as experienced
by these youth and the content of adolescent experience does not coin-
cide with the critical experiences of their U.S. peers. According to
Downie (l976), the contexts out of which the youth in third culture come
add complexity to the understanding of the development of their identity
because of the multi-cultural environments in which they were raised
and educated.

The primary focus of this study, the adaptation process of third-
culture experienced youth who have graduated from an overseas American-
type secondary school and re-entered the United States as they entered
college is presented in this chapter. Overall themes were discussed
and identified in Chapter Three. In this chapter five sections delin-
eate the in-depth case study approach to six selected members of the
population studied. The chapter is organized in this manner:

(l) introduction, (2) method and rationale for selection of the case
studies presented, (3) presentation of six case studies, (4) analysis

of aspects of adaptation and, (5) summary of the chapter.

183

184-

Introduction

 

The literature presented on third culture experienced persons
delineates a frame of reference helpful in understanding the experi-
ences of the third culture person and the type of life natural in a
third culture environment. Each person's historical experience is an
important part of who he/she is. In the transition process from third
culture backgrounds to the return to the United States at college entry,
perceptions of the third culture milieu impact expectations of the re-
entry environment, valuing processes on return and initial senses of
activating commitment to the new environment. The importance of
sponsorship in the very structured though mobile world of third culture
emerges as a strong shaper of behavior. The “environmental bubble"
created overseas which is an attempt at replicating a type of United
States environment is only a selection of especially supportive United
States elements to facilitate the accomplishment of sponsorship tasks
and not an exact replication of United States life in any way. Third
culture experienced students are not always consciously aware of that.
The uniqueness and specialness of being a foreigner abroad, the
behavioral obligations presented by sponsorship status, the advanced
socio-economic level and benefits that families receive, the mobility
and excitement of such a life style, all shape attitudes about what life
is and what correct behavior is, in a developmental period when the
third culture dependent is forming and developing identity and experi-
menting with relationships in groups. The upward-focus towards adults
as authorities in such an environment and the need for dependents to
be supportive creates some interesting ambivalences in the areas of

dependence-independence, maturity-immaturity, the value of mobile

185

experiences and feelings of uprootedness, the importance of being
different and the need to be a part, the role of observer and the
demand for participation. These ambivalences emerge when the third
culture student re-enters the United States and enters college to begin
coping in an individual and singular way with a new environment. The
transition process, this adaptation to the new situation, involves both
a re-entry component as well as a college entry component, that operate
dynamically in a gestalt of adaptation composed of a series of trans-
actions, experiences, feelings and thoughts that prpvide insights into
the adaptation process of this population. Weiss (l949) notes that the
term adapted always refers to the relation of one entity to another. No
system is adapted as such. It can only be adapted or conform to some-
thing else. If this conformance is achieved by direct interaction of
the person and the environment, we shall speak of adaptation. In the
process of adaptation certain coping strategies facilitate the tran-
sition. Coehlo, Hamburg, and Murphy (1963) focus on specific socio-
academic tasks and various cognitive and interpersonal experiences of
competent adolescents in their college freshman year. They point out
that a "coping strategy involves ego processes in which two aspects are
functionally interrelated: (l) maintaining a sense of worth as well as
developing self-esteem as becoming and (2) managing emotional distress
in the face of complex demands of the new college culture."

Third culture students although they have moved from culture to
culture frequently appear to have adapted to the third culture in
general and not specifically to the host countries where time has been
spent. This is an important feature in assessing their adaptive and

adjustive skills because although many moves may have been recorded, the

186

”environmental bubblell of third culture living overseas is congruent in
many ways from one country to another. The essential adjustment or
adaptive transition made to the third culture involves a transition to
an “exotic" environment. In exploring adjustment aspects to an exotic
environment, Jim Earls (l969) studies human adjustment in a nuclear
submarine milieu. He notes "time differences and characteristic stress
differences," the inability to communicate with persons in the outside
world and the non-variability of physical environmental stimuli as some
of his stressors in the studied environment. The "exotic" environment
of third culture also lends itself to different time and space concepts,
a certain selective communication with the outside world due to
differing language and culture groups in each site and a non-variability
of physical environmental stimuli at the cultural level because of
differing language and communication patterns that frequently lock third
culture persons into patterns of relating for a good part of their over-
seas time with each other.

The adaptation process and the transition of the third culture
person from the third culture environment to the college environment
signals a period of significant testing of skills in the emotional,
social and intellectual area. The fact of re-entry complicates this
period of testing because the perceptual framework and values third

culture students have developed are different.

Method and RatiOnale for Selection of Case Studies Presented

 

Although twenty-one members of the population were interviewed to
elicit samples of experiences, thoughts and feelings associated by the
third culture dependent with the major transitions of re—entry and

adaptation upon college entrance, a complete analysis of the adaptation

187

process of all twenty-one subjects was not possible within the time and
space restrictions of this study. Therefore, commonalities were sought
in the shared experiences and presented in Chapter III. Differences
were also noted and presented material for further thought and
discussion.

After carefully reviewing the interviews fully and noting behaviors
articulated by the interviewees, the Transition Assessment Scale was
used to give a more exact idea of the transition management skills
articulated by each subject and the coping ability reflected in terms
of the behaviors employed. In each task area, there are three behaviors
listed indicating the level of ability attained within each task. A
value of l is assigned for minimal behavior in confronting the task
defined, a value of 2 indicates some moderate involvement in completing
the task, and a value of 3 indicates active, good involvement in con-
fronting the task. Values were added together for each subject so that
an overall basis of comparison might be possible. The highest score or
cumulative value points that a person might receive would be a sum of
45 indicating level 3 behaviors for all 3 tasks in each of the five
categorical areas. Those areas are the five adaptive transactions noted
in previous chapters, i.e. activating commitment, developing support,
adjusting priorities, prioritizing goals and transposing identity.

Six adapters were chosen from the subjects interviewed for a more
in-depth case study approach to the episode of adaptation. Two adapters
who were very successfully coping as reflected by their transition
cumulative values of 43 and 38, two moderately successful adapters with
cumulative scores of 32 and 3l, and two adapters manifesting difficulty
in coping reflected in transition assessment scores of l6 and l5 were

selected for case studies.

188

The case studies for these subjects are presented as episodic life
histories. The rationale for presenting the interview data in this
manner emerges from the rationale adopted by Fitzgerald and Kupferer
(1974) and Ross (l962) and applied by Downie (l976) in which it is
stated that when the concern is to highlight events and episodes in
one particular area, it is appropriate to include only those questions
pertinent to that area rather than pursuing all possible questions
concerning a lhfe history. Since the focus of this dissertation is
the adaptation transition, questions asked of each subject are germane
to that area.

Although the interviewees selected are not necessarily representa-
tive of the larger group, the themes expressed by members of the group
in Chapter III are included in the range of themes and experiences

shared by the selected interviewees in Chapter IV.

Presentation of the Six Case Studies

 

Case Study Number 1 -- Elizabeth, Missionary (Transition Score: 3l)

 

Elizabeth lived nine and one-half years abroad in Kenya, Tanzania
and England. She entered college in l978 and is a college sophomore.
Elizabeth was very excited when she first went to Africa. She was
seven years old and went to a local primary school. She mentions that
her family was the only white family in a four mile radius when they
moved to their house in a small African village outside of Dar Es Salaam.
Her father is a Lutheran minister who also functions as a journalist in
the Third World media. He functions in the area of public relations as
well as fund raising for Christian projects overseas. Her mother is a
kindergarten teacher and has worked as a secretary for the church at

various times in different ministry posts. Elizabeth characterizes the

189

effect her parents had on her as a growing child by saying:
The fact that my father has always been interested in
travelling and has taken us so many places and always kept

us interested in foreign relations in the world is probably

the biggest effect on me. I have that itch to go back and

travel and I don't know if I'll ever be able to settle down.

It's hard to imagine. I'm not sure what I want to do right

now. When I finish here, I'll probably go to graduate school

and I'm not sure whether that will be here or in London or

maybe someWhere else. I've also thought of going to the

Peace Corps or a special overseas program with the Lutheran

Church to teach English overseas or work in a hospital.

Elizabeth's major study areas are Studio Art, German and Biology.
She wishes to get a Master's Degree in the Art field and teach some day
in the creative arts area.

In presenting her ideas on herself as she prepared to leave over-
seas, come to college, and re-enter the United States, Elizabeth notes
that although she was terrified to enter college and come to the United
States, she repressed her questions. She was sad to leave school in
London, yet excited about graduation and a new adventure. She realized
she would be several thousand miles away from home and in a new culture
and she was apprehensive about not being in her accustomed life style
abroad. She felt simultaneously sad and excited. She recollects getting
very sick with flu on entering the states and notes that part of it was
psychological from just plain fear and yet another part of it was
visiting so many relatives and experiencing an abundance of different
types of food. She recollects:

I immediately got sick on coming to the U.S. and I think

that was partly probably psychological 'cause I was scared

and also we were visiting all the relatives who I hadn't seen

for one or two years and everyone was worried about us -~ the

poor relatives from overseas, who never got corn on the cob,

or good steaks -- so that every night we had these wonderful,

rich, excellent meals and my stomach just couldn't take it

after swimming and dieting all summer. I was just not ready

for this food and I think that helped me not feel very good.

Elizabeth missed soccer which had central importance in her life

190

overseas. She lived her life around it as did her whole family. Her
brother plays semi-professional soccer and she played also. She felt
rushed. The pace of life was very fast here and people got angry when
things didn't get done.

"I also spoke differently from others. I had an accent and I used
to say things like, "pass the rubbish," instead of garbage. I was
constantly corrected by others."

Elizabeth saw herself as a swimmer and felt she was a good one
but in the first few weeks she injured the nerve endings in her arm and
couldn't swim. She overextended the bicep muscle and is still getting
therapy for it. She enjoyed the hall she lived in and the people she
met there. They were friendly and she sought out the dorm director when
she had problems and talked to her. She became close to her roommates
and she visited with their families in the states and they visited her
family overseas.

Elizabeth felt well prepared for college yet there was a lot of
pressure and courses were demanding. She was conscious of declaring
a major in art yet wanted a liberal arts education. Elizabeth became
conscious of choices and the fact that she had to make them. Overseas,
she noted she had no choice but here at college she had choices. She
was confronted with overchoice but found that she had to prioritize her
choices and goals because of time constraints. She became very involved
in her Residence Hall and felt burnt-out and under stress by exam time.

In reviewing the initial period, Elizabeth says:

I've lived in many places and I know I can get along if I
give the place a chance. I came here for four years and that

is what I said. I would not change my mind. If I set my mind

on it, I can do it. I'd always known that I would come back to
the United States and I hoped I would fit in -- and would learn.

191

I knew I had to be open to the changes and to the things

people do and I have been, pretty much. However, I also

see things I don't like and I can't decide if they outweigh

the things that I like. Who knows? I might just end up

being overseas for the rest of my life.

Elizabeth demonstrates intentions and periodic willingness to risk
personal capacities in exploring activities and resources available.
Getting involved in swim team, chorus, programming, and student
government were part of risks she embraced. In acknowledging the
fear she has of the transition process, she assumes responsibility to
challenge it and try to get involved in projects and pursuits. At the
same time, she indicates that she still feels somewhat dependent on
parents and unprotected and very vulnerable in her new setting. She
seeks reassurance that things will be O.K. and is experiencing diffi-
culty in developing centeredness.

In her perceptions of her overseas and United States environment,
Elizabeth expressed shock at the materialism, uninformed people, apathy,
pace of life, and friendliness of students. She feels more comfortable
in England but notes that she is very close to her family, and where
family is, home is. She feels safe and protected there but she can get
along in the United States fine. She has two brothers, one who seeks
work in African-American relations but she expressed frustration with
his experiences in trying to get into that field. She notes: "He's
taken the exams but couldn't be given a place because he wasn't black
and jewish and female. He was too white and protestant so he's waiting
around 'til he becomes an endangered species or something."

Elizabeth expressed difficulty in understanding some of the values

of the United States and its policies. She notes that when she is con-

fused about things, she seeks help from a mentor with whom she has

192

developed a relationship in her college work. One of the professors
teaches a course in witchcraft and Elizabeth and her father dealt with
witthcraft in Africa. She felt competent in this area and helped in
teaching the undergraduate course. Elizabeth found the academic area
and the academic world an easy transition for her as was the athletic
area due to her swimming experience. She had the hardest time in
understanding what people liked to do. The whole idea of having a

car was a new one for her. She recollects some of her difficulties:

I guess I had the hardest time in things that people
like to do. There were things that were the same, things
we did that were the same, but the whole idea of having a
car - I don't even know how to drive yet 'cause I've never
needed to learn because public transportation is so easy in
London. There's no need and that was hard to get used to.
People were so used to using the car instead of going by
foot. That was hard. The use of -- the way people drink
here is different. Because in Ohio it wasn't legal. You
have to be 21 to drink hard liquor and to drink beer that
is not 3.2 so that was different because at 18 in England
you can drink anything and the bar/pub in England is such
a part of the social life that you go there to speak and
because of that you drink. Here, it was very much I drink
to get drunk and that's fun. That's not the majority -—
well it might be the majority, I'm not sure but you know
that was different for me and also having pot so out in
the open. In England the laws are so strict that when it's
done it's done in such secrecy that you very rarely experi-
ence it and it was hard for me to realize that people would
actually do it and I started categorizing people into pot
and non-pot smokers but you can't do that 'cause the pot
smokers are such a majority. You don't know anybody
almost -— that's how I felt, but I've learned a lot. You
come to terms with that. It was just because I knew about
it but had never experienced it on such a great level. It
just wasn't enough.

In terms of the transition experience, Elizabeth sees transitions
within transitions, some of them much more difficult than others. Once
Elizabeth prioritized her goals and began to manage her time the "over-
choice" problems began to fall in place. She sought support for her

transitions at the personal level through residence hall staff, at the

193

academic level through professor-mentors, at the social level by linking
with the international student association which published a type of
shopping guide for foreign students with the places to find less
expensive supplies and the names of stores in this country where needed
supplies might be found. For instance, the equivalence for chemist's
store would be drug store in the United States. She found the foreign
student advisor a big support to her. The open house for foreign
students held at the beginning of the year drew third culture students
and AFS students who felt the need to express concerns and feelings
about their return and to discuss culture shock.

Elizabeth went home to England at Christmas for five weeks and spent
Thanksgiving with her brother at another school in the United States. On
the whole she felt very much on her own and that that was a family
expectation. She says that each family member was expected to be inde-
pendent and adapt to the new environment on their own.

There were two very important incidents she remembers in her early
transition period that were very important to her. She recounts them in
this manner:

Well, I don't know. These aren't really big significant
things that happened - great events but two come to mind. One

of the first two weeks I was here I was down on the guys' floor

in this room and everybody said we're gonna smoke now and my

roommate was really tense and she left the room and I was in the

room and I was really tense too. It was a whole different
language. I didn't know what they were gonna hit on the bong,

or whatever, so I didn't understand and one of the guys could

see that I was getting upset and I left the room and he said,

'Elizabeth why don't you come in here,‘ and he sat down and he

told me and sat there and talked to me about it; why people do

it and what all this jargon means. He's a senior and he's going

to Africa this coming year and he's been overseas in study

programs in Israel and England. He worked in Minneapolis in

street ministry and he's very much concerned with the world. He

helped me feel that now I could understand. Just that talk...I

thought of it often...helped me a lot. It calmed me down... there
were things inside that I wanted to say but I couldn't because they

194

would think I was really strange. After that he was a
significant person for me.

The second incident was my 18th birthday. I got
really homesick right before it and that day we were
having a swim meet. The day before the trainer said I
shouldn't swim because of my arm and I wanted to swim
so my coach put me in one of the events. After the
meet the team had a cake for me. The guys sang
happy birthday to me and four of my friends (these
three guys and my roommate who did everything together
last year) brought me breakfast in bed which was
really, really neat. Then my parents called me thinking
they'd wake me up but I was already awake with breakfast
in bed. That day there was a sign on the lounge across
from my room saying Elizabeth cannot enter here and there
was a terrible noise inside. They had been threatening
for three weeks to do something terrible to me and there's
a tradition at school to throw people in ponds on their
birthday, in bath tubs full of ice and that kind of
ridiculous stuff. I was thinking 'what are they going to
do to me?‘ I was almost terrified to go near the room.
My roommate said, 'Let's go downtown and shop,’ and so she
took me downtown to try to find some clothes. We went to
Burger King for dinner and then we came back to the
room and people had been strange all day to me, grinning
and saying 'you just wait and see.‘ So it was like
7 o'clock and I went to the door and I couldn't get it
open. I wondered what was in there...what they had...I've
had friends who would move furniture into the room and move
in signs they took off the road that said Wooster township
or something, and put them in the room and those horses
with lights...you know, that kind of ridiculous stuff. I
walked into the room and it was full of balloons up to my
neck and I just looked...they knew I loved balloons. I love
the colors and they're such wonderful things and the balloons
started singing. There were people under them, 'Show me the
way to go home', which had become our theme song for some
reason, and there were all these people. It was so wonderful
and it made me feel so great.

In offering notions about her adaptation, Elizabeth offers:

I've adapted but I still have culture shock everytime
I come back. Well...the first thing I see when I arrive
at JFK...it's the cars. The size of them. It's getting
better. American people are learning that they can use
little cars. They'll do fine. That's the first shock and,
when I get back here, the speed of everything. I notice
that, and how people are very persistent. We've got to get
this done and we have to rush to that and we don't want to
wait in lines and we just push in. In England we've got to
queue...wait in the queue; if it doesn't get done we'll get
it done tonorrow...you know, and that kind of stuff. I also

Case

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notice the amount of materialism in the United States and I
notice it the most. I had a good friend whom I knew in
Africa who came from Czechslovakia. She came to England.
She got an exit permit out and she's a year younger than me.
When she came to England she was so shocked at the amount of
clothing and food there was in England. When I came here,
compared to that, I see a whole row of cereal and 400
dresses and colors...that kind of thing bothers me and the
fact that I see myself saying 'I need that,‘ 'I've got to
have that,’ and I don't need it. I don't have to have any-
thing and I have to keep an ongoing battle. I feel more
materialistic here 'cause so many people are. Also...I
think it's getting better on the campus and I think it's
part of the Iran crisis but people are now becoming more
aware that there is something outside of the United States
of America. Before, people were very foreign to it and
maybe the large percent of international people on this
campus have helped. But I feel myself that's another
battle, 'cause I read the newspaper everyday in England

and here it's so easy not to, just to say 'oh, Tito died,
yeah, four days ago,’ or, 'the Iranian Embassy in London
was bombed.‘ 'Oh, was it bombed?‘ You know, that kind

of thing. It's not good for anyone to become that insulated.

Study Number 2 -- Geoff, Missionary (Transition Score: 43)

Geoff lived fifteen years abroad in Cameroon, England, Zaire, and

Taiwan. He entered college in 1976 and is a college senior. His

father is a Pastor and Professor of Church History and German and his

mother is also a teacher at the Theological Seminary overseas. Geoff

explains:

It made a big difference that they were missionaries.
It could have been different if they had been state depart-
ment and didn't have a long term commitment to what they
were doing in a country. Whereas my parents were in Cameroon
for 25 years and were much more aware of the culture they
were in and the people...that rubbed off on me and they
were missionaries so I was not surrounded by a bunch of
state department people that came back to the states all the
time and had PX privileges. I don't mean to make it sound
like a bribe, but it was different. Not only were we
dependent on the country but I call Cameroon home and I don't
think any state department child would have and I think that
makes a difference in how one will relate to the people and
the country. To extend that further, most missionaries
would feel that way because of their commitment and their
parents' commitment to the country. They're supposed to be
more aware of the people they're with.

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Geoff was born in Cameroon and lived overseas for fifteen years.
Shortly after that his parents brought him back to the States and the
family spent one year in New York City before returning to Cameroon.

He spent some time in a French school in Cameroon and later on attended
a missionary boarding school there. Later, the family moved to London
for the purpose of doing some research and micro-film work and when the
family returned to Cameroon, Geoff went to High School in Zaire. He
enjoyed living overseas and feels that boarding school is an excellent
preparation for the transition to college. He notes:

I was really glad I did live overseas. I feel really
lucky because college wasn't so scary after boarding school.

Living overseas makes a big difference. Having lived

in the states for these 4 years in a dorm with people who

haven't lived overseas...getting to know or see someone's

point of view by a person who has never left Ohio...is

difficult. I would hazard a guess that living overseas

gives a more liberal view of world affairs.

In discussing perceptions of this overseas environment and the
United States environment, Geoff states that he feels that the overseas
environment was broader. He notes:

Among other things, it gave me a perspective of

world affairs that would be difficult to obtain here in

the U.S. My education did not consist of merely studying

America or American culture.

He considers Cameroon home and would like to return overseas since
he doesn't consider the states his home. He feels comfortable travelling
and in another culture where things are at first alien or strange. As
a student of history with a minor in English however, he will begin in
the states after graduating by seeking a job with a newspaper in a town
where his sister and brother-in-law live.

The United States was exciting for him when he first arrived;

things were on a large scale. He had gone to Taiwan for one year after

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graduation with his parents but he resented the move from Zaire and felt
Africa was his home. He shares the fact that his whole year in Taiwan
was spoiled because he wasn't mentally receptive and since he knew he
would only be there a year he did not try to get to know the people or
the culture. He feels that not having any appreciation that year and
spoiling it for himself helped him to be more open to the states and
motivated him to be more active in exploring the new environment.
Geoff notes:
The big transition for me was from Zaire to Taiwan. The

change of places affected me more than the change of schools.

I was kind of ignorant and I didn't know what to fear in coming

to the States...that was a help.

He found the United States an extremely homogeneous place and
decided that the effect of the media was critical in shaping that homo-
geneity. He recalls:

Once they found out I lived overseas they joked

about it but my hall didn't make me feel bad about it.

I can imagine having been not ostracized, but made to feel

really bad about not having seen the "Wizard of Oz" 25

times. I mean I'm the only one that's seen it only once,

and that's just an example. I have no desire to see it

again. I mean, they would kid me about it, for instance,

and they would say, 'we have to tell you about it and

get you educated on how things go,‘ but there was never

any meanness and that surprised me.

In presenting ideas on his perceptions of himself, Geoff notes
that he is an open person, enjoys diverse experiences and travelling.
He feels different as a result of his overseas experience and more of
an observer of people. Academically, he was well prepared and felt
competent in the academic area. (He feels goals are not particularly
necessary for a person but notes that peers and professors stressed
having goals. He dislikes living in a cold climate and states that it
really upsets him. In reviewing the initial period of transition Geoff

recalls:

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Academics would have been easiest and social life
would have been the most difficult. I had no idea, even
after I had come back to the states and left again after
the seventh grade, about what Americans in general or
American high school students did, said, acted or were
instructed in, so it was in essence coming to a new culture
because it had been 5 years since I had been in the states
and even in the seventh grade, I didn't enjoy that year.
It was like Taiwan again, a lack of appreciation for where
I was. Social life was the biggest change, and the toughest.

I spent leisure time with the people on my hall, with
small groups of them doing different activities. Most of the
people on my hall were not fraternity minded, or I was not
that interested in partying with the seething mass of other
people. When I was in high school in a dorm there was also
always a bunch of people to be around. We didn't have TV,
cars, movies, the theatre as options. We had to be imagina-
tive in our use of our free time; things weren't provided
for us. I think, I'm not sure how this fits in, but when
I came here I was semi-conscious of having most of my leisure
time provided for. It was there, flip the switch. I didn't
have to be imaginative.

The transition experience for Geoff was characterized by a lot
of support from the men on his residence hall floor. Although programs
did not exist, he felt their existence might be a sign of caring though
he is not sure that third culture students would attend them. He
returned to school in his senior year as a Resident Assistant with the
primary role of supporting freshmen as they entered the college environ-
ment. Geoff feels he has come full circle. He notes:

I've acclimated myself. I've adapted myself in

the four years I've been here. Subconsciously I am

an American and I readjusted myself to my new home.

My home now...always my home on paper. I find the

R.A. experience frustrating but interesting because I'm

living with a bunch of freshmen upstairs and older classmen

downstairs and it's interesting to see myself now in compari-

son with what I was. There's a big difference.

Geoff is engaged to a woman who also has lived overseas in her
youth and they plan to return after establishing themselves for a while

in the United States.

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Case Study Number 3 -- Hans, Business (Transition Score: 32)

Hans went overseas in the beginning of his eighth grade year and
lived abroad for five years in London. He entered college in 1977 and is
a college junior majoring in packaging. Hans' father is a tax lawyer
for a large automobile firm abroad and his mother is a homemaker. Hans
had been made aware of the importance of tax structures in international
investments and balance of international and national trade through
discussions with his father and his interest in his father's work. He
feels the experience of living abroad has taught him a great deal, that
he understands people better in one way and is familiar with diverse
patterns and styles of life. He feels his overseas experience hindered
him in another way which was part of the severe culture shock he experi-
enced on return to the United States.

In reviewing his perceptions of the overseas environment and the
United States environment upon re-entry, Hans was shocked at the ways
peers behaved. In London he knew the expectations of behavior and
fulfilled them to the best of his ability. The largeness of scale,
and impersonal tone of United States life was difficult for him to
comprehend. He found it hard to leave London, yetkhe was excited
about coming to university. His general impressions of return to the
United States are identical with his impressions of entry to college in
the United States. He experienced disappointment initially and was very
uncomfortable with the peer group. Hans reports:

The worst was just all these freshman guys when I

moved into the dorm, they seemed like immature persons.

They seemed about 5 years younger than the people I had

been with over in England. They were all getting away

from home for the first time and it was just let's

go nuts, let's go wild. They were in Wonders Hall and it

was, 'I'm away from Mommy and Daddy for the first
time, let's get drunk. Let's go wild.‘ I had been

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drinking for several years and they were doing it for
the first time and thought it was such a big thing. They
were such immature persons.

In the first three months, there were no best
experiences because I had left my ex-girlfriend over
there, at the time she wasn't ex- and you know the
parents were 3,000 miles away too, and so I couldn't
talk to them.

It was extremely difficult for him to develop a support base.
At first the wrestling team was a support unit for him, but then the
adjustment involved in dieting, managing academics and culture shock
overwhelmed him so he had to give it up. Finally, he heard that two
other students from his overseas school were on campus. They had
graduated two years earlier and he found them, shared problems and
experiences with them and moved onto the same Residence Hall floor
with them. He notes:

I moved onto a floor where two other guys who

graduated from the American School in London two years

earlier were and then at least I saw other people who

I could relate with and everything seemed to change

right then. Adjusting -- it's kind of neat 'cause one

of the fellows had the same feelings I had when he first

came back to the states. It reassured me and the other

guy did too but not to the same extent. He didn't live

there as long as the first I was talking about. There

weren't many other good experiences. It seemed kinda

neat. College life was like living in a small town of

all people your own age, just like walking down the street

and seeing everyone your own age, pretty weird, unusual,

like a whole race of teenagers. Well, not really, but

when I left my house, went out on the street, I started to

see older people again, Here everybody's a teenager.
Hans presented a few perceptions of himself as he re-entered the United
States and entered college life. He felt he was a mature person, much
more mature than his peers. He felt he was under a great deal of stress
in accomodating peer behavior. He could not relate to it. He felt
competent in the academic area but found he could not organize things.

He didn't know where to start first. One of the worst incidents he

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remembers grew out of a sense of total frustration in dealing with his
roommate. He reports:

The immaturity of the peer group was a big difficulty.
My roommate and I didn't get along. We got into a fight
the day before I took off and that was pretty stupid. I
walked into the bedroom and he's undoing the sheets on my
bed and I say, 'stop doing that' and he kept doing it so
I did the same thing to him but I didn't realize there
were books on top of his bed. It wouldn't have made any
difference anyhow. I just ripped his sheets off and his
books went all over the floor. They were scattered all
over the place. He starts crying and he jumps on my back
and I pushed him onto the couch. We were suitemates with
these two football players and they pulled me off him. Time
to leave that environment.

It was difficult for Hans to process these problems in his own
sense of frustration with himself and others. He didn't have friends
in the United States outside of the alumni from his former overseas
school. He received phone calls from parents in London and visited at
Christmas break. He was conscious of expressing himself differently and
that others didn't understand him. He recollects:

There were many things I experienced in England that

I couldn't relate to people here. They would have no idea

of it. I knew I could share with those who lived in England
and then came to the states like my two friends who graduated
two years ahead of me and lived on the same floor with me at
college. People in the states would get away when we talked
about England, and I didn't share information I had and that
made it difficult. I knew that I knew things that people had
no idea about, just like people that are in England know more
about different cultures. I've seen places that three-fourths
of these people have never seen. I just thought that I had a
real good background of what the world was like or at least
Europe and about how people do things there and how it is over
here and just that I had more culture, different norms and patterns.

Hans' transition period was difficult. He felt norms and patterns
were totally different. He had come to college to pursue sciences so
that he might study osteopathic medicine and he had hoped to continue
his wrestling. He recounts:

The reason I wanted to go into osteopathy and why I

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took biology and physiology in High School was because

the teacher was so fantastic there. She made the class

so enjoyable and I come here and started watching televised
classes and taking notes and first of all I changed my

major to business because I didn't like the sciences, or

I liked them but not the way they were here, mainly I thought
my classes were a lot more interesting in High School.
Teachers seemed to care about you there whereas here, in my
experience, at least 80% of the teachers don't care if the
students pass or fail. They just know they have to give out
a number of 4 points, etc. I guess that's about it. I can't
really blame them with so many students.

Yeah, my goals were wrestling, to be a good wrestler,
and to get real good grades. They were my two main goals.
Giving up wrestling was a real big disappointment to me.
In High School, I was captain for two years and I was #1
in the U.K. and to give it up was like giving up part of
my life. I didn't substitute anything. I put more
energies into my academics. I couldn't do intramural
wrestling 'cause that's, you know, once you're used to
varsity you can't go back or go down. I thought about
going back to it but I know I could never be as good as
if I had not lost those two years of practice here and I
couldn't see going through eight years of doing it that
way and then being poor at it. I chose business and went
toward accounting but it got real boring after a while so
I thought, 'I have to do something I really like and I
started to talk to advisers,‘ and I knew quite a few
people that were in packaging and it seemed they were
really enjoying it, especially this type of packaging
'cause you have to use mental energies but you're working
with physical things. I think that's better than just
thinking or working on the assembly line. I couldn't
see not using my brain at all and just sitting at a desk
with paper in front of me.

According to Hans, his adaptation period lasted more than six months

but the first three were the most traumatic. There were no programs

to facilitate his adaptation but he recalls that if there had been he

probably would not have gone. Adaptation is something you have to go

through on your own from Hans' viewpoint. At the time, he feels it was

like going through hell. In terms of feeling a sense of home and

belonging, he notes:

I'd say it's pretty much even as far as home, in dif-
ferent ways in the two places. In London I think...well,
maybe I feel more at home in London 'cause it seems I was

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brought up there all my life even though it was only from
the age of 13, but that was when I was really growing up
and reaching out to things. I know the ins and outs of
London like the back of my hand. I know what's normal and
what people should do and shouldn't do. I guess I know it
pretty well in the states too. I guess it's pretty even
now, but when I first came I just didn't know what people
were supposed to be doing and it was pretty weird. I guess
now it's pretty much even.

My parents aren't sure how long they'll be over there.
I guess in a couple of years they'll be coming back.

Case Study Number 4 -- Bonnie, Business (Transition Score: 38)

Bonnie was overseas approximately four years in Japan. She entered
college in 1976 and is a college senior. Her father is an acting Vice
President for a multi-national insurance company and her mother is a
housewife. Bonnie recalls that her father was always immersed in his
work but it became even more intense as a pattern of behavior when
they re-located in Japan. She mentions that the Japanese work ethic
intensified her father's work-a-holic behavior and her mother, who didn't
enjoy spending time with the ladies at the club playing bridge, was very
lonely overseas. Bonnie found refuge in the school and in spending time

with school friends. She relates:

I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. The
people made it very special...in some ways they are
very different and in some ways you can see that people
are the same all over. They're very passive in some respects
like I used to come home by myself at 11:30 or 12 o'clock
and my mother would never worry about me walking home alone.
We couldn't drive over there 'cause you have to be 18 and
take your test in Japanese and very few of us had licenses.
Out of all the kids I knew there were only 2 because every-
body turned 18 and then went back to the states to go to
college. We were not immobile by any means because of
public transportation. You could set your watch by it,
by the trains there, and it was never any problem getting
anywhere. The school was really special too because there
were only 500 students 7-12 and we were all really close
because that was our refuge where we could pretend that
nothing was different when the everyday hassles got to be
too much we could just envelope ourselves in the school,

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and the security which is something my parents knew.

The school tried as much as possible to be American...

with sports and activities but it also catered to our

uniqueness by having japanese clubs, Ikebana, things we

were interested in other than just American activities 'cause

it was an international school. Also, it gave me the oppor-

tunity to teach English to Japanese, something I'd never

have the opportunity to do here. There were 27 countries

represented in the school. I got to know Japanese teenagers,

how they differed and what they were taught. In a lot of

ways it's real different, their competitive drive is

taught in school. hIt is drilled in, yet they're supposed

to be competitive in school, but they're not competitive

in any other sphere of their life. The girls and boys

are separated in high school. There's no dating, or

very little dating, it's a different atmosphere but

that kind of carried over into our high school too.

There was no such thing as dating...as I hear about it

when I came back here. We went out in groups.

Her concept of the overseas environment emerges from being an
overseas American in Japan. The overseas environment she remembers
is a very comfortable one. Since she lived there between the ages of
fourteen and eighteen, she feels it made a very deep impression on her.
The extent and accessibility of public transportation made her feel
very independent. The fact that she has to rely on finding someone with
a car in the United States restricts her feelings of independence here.
However, she notes that she's getting used to it and little by little
she feels more comfortable in the United States as it is now and in her
memories of Japan as it was then.

The United States impressed Bonnie as both very restricted
in some ways: the drinking age, the ethnocentrism of her peers, the
homogeneity of the music people listened to; and very free in other
ways: the way people structured time, dating and social patterns,
a general spontaneity. She characterizes herself as an observer of
people and a person interested in making the comparisons and contrasts
between differing patterns. The move from overseas to the United States

was a transition from a sheltered, protected ambiance to an open,

205

diverse one. She felt jolted into the real world; startled into examin-
ing her frame of reference and network of perceptions.

In terms of her concepts and perceptions of self, Bonnie felt
extremely competent in terms of the task and academic demands of the
environment. She expressed excitement at the idea of coming to college
yet apprehension about fitting into social patterns. She felt both
experienced in the world sense and inexperienced in the dating patterns
and just not comfortable with her interactions with the opposite sex.
She regards herself as a disciplined person and felt that peers demon-
strated a lack of discipline. She felt both very old and very young
simultaneously; experienced in many ways, yet naive.

In recounting her adaptatiorrtransition experiences, Bonnie notes:

I expected people to be mature and drive oriented
and another thing, I was kind of appalled at cheating and
the laissez-faire attitude. I told the professors and they
didn't do anything about it. I saw a person doing that last
night and the crib notes were written on his desk. The
proctor came and stood over him and he was lost. I'm an
undergrad teaching assistant and if I see eyes wander I rip
up the test. You can convince me later. But there was one
thing that surprised me, that was lots of competition.
Our high school was really hard but we all worked together.
There wasn't the competition. The kill about being
valedictorian. Somebody made it and somebody didn't. There
was a lot of cooperation.

My adaptation was all of freshman year. After my
first term there was no way I wanted to come back here. I
was just so alienated and my sister and I are very, very close.
This was the first time we had ever been separated. That was
a big factor in the beginning. It wasn't that I was away
from my parents but it was more being away from her. I had 2
or three real good friends that I still had from 4 years ago
and we'd go out together. They had more of the ideals that
I did. One of my friends was always trying to talk me back
into pre-med. She doesn't realize that for me being a
Physician's Assistant is more important than being a doctor.
Just the other day she realized that she was going to be in
school for 8 more years and I said I thought about that and
my values when I decided to be a PA 'cause I'll be out and
accomplishing in two years and then if I want a family I can do
that. You know it was stuff like that that I thought about

206

but she never did.

We hung around a lot. I also got the reputation on
my floor and the brother floor of being the big sister
especially to the guys. They would come with all their girl
problems. It was fun at first but then it got to be a
drag. I was tired of being everybody's big sister. I
thought it was a type of maturity that I developed in Japan.
In some ways I was still really immature 'cause I wasn't
used to things here, but it was a type of maturity that
was different from their's and it just struck them. I was
used to putting people at ease. When you go to school over-
seas everyone leaves and you get a totally new population.
You're an old-timer if you're there 3 years to see the
complete change of personnel and you get used to anti-
cipating what people are going to have problems with.
That's why I enjoy teaching so much 'cause I can remember
what I had problems with and I never realized it. I
learned it on my own.

Case Study Number 5 -- George, Business (Transition Score: 16)

George was overseas approximately nine years. He entered college
in 1976 and is a college senior. His father works for General Motors
overseas and his mother is a housewife. George mentions that his
father's involvement overseas affected him somewhat in terms of the
types of American communities he lived in and the relationships with
General Motors families. He also notes the travel aspect to living
overseas and the fact that he enjoyed that opportunity very much.

George shares the experience of leaving high school and re-entering
the United States as follows:

I wasn't planning on going to college though my parents

had talked about it. I hadn't found a job and I was looking

in the area of construction. I wanted to wait around over-

seas because I didn't want to go to college. I always

thought that it was going to come, the end of our overseas

experience, and we'd have to come back. While we were in

South Africa I didn't feel that way but once we went to

Iran I did. When we got back after nine years it was hard

to adjust. It was a much bigger culture shock to come back

to the states than it was to go from South Africa to Iran.

His impressions of the overseas environment are very positive. He

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enjoyed the travel, sports and the high school experience. He very
much wants to return overseas but mentions that a return to South
Africa would be difficult for him. He states:

I'd like to go back to South Africa bUt it would be
more difficult in the light of my current political awareness.
When I was there I was aware of different things. Apartheid
was taught in my history book. They teach a lot about
nationalism, the Dutch versus the British. The Dutch were
strong on apartheid. The British accepted apartheid
but were friendlier to blacks. Division among whites
seemed to be the issue.

George continues to share impressions of the college environment
as he recalls them:

Upon entering college I had trouble getting back into
the American style of life - doing bongs, jive talking. I
had never played basketball. Overseas I played mostly
soccer, rugby and swimming. The first year I just wanted
to leave. I had played a lot of soccer in Iran.

The whole general malaise I felt bothered me. I just
don't fit in. I had one good friend who lived in my dorm.
I had the expectation that it would be great back in the
states. I expected some difficulties but not as many as I
had. I couldn't get along with people that lived on my
floor. That was a problem. They were all jocks and into
football. I lived there a year and then moved off campus.
It was much better.

George perceives himself as a mobile person, a traveller, and does
not identify at all with being in school. He had troubles with the
social ambiance though he notes that his studies were easy for him.
Although he enjoyed his time overseas, he feels re-entry and entry
to college were not experiences he enjoyed or opportunities for growth.
He says:

I experienced a lot of alienation. I was alienated by
attitudes people had about things that were different, the

group mentality, expressions and ways of doing things. I

was only seventeen when I returned and just waking up to a

lot of things. It was a stage in my life that was passing.

Moving all the time you don't have a firm base to set

growth in or to look back on. You don't have future goals or
an idea for a set job. I did have an interest in the political

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aspects of things. I just read a lot.
Alienation and feeling alienated were important aspects of

re-entry and college entry emphasized by George.

Case Study Number 6 -- Thomas, Business (Transition Score: 15)

Thomas was overseas approximately seven years before he entered
college in 1979. He is a college freshman. His father worked for
DuPont and his mother began a small home business in interior design
and crewel. Thomas notes that his parents belonged to the business
community and that had a big effect on his life. He felt that being
part of the business community was far superior to being part of the
military community in Germany. He states:

From my point of view the military were the main

cause for any bad feelings Germans had for Americans.

I found I didn't like the military. There were stories

in the newspaper about them, stories on the radio; for

example, two American G.I.'s shot someone in a pub; they

have pulled Germans out of a car on a Friday night and

beat them up. It didn't happen very often but enough

to have an effect.

Thomas liked his experience overseas very much. "I liked my
experiences," he states, ”as a younger adult you do not have as many
restrictions and rules as young adults seem to have in the states. I
could do pretty much whatever I pleased."

Upon entering the college environment, Thomas was first of all
impressed with the bigness of the place. Secondly, he notes the
friendliness of the people in Michigan. He shares the fact that he
had a "wait and see attitude". According to Thomas, "I'm not that
open a kind of person. I usually wait for things to happen to me."

Thomas felt more comfortable in Europe than he does in the states.

He notes:

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I feel that my morals are different in some ways - not

many ways - but they have a practice here of walking down

the hall with no clothes on to get to the bathroom. Maybe

it's just false modesty on my part but I don't like it. Also

the drinking pattern here upsets me. People seem to drink

just to get zonked out of their minds. Those who don't drink

have a self-righteous attitude. The water here also bothers

me. It's really lousy. Physically, I'm out of shape because

it's hard to get involved in sports here. People here also

are very narrow in their thinking. Those are some of the areas

with which I'm uncomfortable here.

In communicating his perceptions of himself, Thomas sees himself
as a free person, an open person and as a result he finds university
rules oppressive. He thinks his peers are immature in their social
behavior and that he is more mature and sophisticated than they are.
He has difficulty "getting used to college life, living in the dorms
and American culture." According to Thomas:

I don't know if I'll finish school here. I feel very

rigid. It's like 1984 and big brother is always watching

you. I feel it's very tough to find a place to be myself.

That's one of the problems of college. I find I can't find

enough people that I like that much; even to find a roommate

to move off campus with seems impossible. I'm very difficult

to live with if you're not a very, very good friend.

Thomas expressed strong feelings of rebellion. He responded to a
request from his R.A. to turn his music down one evening by going outside
and stealing license plates from cars. He was caught by the police and
is now on a special program to make up for that offense. He is on
probation.

Thomas remains angry about what he calls the puritannical ways of
the United States and articulates a great deal of dissonance in his new

environment.

Analysis of Case Studies of Adaptive Transactions

 

In the introduction to this chapter, a series of demonstrated

diverse patterns of socialization are noted as a result of the overview

210

of interviews of third culture experienced youth. Literature on the
complicated identity formation and the content of the adolescent
experience within the third culture environment set these youth apart
from the peers they join in the college transition process. Multi-
cultural environments during the adolescent developmental period com-
plicate the identity formation and a sense of ambivalence results.
Valuing processes, expectations based on the environment previously
experienced, the effect of sponsorship in shaping behavior, mobility
and change variables impact both the sense of self expressed and the
perception of ideal environment and real environment shared by these
youth.

In analyzing the transactions noted in these case studies and
relating them to the interview experiences shared in Chapter III,
certain commonalities emerge. An analysis of each transaction through
a presentation of a Transition Assessment Scale for each of the six
in-depth interviews may assist in defining a possible adaptation
process experienced by third culture experienced youth.

Transition Assessment Scale information is presented for each

case study subject in each transaction category.

211

Area I: Activating Commitment

212

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Elizabeth

 

Participant's Code Name

ACTIVATING COMMITMENT BEHAVIORS

TASKS
Risking ___jl)
Self
X (2)
____(3)
Assuming ___(1)
Responsibility
_X__(2)
_(3)
Developing ____(1)
Centeredness
X (2)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Shows reluctance to use or risk personal
capacities.

Demonstrates intentions and periodic
willingness to risk personal capacities

Typically does the things that will help even
when risky.

Seems to shift responsibility to others to take
the lead.

Is taking on a sense of ownership for dealing
with transition.

Uses transition as a way of developing self-
management skills.

Seeks continuing reassurance that things will
be O.K.

Demonstrates some responses that reflect self-
directedness.

Uses transition experiences to test personal
ingenuity.

Elizabeth indicates that she set her mind on adjusting and

adapting in the United States.

She indicates that she knew she had

to be open to the changes and the people but there were some areas

that she did not like and wasn't sure about.

She owns the fact that

she needs to deal with the transition.

Elizabeth indicates a degree of self-directedness in getting

involved with pursuits:
sometimes seeks reassurance from others that she is all right.

residence hall involvement, swimming and
There

is a tentativeness about her commitment as she reflects on it and

She qualifies even strong statements about commitment.

She notes

that even though she assumes responsibility she still feels dependent

on parents.

213

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Geoff

'REFticipant's Code Name

ACTIVATING COMMITMENT BEHAVIORS

TASKS
Risking ____(1)
Self
X (2)
___l3)
Assuming ___(1)
Responsibility
._K_(2)
____(3)
Developing (1)
Centeredness
___12)
x (3)

Supportinngvidence:

 

Shows reluctance to use or risk personal
capacities.

Demonstrates intentions and periodic willingness
to risk personal capacities.

Typically does the things that will help even
when risky.

Seems to shift responsibility to others to take
the lead.

Is taking on a sense of ownership for dealing
with transition.

Uses transition as a way of developing self-
management skills.

Seeks continuing reassurance that things will
be O.K.

Demonstrates some responses that reflect self-
directedness.

Uses transition experiences to test personal
ingenuity.

Geoff indicates a willingness to activate commitment in the

United States as a contrast to his behavior in Taiwan.

He feels he

needs to be open so he can learn and demonstrates intention to do so.
He articulates the realization that without an appreciation and
openness to new environments a person loses out on valuable experience.

He indicates that he is active in exploring the environment,
seeks information from others and attempts to test his ingenuity in
a range of behaviors from feeling real different at the outset to
becoming an R.A. and assisting others in their transitions.

214

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Hans

 

Participant's Code Name

ACTIVATING COMMITMENT BEHAVIORS

TASKS
Risking ____(1)
Self ,
X (2)
___(3)
Assuming ____(1)
Responsibility
__>_<__(2)
___(3)
Developing ___jl)
Centeredness
X (2)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Shows reluctance to use or risk personal
capacities.

Demonstrates intentions and periodic willingness
to risk personal capacities.

Typically does the things that will help even
when risky.

Seems to shift responsibility to others to take
the lead.

Is taking on a sense of ownership for dealing
with transition.

Uses transition as a way of developing self-
management skills.

Seeks continuing reassurance that things will
be O.K.

Demonstrates some responses that reflect self-
directedness.

Uses transition experiences to test personal
ingenuity.

Hans demonstrates a willingness to risk personal capacities in
adapting to his new environment by changing his expectations in order

to activate his commitment.

This involved leaving his wrestling team,

changing from the science area to the business area, and trying to
adjust to a "whole race of teenagers."

He takes on some sense of ownership for the difficulties involved
in the experience by noting that he feels stressed as a result of culture

shock and experiences difficulty in organizing things.

He admits

his roommmate problem was partially a result of his own frustrations.

He owns the fact that he expresses himself differently; seeks
excellence in academic area by limiting commitments and tries to find
a career area that is more realistic for him than medicine.

215

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Bonnie

 

Participant's Code Name

ACTIVATING COMMITMENT BEHAVIORS

TASKS
Risking ___(1)
Self
.542)
____(3)
Assuming ____(1)
Responsibility
X (2)
___(3)
Developing (1)
Centeredness
_____(2)
X (3)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Shows reluctance to use or risk personal
capacities.

Demonstrates intentions and periodic willingness
to risk personal capacities.

Typically does the things that will help even
When risky.

Seems to shift responsibility to others to take
the lead.

Is taking on a sense of ownership for dealing
with transition.

Uses transition as a way of developing self-
management skills.

Seeks continuing reassurance that things will
be O.K.

Demonstrates some responses that reflect self-
directedness.

Uses transition experiences to test personal
ingenuity.

Bonnie realizes that her overseas environment was a very
protected, selective one and senses that she is mature and independent

in some ways but naive and dependent in others.

She indicates a willing-

ness, after her first term, to manage the transition and define the areas

she has trouble with and confront them, e.g. the Cheating on exams.

She

notes that the transition challenged her sense of the real world and
forced her to think about it.

216

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

George

 

Participant's Code Name

ACTIVATING COMMITMENT BEHAVIORS

TASKS

Risking
Self

Assuming ____
Responsibility

Developing
Centeredness

Supporting Evidence:

Shows reluctance to use or risk personal
capacities.

Demonstrates intentions and periodic willingness
to risk personal capacities.

Typically does the things that will help even
when risky.

Seems to shift responsibility to others to take
the lead.

Is taking on a sense of owndership for dealing'6
with the transition.

Uses transition as a way of developing self-
management skills.

Seeks continuing reassurance that things will
be O.K.

Demonstrates some responses that reflect self-
directedness.

Uses transition experiences to test personal
ingenuity.

George states that he didn't really want to come to college

but that he couldn't find a job in construction.

He also admits

that though he knew at some point he would have to return to the
United States, he wanted to delay that move as long as possible.

217

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Thomas

 

Participant's Code Name

ACTIVATING COMMITMENT BEHAVIORS

TASKS

Risking
Self

Assuming .___
Responsibility

Developing
Centeredness

Supporting Evidence:

Shows reluctance to use or risk personal
capacities.

Demonstrates intentions and periodic willingness
to risk personal capacities.

Typically does the things that will help even
when risky.

Seems to shift responsibility to others to take
the lead.

Is taking on a sense of ownership for dealing
with transition.

Uses transition as a way of developing self-
management skills.

Seeks continuing reassurance that things will
be O.K.

Demonstrates some responses that reflect self-
directedness.

Uses transition experiences to test personal
ingenuity.

Thomas experiences the United States college environment as

oppressive.

He finds too many rules.

He is not actively

committed to making it work for himself.

218

Area 11: Developing Support

219

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Elizabeth

 

Perticipant's Code Name

DEVELOPING SUPPORT BEHAVIORS

TASKS

Recognizing
Resource
Awareness

__(1)
__?_<_(2)
(3)

Acquiring
Resource
Acquisition

Finding
Support

Sppporting Evidence:

 

Elizabeth has a clear picture of useful resources.

Seems unaware of potentially useful resources.
Shows some awareness of useful resources.

Has a clear picture of a wide range of useful
resources.

Obtains resources by chance more than be design.
Obtains resources when needs are pressing.

Develops systematic strategies for acquiring
resources.

No meaningful contacts with compatriots in
transition.

Shares experiences accidentally more than
deliberately.

Cultivates relationships with transition
"compatriots".

She seeks and

finds friends and mentors in the new situation through the academic
area, teaching assistantships, the residence hall staff and friends.
She relates two significant experiences that relate to developing

support.

Her network is very important to her.

Elizabeth articulates the realization that she now has to make

choices and that the exercise of choice is new for her.

Confronted

with many choices, she seeks resources to assist her in prioritizing

them.

She feels tired and burnt-out from her overextension in the

initial period of adaptation, but uses that experience of burn-out as

a learning opportunity.

220

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Geoff

 

Participant's Code Name

DEVELOPING SUPPORT BEHAVIORS

TASKS
___(l)
Recognizing
Resource (2)
X (3)
. . ...“)
Acqu1ring
Resource (2)
Acquisition
X (3)
__(1)
Finding
Support
_______(2)
X (3)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Seems unaware of potentially useful resources.
Shows some awareness of useful resources.

Has a clear picture of a wide range of useful
resources.

Obtains resources by chance more than by design.
Obtains resources when needs are pressing.

Develops systematic strategies for acquiring
resources.

No meaningful contacts with compatriots in
transition.

Shares experiences accidentally more than
deliberately.

Cultivates relationships with transition
"compatriots".

Geoff systematically explored resources and had a fine support

system with his compatriots on his residence hall floor.

Though he

didn't enter the party environment, he maintained fine contact and
learned a great deal about his new environment from his peers.

Hans

221

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

 

Participant'SCCode Name

TASKS

Recognizing
Resource
Awareness

Acquiring
Resource
Acquisition

Finding
Support

DEVELOPING SUPPORT BEHAVIORS

___(l)
_X_(2)
__(3)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Seems unaware of potentially useful resources.
Shows some awareness of useful resources.

Has a clear picture of a wide range of useful
resources.

Obtains resources by chance more than by design.
Obtains resources when needs are pressing.

Develops systematic strategies for acquiring
resources.

No meaningful contacts with compatriots in
transition.

Shares experiences accidentally more than
deliberately.

Cultivates relationships with transition
"compatriots".

Hans used his overseas familial support through phone and letters
to assist him. He also sought out friends and through that process made
contact with two other third culture students that were alumni from his

overseas school.

He cultivated relationships with them, found a living

option near them and according to him everything seemed to change as a

result.

The importance of overseas network is critical to him. He

reached out for that support only in a pressing need resulting from

an aggressive incident with roommates.

Although he cultivated relation-

ships they were cultivated only with third culture compatriots.

222

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Bonnie
Participant's Code Name

 

DEVELOPING SUPPORT BEHAVIORS

TASKS
___(l) Seems unaware of potentially useful resources.
Recognizing
Resource __X_(2) Shows some awareness of useful resources.
Awareness
___(3) Has a clear picture of a wide range of useful
resources.
.___(1) Obtains resources by chance more than by design.
Acquiring
Resource ____(2) Obtains resources when needs are pressing.
Acquisition '
_X_(3) Develops systematic strategies for acquiring
resources.
___(l) No meaningful contacts with compatriots in
Finding transition.
Support

(2) Shares experiences accidentally more than
deliberately.

X (3) Cultivates relationships with transition
"compatriots".

Sppportinngvidence:

Bonnie sought family support and support from friends. She found
a place as a “big sister” on the floor, a role she later became
dissatisfied with, and sought out a teaching assistanceship for herself.
Her network was importance to her. When she felt that she wanted to
change her role, she actively sought university resources to do that.

She cultivated relationships with transition compatriots but was
not always pleased with the type of relationships.

223

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

George

 

, Participant's Code Name

DEVELOPING SUPPORT BEHAVIORS

TASKS
__>_<_(l)
Recognizing
Resource (2)
Awareness
__(3)
__X._(l)
Acquiring
Resource ___(2)
Acquisition
__(3)
_X_(l)
Finding
Support

Supporting Evidence:

 

Seems unaware of potentially useful resources.
Shows some awareness of useful resources.

Has a clear picture of a wide range of useful
resources.

Obtains resources by chance more than by design.
Obtains resources when needs are pressing.

Develops systematic strategies for acquiring
resources.

No meaningful contacts with compatriots in
transition.

Shares experiences accidentally more than
deliberately.

Cultivates relationships with transition
"compatriots".

George notes that although he had a few friends, he couldn't get

along with the people on his floor because they were jocks.

He does

not like group events and did not seek other resources.

224

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Thomas

 

Participant's Code Name

DEVELOPING SUPPORT BEHAVIORS

TASKS

Recognizing
Resource (2)
Awareness

Acquiring
Resource (2)
Acquisition

Finding
Support

Supporting_Evidence:

 

Thomas states he is alienated and alone.

Seems unaware of potentially useful resources.
Shows some awareness of useful resources.

Has a clear picture of a wide range of useful
resources.

Obtains resources by chance more than by design.
Obtains resources when needs are pressing.

Develops systematic strategies for acquiring
resources.

No meaningful contacts with compatriots in
transition.

Shares experiences accidentally more than
deliberately.

Cultivates relationships with transition
"compatriots".

He has few friends and

is concerned that he cannot even find someone to move off campus with

though he hates the residence halls.

He does not choose to make use of

resources but is on probation for a prank and is being required to work

with a social worker.

225

Area III: Adjusting Expectations

226

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Elizabeth

 

ParticipantTS Code Name

ADJUSTING EXPECTATION BEHAVIORS

TASKS

Processing
Losses

Tempering
Demands

Accepting
Reality

Supportipngvidence:

 

Focuses on personal inconveniences of the
transition.

Accepts losses as an uncomfortable part of
transition.

Admits losses honestly, then seeks acceptable
alternatives.

Expresses expectations as "anyone has a righ "
to expect.

Can acknowledge when expectations need tempering.
Translates "shoulds" into preferences.

Distorts realities that conflict with personal
desires.

Acknowledges personal distortions as they emerge.

Shows pride in facing reality regardless of
discomfort.

Elizabeth indicates an acceptance of loss as part of the transition

but has some rather fixed expectations of how people should react.

She

attempts to acknowledge differences in the area of values and the
drinking and party-ing habits of peers but Minot completely successful
in accomplishing the task.

Elizabeth tempers expectations in a tentative manner.

She indicates

some ambivalence in processing her feelings about peers but continues

her efforts.

She accepts the reality of materialism but also tries to temper
her demands when she finds something she wants being internalized as

something she needs.

227

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Geoff

 

Participant's Code Name

ADJUSTING EXPECTATIONS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
___(1)
Processing
Losses
___(2)
X (3)
__(l)
Tempering
Demands
(2)
x (3)
(1)
Accepting
Reality
___(2)
_>_<__(3)

Sppportinngvidence:

 

Focuses on personal inconveniences of the
transition.

Accepts losses as an uncomfortable part of
transition.

Admits losses honestly, then seeks acceptable
alternatives.

Expresses expectations as "anyone has a righ "
to expect.

Can acknowledge when expectations need tempering.
Translates "shoulds" into preferences.

Distorts realities that conflict with personal
desires.

Acknowledges personal distortions as they emerge.

Shows pride in facing reality regardless of
discomfort.

Geoff admits honestly what he does not have in entering the new

environment and seeks to attain that.

He indicates a pride in facing

realities that will make him more than just a passport-American. He
uses previous experience as a learning base.

He notes that the media is a shaper of behavior and exposes

himself to it in a limited manner.

He tempers demands and demonstrates

a sense of humor when the residence hall men on his floor attempt to

educate him.

He attains the status of R.A. by being open and facing the
realities of his own adaptation and processing it fully.

228

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Hans

 

Participant‘s Code Name

ADJUSTING EXPECTATIONS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
__(l)
Processing
Losses
X (2)
(3)
_J&_(1)
Tempering
Demands
___(2)
___(3)
__X_(l)
Accepting
Reality
___(2)
(3)

Sppporting Evidence:

 

Focuses on personal inconveniences of the
transition.

Accepts losses as an uncomfortable part of
transition.

Admits losses honestly, then seeks acceptable
alternatives.

Expresses expectations as "anyone has a righ "
to expect.

Can acknowledge when expectations need tempering.
Translates "shoulds" into preferences.

Distorts realities that conflict with personal
desires.

Acknowledges personal distortions as they emerge.

Shows pride in facing reality regardless of
discomfort.

Hans experiences difficulties in adjusting expectations and

expressed negative judgments on his peer group.

He labels them all

as immature and feels that anyone has a right to expect them to be

mature and not go wild because they are away from home.

He distorts

realities by generalizing about persons he meets with the exception

of third culture support group from his previous environment.

According

to Hans, professors don't care, students are immature and he alone has

"more culture, different norms and patterns."

Though he adjusts his

goal he does not appear to evaluate the fact that he originally chose
sciences as a result of a class with a teacher that he feels was

"fantastic”.

He begins to temper his demands on teachers by acknow-

ledging the difficulty they have in teaching large numbers of students.

229

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Bonnie

Participant's Code Name

ADJUSTING EXPECTATIONS BEHAVIORS

TASKS

Processing
Losses

Tempering
Demands

Accepting
Reality

Supporting_Evidence:

 

Focuses on personal inconveniences of the
transition.

Accepts losses as an uncomfortable part of
transition.

Admits losses honestly, then seeks acceptable
alternatives.

Expresses expectations as "anyone has a righ "
to expect.

Can acknowledge when expectations need tempering.
Translates "shoulds" into preferences.

Distorts realities that conflict with personal
desires.

Acknowledges personal distortions as they emerge.

Shows pride in facing reality regardless of
discomfort.

Bonnie acknowledges the differences in environment and the losses

in transition.

She retains her memories of Japan.

She demonstrates

pride in seeking her reality as a physician's assistant and tempers
her expectations in terms of the amount of time she would need to

put in to be a medical doctor.
experienced in social patterns.

She felt more worldminded but less
Though she judges peers, she still

indicates efforts to relate.

George

230

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

 

ParticipantTS Code Name

TASKS

Processing
Losses

Tempering
Demands

Accepting
Reality

ADJUSTING EXPECTATIONS BEHAVIORS

Sppporting Evidence:

 

Focuses on personal inconveniences of the
transition.

Accepts losses as an uncomfortable part of
transition.

Admits losses honestly, then seeks acceptable
alternatives.

Expresses expectations as "anyone has a right"
to expect.

Can acknowledge when expectations need tempering.
Translates "shoulds'I into preferences.

Distorts realities that conflict with personal
desires.

Acknowledges personal distortions as they emerge.

Shows pride in facing reality regardless of
discomfort.

George accepts the loss of his overseas environment at one level
but he resents it because he feels he did not choose it. This is a
dynamic process of acceptance-rejection for him.

He still feels he has a right to expect people to understand and
help him and distorts some realities, e.g. judging peers, group events
and activities when they conflict with his personal orientation.

231

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Thomas
Participant's Code Name

 

ADJUSTING EXPECTATIONS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
_lejl) Focuses on personal inconveniences of the
Processing transition.
Losses
____(2) Accepts losses as an uncomfortable part of
transition.
___(3) Admits losses honestly, then seeks acceptable
alternatives.
__X_(l) Expresses expectations as "anyone has a righ "
Tempering to expect.
Demands
___(2) Can acknowledge when expectations need tempering.
____(3) Translates "shoulds" into preferences.
_X_(l) Distorts realities that conflict with personal
Accepting desires.
Reality

(2) Acknowledges personal distortions as they emerge.

(3) Shows pride in facing reality regardless of
discomfort.

Supporting Evidence:

 

Thomas states a great many "shoulds" for others in his environment.
He states that getting used to the United States, the dorms and college
life are very difficult for him. His problems with it have been
distorted for him into the idea that college rules are exceedingly
oppressive.

He finds the water dries his skin, the food is lousy. He is
physically out of shape because it is difficult to get involved with
sports in the United States.

232

Area IV: Prioritizing Goals

233

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Elizabeth

 

Participant's Code Name

PRIORITIZING GOALS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
(1)
Finding
Direction X (2)
_(3)
(1)
Establishing
Priorities (2)
_X_(3)
(1)
Establishing
Perspective
X (2)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Manifests lack of effort to manage transition.
Seeks to manage but with hazy or scattered efforts.

Focuses energy toward clearly established
intentions.

Shows limited awareness of alternative choices.
Sees alternatives, but has difficulty in choosing.
Sees alternatives, weighs outcomes, makes decisions.

Chooses immediate comfort when faced with
sacrifice.

Tolerates loss of comfort for longer range
purposes.

Focuses on larger purposes and integrates them
into life pattern.

Elizabeth seeks to manage by calling on her resources and talking

with mentors about problems she encounters.

She expresses a willingness

to accept inconveniences for the purpose of completing her degree but
also indicated the differences she is not willing to accept.

She establishes perspective on the situation of her illness by
realizing that change of food is a factor as well as change and fear
of the total new environment.

She realizes that part of the communications gap is her use of
British words for American situations and resists the impulse to
totally fix blame on others.

234

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Geoff

 

Participant's Code Name

PRIORITIZING GOALS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
_(1)
Finding
Direction (2)
X (3)
(1)
Establishing
Priorities ___(2)
_x_(3)
(l)
EstabliShing
Perspective
__(2)
X (3)

Supporting Evidence:

Manifests lack of effort to manage transition.

Seeks to manage but with hazy or Scattered
efforts.

Focuses energy toward clearly established
intentions.

Shows limited awareness of alternative choices.
Sees alternatives but has difficulty in choosing.
Sees alternatives, weighs outcomes, makes decisions.

Chooses immediate comfort when faced with
sacrifice.

Tolerates loss of comfort for longer range
purposes.

Focuses on larger purposes and integrates them
into life pattern.

Geoff combines his experiences and integrates them with his sense

of self.

He focuses on his sense of commitment to the environment

that he learned from his parents and compares where he is now with

where he was when he began.

He reviews the changes and reflects on them.

He establishes the priority of learning from his environment and

attempts to understand the behavior of his peers.

Although he grieves

a more creative use of leisure time, he shares with his floor mates in

events planned.
doing that.

His goal is to adapt though he articulates problems

He tolerates the cold climate because he wishes to complete the
program at school though cold really upsets him.

235

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Hans

 

Participant's Code Name

PRIORITIZING GOALS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
___(1)
Finding
Direction (2)
X (3)
(1)
Establishing
Priorities (2)
__X__(3)
(1)
Establishing
Perspective
_(2)
__X__(3)

Supportinngvidence:

 

Manifest lack of effort to manage transition.

Seeks to manage but with hazy or scattered
efforts.

Focuses energy toward clearly established
intentions.

Shows limited awareness of alternative choices.
Sees alternatives, but has difficulty in choosing.
Sees alternatives, weighs outcomes, makes decisions.

Chooses immediate comfort when faced with
sacrifice.

Tolerates loss of comfort for longer range purposes.

Focuses on larger purposes and integrates them
into life pattern.

After expressing series of difficulties and problems, Hans focuses
his energy on academics and evaluates a business option, experiences it

and finds it boring.

He accepts the need to continue his search. He

talks to advisors, surveys people and enters the field of packaging in

which he seems quite satisfied.
need to go through on your own though it is very difficult.

He sees adaptation as something you
He continues

to struggle with the environment and desires to adapt.

236

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Bonnie

 

Participant's Code Name

PRIORITIZING GOALS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
___(1)
Finding
Direction (2)
.343)
(1)
Establishing
Priorities ___(2)
__X__(3)
__(l)
Establishing
Perspective
___(2)
X (3)

Sppporting Evidence:

 

Manifests lack of effort to manage transition.

Seeks to manage but with hazy or scattered
efforts.

Focuses energy toward clearly established
intentions.

Shows limited awareness of alternative choices.
Sees alternatives but has difficulty in choosing.
Sees alternatives, weighs outcomes, makes decisions.

Chooses immediate comfort with faced with
sacrifice.

Tolerates loss of comfort for longer range
purposes.

Focuses on larger purposes and integrates them
into life pattern.

Bonnie discusses her selection of a career as a Physician's

Assistant and indicates an ability in prioritizing goals.

She integrates

the "maturity" she feels from her overseas experience into her life

pattern of teaching and assisting others.
cates a need to develop maturity in some other areas.

At the same point, she indi-
She demonstrates

perspective in seeing how becoming a P.A. will provide less of an
obstacle in her planning for a family in the future.

237

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

George

 

Participant's Code Name

PRIORITIZING GOALS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
__X_(l)

Finding
Direction

Establishing
Priorities

Establishing
Perspective

Sppporting Evidence:

 

"I never had real specific goals for myself.

Manifests lack of effort to manage transition.

Seeks to manage but with hazy or scattered
efforts.

Focuses energy toward clearly established
intentions.

Shows limited awareness of alternative choices.
Sees alternatives but has difficulty in choosing.
Sees alternatives, weights outcomes, makes decisions.

Chooses immediate comfort when faced with
sacrifice.

Tolerates loss of comfort for longer range
purposes.

Focuses on larger purposes and integrates them
into life pattern.

I developed an

interest in politics but I'm very disillusioned", states George.

238

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Thomas

 

Participant's Code Name

PRIORITIZING GOALS BEHAVIORS

TASKS
__X__(l)
Finding
Direction (2)
__(3)
__X_(l)
Establishing
Priorities (2)
_(3)
__X__(l)
Establishing
Perspective
(2)

Supportipg_Evidence:

 

Manifests lack of effort to manage transition.

Seeks to manage but with hazy or scattered
efforts.

Focuses energy toward clearly established
intentions.

Shows limited awareness of alternative choices.
Sees alternatives but has difficulty in choosing.
Sees alternatives, weights outcomes, makes decisions.

Chooses immediate comfort when faced with
sacrifice.

Tolerates loss of comfort for longer range
purposes.

Focuses on larger purposes and integrates them
into life pattern.

Thomas articulates that he doesn't know what the word "goals"

means .

After some explanation on the part of the interviewer, he

listed a set of worries and said he wished to do well in sports.

239

Area V: Transposing Identity

240

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Elizabeth

 

Participant's Code Name

TRANSPOSING IDENTITY BEHAVIORS

TASKS
__(l)
Modifying
Roles
_L(2)
___(3)
__(l)
Accepting
Change
X (2)
__(3)
__x_(1)
Testing
Beliefs (2)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Continues role patterns regardless of transition
requirements.

Recognizes when roles may need modification and
adjusts.

Explores new role patterns that could enhance
growth.

Interprets change requirements as threat to
self-hood.

Accepts change as sometimes uncomfortable but
necessary.

Approaches change as a chance to make new
discoveries about self.

Rejects change when belief system is threatened.

Explores personal beliefs when absolutely
necessary.

Examines beliefs in the face of new evidence.

Elizabeth notes that change in role is necessary while in the new
environment though it may be uncomfortable; however, when her belief

system is threatened she seems to reject change.

She makes judgments

on peers and on the environment without fully examining her value
system in relation to that of others.

Elizabeth expresses dissonance in terms of modifying her role and
accepting changes brought about by recent affirmative action attempts.
They affect her brother adversely, therefore she expresses negative

feeling toward these societal changes in a strong manner.

She rejects

the change because it is personally difficult.

Elizabeth wishes to return overseas.

241

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Geoff

 

Participant's Code Name

TRANSPOSING IDENTITY BEHAVIORS

TASKS
__(l)
Modifying
Roles
___(2)
X (3)
, <1)
Accepting
Change
___(2)
X (3)
__(l)
Testing
Beliefs (2)
X (3)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Continues role patterns regardless of transition
requirements.

Recognizes when roles may need modification and
adjusts.

Explores new role patterns that could enhance
growth.

Interprets change requirements as threat to
self-hood.

Accepts change as sometimes uncomfortable but
necessary.

Approaches change as a chance to make new
discoveries about self.

Rejects change when belief system is threatened.
Explores personal beliefs when absolutely necessary.

Examines beliefs in the face of new evidence.

In becoming an R.A., Geoff demonstrates the exploration of new
patterns, the change in self to someone who is now a resource in the
environment and one who can deal not only with his own behavior but
assist in the transition of others.

Geoff wishes eventually to return overseas.

242

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Hans

 

Participant's Code Name

TRANSPOSING IDENTITY BEHAVIORS

TASKS
___(l)
Modifying
Roles
X (2)
__(3)
___(l)
Accepting
Change
X (2)
__(3)
___(1)
Testing
Beliefs X (2)

Supportinngvidence:

 

Continues role patterns regardless of transition
requirements.

Recognizes when roles may need modification and
adjusts.

Explores new role patterns that could enhance
growth.

Interprets change requirements as threat to
self-hood.

Accepts change as sometimes uncomfortable but
necessary.

Approaches change as a chance to make new
discoveries about self.

Rejects change when belief system is threatened.

Explores personal beliefs when absolutely
necessary.

Examines beliefs in the face of new evidence.

In reviewing his adaptation process, Hans expresses a better
understanding of the United States and though he knows all the ins and
outs of London feels that he has made a transition to the states. He
is more comfortable here now and looks forward to the return of his

parents.

He indicates that he knows what's "normal" here now.

Hans indicates he may return overseas.

243

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Bonnie

 

Participant's Code Name

TRANSPOSING IDENTITY BEHAVIORS

TASKS
__(l)
Modifying
Roles
__x_(2)
___(3)
, __(1)
Accepting
Change
..X_(2)
_(3)
, __m
Testing
Beliefs ___(2)
X (3)

Supportinngvidence:

 

Continues role patterns regardless of transition
requirements.

Recognizes when roles may need modification and
adjusts.

Explores new role patterns that could enhance
growth.

Interprets change requirements as threat to
self-hood.

Accepts change as sometimes uncomfortable but
necessary.

Approaches change as a chance to make new
discoveries about self.

Rejects change when belief system is threatened.
Explores personal beliefs when absolutely necessary.

Examines beliefs in the face of new evidence.

Bonnie realizes that she needs to become more self-sufficient in

terms of driving in her new environment.
public transport is lacking though she mourns it.

She accepts the fact that
She examines beliefs

on cooperation and competition, maturity and immaturity and her role

at the present time.

Bonnie wishes to return overseas.

244

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

George

 

Participant's Code Name

TRANSPOSING IDENTITY BEHAVIORS

TASKS

Modifying
Roles

Accepting
Change

Testing
Beliefs

Supporting Evidence:

 

Continues role patterns regardless of transition
requirements.

Recognizes when roles may need modification and
adjusts.

Explores new role patterns that could enhance
growth identity.

Interprets change requirements as threat to
self-hood.

Accepts change as sometimes uncomfortable but
necessary.

Approaches change as a chance to make new
discoveries about self.

Rejects change when belief system is threatened.

Explores personal beliefs when absolutely
necessary.

Examines beliefs in the face of new evidence.

Although George does not experience difficulty in academics, he
doesn't reflect a consciousness of being a college student nor wanting

to be.

He wishes to return overseas but articulates difficulty with

returning to South Africa because of his heightened political

consciousness.
at this time.

At the same time, he sees a return to Iran as impossible

245

TRANSITION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Thomas

 

Participant's Code Name

TRANSPOSING IDENTITY BEHAVIORS

TASKS
X (l)
Modifying
Roles
___(2)
__(3)
_X_(l)
Accepting
Change
__(2)
___(3)
X (1)
Testing
Beliefs (2)
(3)

Supporting Evidence:

 

Continues role patterns regardless of transition
requirements.

Recognizes when roles may need modification and
adjusts.

Explores new role patterns that could enhance
growth identity.

Interprets change requirements as threat to
self-hood.

Accepts change as sometimes uncomfortable but
necessary.

Approaches change as a chance to make new
discoveries about self.

Rejects change when belief system is threatened.

Explores personal beliefs when absolutely
necessary.

Examines beliefs in the face of new evidence.

Thomas indicates no transposing of identity either to the role

of student, nor to the role of United States citizen.

He is very

critical of the environment at college and those criticisms are broad

and general.

246

Although the third culture subjects indicate preferences,
awareness of tasks and behaviors that support the adaptive transactions
noted in the investigations of the adaptation of United States college
entrance students, there are many diversities in the way they view the
environment and present themselves and perceptions of that environment.
The United States student entering college makes a transition into the
college environment fully realizing it is only a small piece of United
States experience even though it is a sub-culture characterized by
different norms and patterns. For the third culture student the college
environment is identical with the United States environment and is
rarely perceived as atypical of that environment. In the light of the
tightly-knit family structure overseas and the communication of values
from parents to children in the "environmental bubble'I which surrounds
the third culture family, third culture experienced youth assume their
United States college peers at the college level will have values,
experiences, and modes of behavior congruent with the patterns of
American students overseas. They are shocked to realize this is not
correct and defend themselves from the peer patterns presented by
United States college students by making judgments on those peers on the
basis of overseas ideas of maturity, and appropriate standards of
behavior overseas. Third culture experienced youth coming to college
find themselves in an environment amazingly open and free and are con-
fronted by choices to which they are not accustomed.

In his study on The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class,

 

Dean Mac Cannell (1976) states:

My analysis of sightseeing is based on social structural
differentiation. Differentiation is roughly the same as societal
'development' or 'modernization'. By 'differentiation' I mean
to designate the totality of differences between social classes,

247

life styles, racial and ethnic groups, age grades (youth,
the aged), political and professional groups and the mythic
representation of the past to the present. Differentiation
is a systemic variable: it is not confined to a specific
institution or society, nor does it originate in one insti-
tution of place and spread to others. It operates indepen—
dently and simultaneously throughout society. In highly
differentiated societies such as those found in Western
Europe and North America, social life constantly subdivides
and reorganizes itself in ever-increasing complexity. The
class structure moves from simple duality (owners vs.
workers) to upper-upper/middle-upper/lower-upper/upper-
middle/middle-middle/lower-middle/upper-lower/middle-lower/
lower-lower. Sexual differentiation progresses beyond its
typically peasant biologically based binary opposition into
publicly discriminated third, fourth, fifth and sixth sexes.
Differentiation is the origin of alternatives and the feeling
of freedom in modern society. It is also the primary ground
of contradiction, conflict, violence, fragmentation, discon-
tinuity and alienation that such evident features of modern
life. (1976: 11)

The totality of differences enumerated by Mac Cannell in defining
differentiation, i.e., the differences in social classes, life-styles,
racial and ethnic groups, age grades (youth, aged), political and
professional groups, have special significance in reviewing the population
of third-culture experienced youth. In terms of the "environmental
bubble" in which they are enculturated overseas, they live in a
differentiation with differentiations. The differentiated environment
which is the third culture grows out of the modern differentiations
within many technologically-oriented countries and represents the most
advanced form of differentiation in terms of the knowledge bases of its
members, the enhanced socio-economic level of life supporting their
representative sponsorship roles, the mobile, affluent socially marginal
life-styles they possess, the limited age groups involved in that
culture and the political and professional groupings to which they belong.

The reports of the subjects interviewed for the purpose of this

dissertation reflect a level of internalized definitions of self that

248

seem essentially differentiated. They have not only had different
experiences. They are made different by these experiences. According
to Downie (1976), these students manifest their social identity upon
return in a special manner and become socially marginal due to the
necessity of setting aside their cultural identity in order to parti-
cipate in the social life of college.

It appears that these students have become structurally
differentiated through the multi-cultural milieus their mobile life
styles have spanned. They are drawn by their parents' tour of duty
as Mac Cannell's tourists are drawn into a relationship with modern
social reality, a museumized experience, exotic and exciting in its
differences, stimulating a growth and development both unique and
unusual. As Mac Cannell's tourists report experiences of shame not
because he/she is a tourist but because he/she is not a tourist enough,
not fully able to see everything in the way it "ought" to be seen
because of the transiency and superficiality of the touring experience,
so third culture youth seem to experience a sense of shame not on
being different but on not being different enough. As Mac Cannell
states: "The touristic critique of tourism is based on a desire to
go beyond the other 'mere' tourists to a profound appreciation of
society and culture, and it is by no means limited to intellectual
statements. All tourists desire this deeper involvement with society
and culture to some degree; it is a basic component of their motivation
to travel." (1976: 10)

The third culture experienced youth have more fully adapted and
transposed their identity to the third culture than to any national

culture, including their own, that they have transited. In the

249

interviews of the twenty-one students, all except one planned to rejoin
third culture involvements once studies were completed. That one had an
alcoholic parent overseas and that factor complicated the overseas
experience adversely for her. The return to the United States for many
is merely one more move so that one can prepare for other moves abroad.
The credentialling process is central to the candidacy for being an
adult member of this third culture. For those whose parents have returned
to the United States, the process is a bit more difficult to initiate.
Networks are critical and in developing support for the adaptation
experiences on return, letters and visits with third culture friends and
acquaintances are many. It seems critical for these students that a
third culture identity be maintained.

It would seem that the adaptation process for the third culture
_students studied in this investigative project follows a structure,

a constellation of givens that surround the perceptions of the self and
the perceptions of the environment.

In terms of adaptive transactions the third culture student is
committed to return overseas. The level of that commitment varies
individually yet, for most, it is for a finite time-span coincident with
the years of study necessary to acquire the first post-secondary degree.
For this group the first transaction to be negotiated is the processing

of the fact of return and the simultaneous grieving and excitement

 

generated by that fact internalized in third culture members. The £322.
of return links with the reality of network so that access to the third
culture remains a real alternative for the future. Throughout the
adaptation process, the third culture networking both supports the

re-entry to the national culture and promises future returns to the

250

international, interdependent third culture setting. It is in the third
culture network that the experience of re-entry may be shared and
processed. It must often be set aside to socially interact in the college
setting. The part of the self that is most valued by third culture
experienced youth cannot be shared fully in their perceptions with

those who have not enjoyed an internationally mobile adolescent exper-

ience. As a further development once the fact of return and the reality

 

of network are processed, the extension of that network to developing

 

support in the new setting takes on an upward-focus for many third

culture persons. The search for a mentor to facilitate the adaptation

 

process, to help with adjusting expectations and prioritizing goals seems
critical. Those who find mentors create an opportunity for sharing

third culture experiences and their perceived impact which assists them
to process losses and to begin to transpose identity. It is in this
transaction, transposing identity, that the third culture experienced
youth are most clearly differentiated. The totality of experience and
enculturation that is the third culture network is intensely valued.

The developmental stages experienced overseas prepared the third culture
dependent to live as an adult in an adult world but did not prepare the
third culture dependent for the adult tasks expected outside of the
sponsorship reality. Critical in the development tasks of young adults
(those behaviors students need to accomplish while in college) as defined
by Miller, Prince and Winston in the United States are the development
of autonomy, the development of mature interpersonal relations and the
development of purpose. The exercise of choice, the experience of begin-
ning independence in the early adolescent period, the interaction within

the peer group in terms of value experiments and social development

251
prepare the United States college peer for these tasks. The prescriptive
environment and planned reality of the third culture overseas environ-
ment does not allow the freedom to explore and experiment. Choices
are made in the family, supported by the family and frequently directed
by the sponsoring organization. This derivative type of reality com-
bined with the mobility pattern and uniqueness of each family's history
has a special effect on the third culture dependent. He/she begins to
experience the self as observer. Observers learn by watching more than
by participant experiencing. A pseudo-sophistication results because
the third culture student has observed many diverse cultures, styles,
ethnic realities yet has not participated fully in any of them. This
”observer” self permits the third culture dependent to know eeepe_many
things without the conviction of knowing anything well except the
personal experience of third culture reality. Though able to adjust to
differing environments, observe what is expected and complete tasks
throughly, the process of adaptation requires a familiarity and valueing
of the United States culture pattern that would motivate the third
culture student to transpose his/her identity to an American identity.
For many of them the third culture identity has a broader base and an
advanced level of worldmindedness and deeper understanding of global

interdependence. Third culture students do not seem to transpose their

 

identity. It appears that they integrate one more identity observed to
their repertoire of patterns involved in their third culture identity.
Their sense of home, their re-entry to overseas involvement is inherent
in their re-entry to this country for the purpose of a credential, a
college degree, that will re-admit them to the third culture and work in

that culture based on their own academic knowledge base.

252

The adaptation of third culture dependent youth becomes a gestalt,

a constellation of effect and affect that involve the fact of return,

 

the reality of network, the search for mentors, the process of grieving

 

and settingpaside for a time a part of the self, and the integration of

 

a facet of national identity_perceived from a third culture frame of
reference. Although grieving, developing support, adjusting expectations
and prioritizing goals are components of their adaptive transactions, the
complexity of their identity formation differentiates the approach to
these tasks and the level of internalization of the effect of adaptation
in its essential sense. The "fit" between the third culture dependents
and the United States environment is not a perfect one. He/she belongs
in a special way, adjusts in the superficiality of tasks but remains
both a part of and apart from the United States experience. It is in the
area of expectations, that the most noteworthy differences emerge. The
definitions of maturity, independence, quality of life and attractive
career routes grow out of what they have internalized as values for them.
They value travelling, mobility, worldmindedness, expertise in the task
role area, diversity in setting and interplay of cultures, and structure
in terms of organization of the daily tasks and expectations. The third
culture youth have idealized their third culture experience and fanta-
sized about its significance and importance to them during their devel-
opmental years. The absence of rootedness in one host setting allows
them to manifest different aspects of the self in each place and allows
the development of different cultural approaches and diverse appreciations
and understandings.

The two adapters that experienced the most difficulty in coping with

transition behaviors articulated negative feelings on return and a lack

253

of acceptance of the fact of return and the entrance to college. They
did not reach out forsupport or try to find mentors. They articulated

a feeling of alienation, a lack of connectedness and general hostility
to the new environment. Neither actively sought to change these
feelings but placed blame on Americans, on American culture, on specific
events that they perceived as "happening to them". They experienced a

lack of control and a powerlessness in the adaptation process.

Summary

The major goal of this investigation of third culture dependents
as they re-enter the United States and enter college is to gather infor-
mation on the process of their adaptation. Studies investigating the
adaptation of United States youth to the college environment indicated
five major adaptive transactions: affirming commitment, developing
support, adjusting expectations, prioritizing goals and transposing
identity.

Case studies of six third culture dependents are presented in terms
of their general third culture background, perceptions of third culture
environment and their United States environment, perceptions of self as
reported by them and thoughts about their process of adaptation to
discern the patterns of transactions involved for them. A Transition
Assessment Scale is presented for each of the interviewees.

From this overview of adaptation transactions, a gestalt seems to
emerge for third culture dependents that is different from the gestalt
of adaptation of United States peers entering a mid-west college environ-
ment as identified by Raines and his colleagues. Although many of the
transaction components are similar, the manner and understanding of the

components and the implementation of adaptive process is different. The

254

third culture dependent manifests a structurally differentiated self.
The experiences involved in third culture membership effect a change

in perception of the self as a belonger in a certain sense to no
national culture but a part of a technological global culture valuing
the interdependence of many nations, cognizant of the problems involved
in world affairs and seeing this complexity of self as a bridge between
different realities, a mediating, harmonizing alternative selfi a part
of each cultural reality, yet apart from all cultural realities.

Because of the nature of the third culture environment, the fact
of return is shared by all third culture members. Since it is a part
of the third culture understanding, college entrance is a point where
it can easily be implemented for the third culture dependent.

However, upon return to the United States, a grieving process begins
for a lifestyle that was valued, a relationship with parents and family
which was close and a connectedness with global reality that gave
meaning. Letters, telephone calls, keeping in touch with third culture
friends and colleagues becomes a key in developing support in the new
environment and holds some promise for a chance to re-enter the third

culture environment. The reality of network for these students becomes

 

a critical adaptation component.

Since the third culture reality for these dependent children, hinged
on the sponsorship of their respective fathers and the prescribed
structure of life overseas, mobility, home leave and day-to-day reality
were matters contingent in a special way on adults, these third culture
youth maintain an upward-focus toward adults that differs considerably
from the peer orientation of the United States students they join in

the college transition. They seek credibility from adults and search

255

for mentors to facilitate their transition. Working as Teachers' Aides,

 

Resident Assistants and at various other group projects they translate
this upward-focus in the new environment. The social situation is
difficult for them and the peer culture in the United States challenges
them in an intense and unique way. Their membership in the adult world
overseas is derived from the role of parents, not earned by personal
decision making, weighing and making proper choices, exploring indepen-
dence outside the family. These challenges confront them on re-entry
and the problems of dating, social contact and even mobility, which
within the section of the United States they find themselves in means
driving a car, become agendas that they must manage effectively.

The third culture dependent does not really succeed in transposing
identity. Rather, he/she integrates a facet of national identity into
a third culture-ness. The subjects interviewed have adjusted to the
new environment but they have not fully adapted to it. For them it is
less good than the reality they possess as members of the third culture.
They take from their United States experience the best it has to offer,
but they state that as observers, they do not fully participate. They
demonstrate many ambivalent feelings and seek to return at some point to

the overseas sector.

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The segment of overseas experienced American youth with which
this study is concerned are the third culture dependents of Ameri-
cans overseas who have graduated from overseas American type
schools and re-entered the United States as they entered college.
The youth chosen for this study are from the overseas sponsor—
ship categories of business and missionary involvement. These
youth have Spent some time during their adolescent development
in cultures and societies other than that of their own
nationality. This study focuses on their adaptation process as
they re-enter the United States and enter college.

Since World War II increasing numbers of persons have become
involved cross-culturally for the purpose of relating segments
of society to each other and to provide mediation between cultures.
The concept of "third culture" grew out of studies in India and
Vietnam of Americans participating in various buSiness, missionary,
diplomatic and technical aid programs and the problems and oppor-
tunities that arose from this biunational interaction of persons
from Western and Eastern experiences. The third culture is‘
defined as "the complex of patterns learned and shared by
communities of men stemming from both a Western and non-Western
society who regularly interact as they relate their societies,

or sections thereof, in the physical setting of a non-Western

256

257

society." (Useem, Useem and Donoghue, 1963). The definition
broadened as a result of this study to include those who functioned
in representative roles as mediators in the cross-cultural or
inter-cultural sense.

Since 1970, more than 230,000 school-age children reside
abroad with their families. Researchers have become interested
in this population and various studies have examined the
experience they share and the effect it has on the persons they

are and the selves they project.

Nature and Purpose of the Study

 

This is an exploratory study to investigate the adaptation
process that third culture experienced youth undergo in their
transition to college and their re-entry into the United States.

The purpose of this study is to review the process of adaptation
through depth interviews conducted with third culture students and
to describe, characterize and analyze their perceptions of self
and of the environments in which they are involved and discern the
adaptation or "fit" between the self and the environment upon

re—entry to the United States and entry into college.

Subjects

The students interviewed are limited to twenty-one third
culture experienced students of business or missionary sponsorship
in their overseas setting who graduated from American type overseas
secondary schools and who attended two midwestern universities

between 1976 and 1980. The subjects were selected by the

258
following criteria:

1. Those who lived abroad as dependents of their overseas

 

employed parents. A major delimiting feature of the population of

 

interest is the dependent relationship on a parent employed in a
representative role in an overseas setting. The parents of students
involved in this study are from the sponsorship categories of
business or missionary involvement.

2. Those who lived abroad for not less than one teen year.

 

The population is limited to those students who were socialized in
another culture setting during the adolescent developmental stage.

3. Those who graduated from an overseas American type

 

secondary school. Youth who return to the United States during their

 

high school years re-socialize at a different period and different
factors would be introduced in investigating high-school re-entry
processes.

4. Those who are citizens of the United States. Only American

 

students were involved in this study. Foreign students, third country
nationals, or American students that were on overseas study
programs but not with parents in a dependent relationship overseas
are pe§_included.
5. Those who are enrolled in two midwestern post-secondary

institutions in the fall and spring terms of 1980. The subjects

 

studied are enrolled in two mid-western post-secondary institutions.
One is a large state university setting; the other a small private
college. Both institutions are comprised mainly of residents of
the state in which they are located but they do enroll out-of-state

and international students. The students of interest in this study

259

comprise only a small portion of their student bodies.

Subjects

The subjects were obtained through the assistance of the
Registrar's offices in both post-secondary institutions.

Twenty-one subjects were interviewed; five were the
dependents of Missionaries abroad and sixteen were the dependents
of business interests abroad. 'Of the twenty-one subjects, 8

are male and 13 are female; 19 are Caucasian and 2 are Oriental.

Methodology

 

A combination of focused interview and episodic life history
is employed in pursuing this exploratory study. A questionnaire
to supplement the interview experience is also a part of the data
collection.

The focused interview is used when examining persons who are
known to have experienced a particular event, when the situation has
undergone some previous analysis, when interview guidelines and
designs are previously developed and when the focus of the inter-
view is on a particular subjective experience in which individuals
are involved.

The case study focusing on an episode and placing that episode
in a structure of immediate events of interest assists in the
exploration and highlighting of a certain process or event in time.
In this case the focus is on the adaptation process.

A transition assessment scale is also employed to lend a
Specificity to certain transactions within a transition process in

order to discern how the subject specifically relates an experience.

260

Schedules

 

Two schedules are used for the collection of data. The first
schedule is a Self-Administered Questionnaire (Appendix A) made
up of 17 items giving demographic data and personal historical
information. The second part of the Questionnaire (Appendix B),
the Internationally Mobile Students Questionnaire elicits information
centering on reactions to mobility experiences and problems involved
in mobility; perceptions of home and attitudes on various subjects
of interest.

The Interview Schedule (Appendix C) is made up of seven
question areas reviewing mobility history, pre-college experiences,
experiences at re-entry, areas of ease and difficulty in the
transition, methods of facilitating the transition, feelings of

home and thoughts on adaptation offered by the subjects.

Findings

Investigation of students making the transition from respective
American high schools to college in the mid-western setting reveals
certain adaptation transactions reported by those students. These
adaptive transactions: affirming commitment, developing support,
adjusting expectations, prioritizing goals and transposing identity
yield some insight into the adaptation to college of students from
United States high schools. Third culture students who enter
college as they re-enter the United States confront an adaptation
process that involves greater complexity. In reviewing the
differences involved, questions arise about the nature of the

experience of adaptation for the third culture student.

261

The mobility and return experiences for each of the twenty-one
subjects are summarized from the data collected and commonalities
reported and discussed as themes. The themes provide insight
into the selves projected and the perceptions of environment held
by the subjects. Since the nature of adaptation involves the
dynamics of interaction between the self and the environment, the
subject's perceptions of self and environment are critical to the
adaptation process as a whole and the adaptive transactions in which
the subjects are involved. The major theme areas involved perceptions
of self and perceptions of the environment. In the major theme
area of perception of the self, the commonalities that emerged are:
perception of the self as unique and different; perception of the
self as connected with global reality; perception of the self as
enhanced and enriched by overseas experience; perception of the self
as superior and elite; perception of the self as mobile: a part of
yet apart from; perception of the self as cpen and enjoying
diversity; perception of the self as ambivalent: independent,
yet dependent, mature in some ways yet immature in others; knowledge-
able in a world sense, naive on return to the country of citizenship.

In the major theme area of the environment, perceptions were
offered on the overseas environment and on the U.S. environment.
Commonalities of perceptions of the overseas environment centered
around intense appreciation of the third culture environment, love
of travel, valuing of mobility as a life-style, intense interaction
in the family, strong family ties, enjoyment of a small enhanced
environment with the benefits of a fine socio-economic standard

of living, close personal relationships with teachers and friends,

262

a deep sense of connectedness with world events and creativity
in the use of leisure time.

Perceptions of the United States revealed certain commonalities
for the subjects interviewed. They reported shock at the largeness
of scale, the importance of media, the dynamics of the peer social
scene, the materialism and ethnocentrism of most peers that they
encountered, the lack of interest in their personal experiences as
students who lived abroad and the overall informality and friendli-
ness of the peer environment as observed by them.

In the investigations of United States college students
adapting to the college environment at Michigan State University,
Max Raines and his college student personnel team identified the
major adaptive transactions within that college transition group as:
activating commitment, developing support, adjusting expectations,
prioritizing goals and transposing identity. Successful adapters
to the college environment were those who processed these identified
transactions completely and constructively. A Transition Assessment
Scale was devised to assess the degree to which adapters involved
themselves in each of these transactions.

The major focus of this dissertation is to explore the transi-
tion to college environment as it is made by Third Culture Students
and to investigate the transactions they undergo in their adaptation
to college life as they re-enter the United States. Through depth
interviews, the subjects' perceptions of self, of the environment
they had come from and the environment to which they came were

recorded. Since the content of the adaptation process involves

263
the dynamic between the self and the environment, and the fit that

results between the self and the environment reflects the level of
adaptation, these perceptions form the data analyzed.

In the analysis of that data, third culture students report a
set of transactions inclusive of some facets of the transactive
elements of their United States peers yet different in certain
respects. The fact of their Sponsorship status overseas seems to
affect both their perceptions of self as well as their expectations
on re-entry to the United States, and in this case more specifically,
the college environment. Although the essential nature of the
adaptive transactions remain the same, the third culture experienced
student manages and approaches them in different ways. The respects
in which they are different generate a gestalt of adaptive
transactions that might be identified thus:

1. The Fact of Return: an approach to activating commitment.

Activating commitment, one of the transactions identified for
United States college entry students, begins for the third culture
student before college entrance. It may more appropriately be
identified for the third culture experienced youth in this study as

the fact of return. As the review of the literature manifests,

 

third culture students accept the fact that at some point they will
return to the United States and for those who do not do so before
college entry, college entry is the point identified. The risk
involved is accepted, as is the responsibility to manage the tran-
sition and to complete the first four years of post-secondary

education. This decision is made by the subjects interviewed as

264

a natural evolution in their growth and development process and as
a fulfillment of parental expectations.

2. Reality of Network: the source of developing support.

In terms of developing support, a second major transaction in
the college transition process, third culture students experience
some difficulty arising from their expectations and definitions of
support, the scope of their need for support as they return and
experience cultural marginality, and their perception of self in
relation to their United States college peers. Unable to relate
easily in the social area, where many of their compatriots in
transition build meaningful relationships and become aware of a wide
range of resources, they depend upon the support of their third
culture network thrOUgh letter writing, and sharing experiences with
other third culture persons; and seek mentor relationships as a
means of recognizing and acquiring helpful resources. There is a
consciousness of liaisonship manifested by the subjects interviewed.
They seek to interface with reality in a "one sense removed" way
through others who might facilitate that process. Resources, for
them, are not directly sought or confronted but recommended by
others or their use is facilitated by others. The subjects perceive
themselves as observers and as such, a sense of marginality as well
as incomplete participation characterizes their perceptions of the
dynamic between the self and the environment. The individual
building his/her support network both socially and professionally
differs widely in nature from the experience of the third culture

student who, through the fact of sponsorship, is accustomed to

265

finding a support group in each place, in an established, structured
manner.

3. Observation to participation/Sponsorship to individual
representation/World connectedness to national belonging: the
approach to adjusting expectations.

The third culture subjects interviewed expressed expectations
in terms of their developmental experience in the overseas situation.
The sponsorship institution communicated expectations of them through
parents, teachers and the overseas community, and it was critical
that their behavior in the third culture represent the highest
standards of the sponsoring institution. Because of their unique
situation as foreigner and stranger in the host national country,
their actions were highly visible and their identity a matter of
public interest. Many of the subjects report a perception of self
as observer. A quick and easy manner to adjust to differeing
conditions is to observe how others conduct themselves and to mimic
the behavior and avoid mistakes at least in the social, highly
visible situations. A sense of uniqueness and specialness results
from the differences perceived between the third culture individual
and the host culture persons. From that uniqueness and specialness,
a certain sense of entitlement arises. The special status overseas
and the recognition given through parents, school and the sponsoring
institution to third culture students who live up to the high
expectations for their behavior creates a sense of entitlement to
recognition and special status that internalizes itself and becomes

a part of the perception of self as unique and special.

266

Upon return to the United States, subjects report culture
shock. The largeness of scale, materialistic emphases, ethno-
centrism of United States peers become part of their reported
perceptions as is the margniality they experience when United States
peers do not recognize them as special nor value their third culture
experience as the third culture person feels it should be valued.
This loss of status and loss of high visibility, or opportunities
to share an enriched experience, violates the sense of entitlement
that grows out of the historical experience they have had and a
part of the self needs to be set aside if adaptation to the new
environment is to be negotiated. Fully coping in diverse environments
is a primary value of the third culture experienced person. The
dissonance created by the tasks involved on re-entry, in develop-
ing support on the one hand, but not sharing the experience of
self in that developing support forces an adjustment in expectations
that is immediate. As the peer group develops in the new college
environment, the first agenda consists of Sharing experiences,
talking about home, high school athletics and common events. The
third culture persons in sharing their mobile history experiences
feel different but no longer benefit from feeling different.
Different is no longer special but is a source of separation from
others in the new environment. This dissonance needs to be resolved
so that the expectations of the environment can be adjusted. The
approach to resolution differs from case to case within the
subjects interviewed. In the initial stages, most Subjects are
critical of peers and make judgments about the narrowmindedness

of peers who do not value their mobile eXperience and are perceived

267

by third culture subjects interviewed as ethnocentric and immature.
However, as the experience of re-entry continues, the "observer self"
within the third culture subject manifests itself by learning to cope
with the new environment, by adjusting expectations through setting
aside the third culture sharing with persons for a while, taking a job
frequently where work relationships around that job, position or
activity present an opportunity for belonging and sharing experience,
seeking older persons, mentors or foreign students as others to share
with, and focusing on academic tasks, their reason for being in college
as a primary thrust. The third culture student, though worldminded,
expresses ignorance or naivete in the United States situation and begins
to acknowledge that fact and gather information. As he/she decreases
the dissonance, a sense of being more comfortable rewards efforts and
as information is gathered strategies to confront the loss of status
and the largeness and impersonality experienced as culture shock begin
to recede. In the area of physical mobility, however, expectations must
be processed. Because most subjects overseas have not learned to drive
because of age, language or other restrictions, those who view them-
selves as most mobile find themselves in situations where even limited
mobility depends on others, their United States peers. Many subjects
mentioned the problem of driving as critical for them.

4. Goal setting and the Perceived Importance of goals: A
preliminary step to prioritizing goals.

Prioritizing goals is not a transaction for the third culture
subjects interviewed. In terms of their perceptions on the area of goals,
responses ranged from not understanding what was meant by goals to sub-

jects stating they had no goals. In fact, for many the goal of graduating

268
from college is contained in the fact of return and the expectation of
parents that graduation would result. Most subjects are academically
well prepared and expect to experience success in the academic area.
Part of the problem in the area of goals emerges from the third culture
environment and the experience of these students in it. The third
culture reality is a derivative one for them both in terms of geographic
derivation and mobility history as well as sponsorship derivation and
the realities and the structures of everyday life overseas. Although
involved in an alternative life style abroad, differing from host
nationals who are rooted both geographically and culturally in a
national sense, there are not many alternatives, options and choices for
them in that third culture experience. They do not feel powerful or in
control of their situation but realize it is prescribed for them by
parents and the Sponsoring institution and that their schedule of moves,
changes, sites and even most travel or vacations are decided by adults.
Subjects report that entrance to college and re-entry to the United
States at that point was a parental expectation that they had always
known. They do not personally take responsibility for setting it as a
goal but do take responsibility for implementation of the college and
re-entry goal and strive to be successful in accomplishing it. The
third culture student, as an observer of others and an implementor of
prescribed goals finds himself/herself challenged by an environment at
the college level, as well as the national level, which values persons
active in establishing goals at an individual level and working both
autonomously and socially to facilitate the realization of set goals.

For many subjects interviewed, return to the third culture becomes a

goal after the initial experiences with re-entry. It presents itself

269

as an alternative to the dissonance experienced and as perhaps a more
comfortable option. Career decisions and seeking a major seem to be
the first experiences third culture students confront in the general
area of articulated goals. Although they indicate a commitment to ad-
just, to learn, to remain involved in an overseas network, they do not
consciously see these statements as goals nor strategize concretely
to realize progress in these areas.

5. Integrating another facet of experience into the identity
area: the approach to transposing identity.

The third culture student is experienced in compartmentalizing
the self. Certain aspects of the self and its expression are more
appropriate in one context, less appropriate in another. When the
third culture experienced youth are negatively reinforced by United
States peers in efforts to share their mobility history, they set aside
that aspect of identity to facilitate the assumption of a more relevant
social identity in the college setting. Although this is difficult
and presents challenges, the third culture student accepts it and
searches for other means of developing support and adjusting to the
Situation. The area of transposing identity, recognizing and owning
changes in roles and self-definitions, is at the heart of the adaptive
process. Adjustment, coping with current reality, completing tasks in
many areas, getting along without major external dysfunction, is handled
by third culture students who manifest an ability to cope. However,
the complexity of the identity of a third culture experienced student
presents specific challenges in the area of transposing identity. The
changes in roles do not necessarily bring about changes in self-

definitions because they are difficult to "own" as part of the

270

continuing self. For most United States college students, going away to
college presents the first extended experience of being away from a geo-
graphical home. For most third culture students, going away to college
presents the first experience of being in a national home of which

they have little concrete knowledge or experience. Compartmentalizing
the self, and setting aside experiences in order to find relevance in the
new situation creates contradictory feelings about the identity area so
that although a part of the self is involved in changing roles, the
self-definitions are not clearly articulated nor completely expressed.
Inner continuity is maintained often by idealizing the third culture
experience, or fantasizing about previous experiences in the overseas
situation. Although the third culture subjects interviewed adjusted and
coped with the transition to college and to the United States, few of
them felt connected to the experience of being American college-students.
Though it is partially recognized and owned by them, they demonstrate

an orientation to the past and their third culture experience and to the
extended future when they will return to the third culture experience;
but not an orientation to the present as having any value except inso-
far as it prepares for a return to the third culture environment and

network.

The Adaptation Process: Conclusions,

 

The adaptation process of the twenty-one subjects interviewed
centered on the cycle of events, strategies, opportunities and experiences
confronted by these third culture experienced youth as they re-entered
the United States and entered college and began the adjustment to their
new reality. This process of adaptation is part of a continuing adapta-

tion that is the life flow of these persons. Their respective experiences

271

in the third culture become personal histories containing a mobile,
change-oriented, multi-cultural experience during their adolescent years.
This experience appears to affect their identity formation (Downie, 1976)
and complicates the process of adaptation as they return to their national
culture to begin their post-secondary studies. The adaptive transactions,
those confrontations in fitting into the new environment, occur in a
pattern perceived as an organized whole that is more than the sum of its
parts, a gestalt. The complex identities they have formed alter that
pattern and the perceptions of self, of the environment overseas and of
the United States environment, forming a dynamic in the transition that
alters their management of adaptation on return. Their perceptual
field upon return, their expectations, the experiences they count in
the immediate past shape the manner in which they choose to interact.
The gestalt of the adaptive configuration for these interviewees
appears to be:
I. The fact of return - a decision made by parents and
third culture youth that fixes the point of college
entrance as a re-entry date, activates commitment
toward successfully pursuing the undergraduate degree
and choosing a career path.
II. The principle of network - a base for support established
in the third culture network and implemented through
letter writing, visits and telephone contact which
insures a supportive framework for the transition
and at the same time assures the security of third
culture contacts for return to the third culture at

a later period.

III.

IV.

272

Adjusting expectations in the new environment which
involved adjusting perceptions of the self as observer

to the self as more active i.e. the self as participator;
from the self as world-minded and connected to the world,
to a valuing of belonging to a national culture; and from
the self as unique, special and entitled by world
experience to status, to an individual who builds an
identity in the new environment and realizes status as

a result of independent work and effort.

Goal orientation and goal setting in the life course

and the new environment - This is a difficult reality for
third culture experienced youth who in prescriptive third
culture environments were valued in terms of implementing
goals set by others. They are not experienced in goal
setting in a specific concrete manner though they have
transcendant goals in terms of growth and development.
They have not had the opportunities to explore choices

in the same way their United States peers have; to
develop autonomy gradually or to interact with persons

of the opposite sex in a large social context.
Integrating the experience of one's national culture

into the identity area - Third culture experienced youth
developed identity in a multi-cultural context. They
have compartmentalized selves and manage their social
identity in a different manner from their United States
peers. The third culture is derivative in many ways

from sponsorship orientation and the valued behaviors,

273
perspectives, national cutlures transited and parental
values communicated. It is a culture of liaisonships,
facilitations and mediations; an environmental bubble,
which is a buffered reality on the one hand, and a
highly vulnerable reality on the other hand, when
international tensions heighten. It is a world of
ambivalences, and of ambiguity, of protean change and
traditional behavioral expectations.‘ Identity formed
during adolescence in such an environment is complex.
The transposing of identity, in terms of recognizing and
owning changes in roles and self definitions, presents
a more complicated challenge to these youth. Although
they own the change in role, it appears their self«

definitions remain third cultural. They do not fully

 

 

adapt to an Americanjidentity’or sense ofself. They
indicate a desire to return to third culture experience
in all but one case. Although they egjpee, handle tasks
well, manage external transactions and overt behavior and
process the challenges cognitively and effectively, their
affective processing of change and their internal transac-
tions (self-talk and covert behavior) remain oriented
toward the past, the idealized experience of third culture
adolescence.

The tasks of third culture student in the initial phases of

adaptation appear to be:
1. Owning part of the decision to return;

2. Approaching the United States as a foreign culture;

 

 

274

3. Negotiating the "observer" perception of self and recognizing
the values as well as the limitations on "participation"
perceptions of self;

4. Realizing that the experience enjoyed in third culture
derived from parent's expertise and sponsorship in the
foreign location;

5. Tempering the sense of privilege and entitlement;

6. Appreciating the nature of this transition and how it
differs from other mobile experiences;

7. Actively exploring resources in the new setting;

8. Implementing the self-perception of openness to diversity
in interactions with United States peers and avoiding judgment;

9. Constructively dealing with the “upward-focus" toward adults
shaped in the third-culture reality by seeking mentors that
can facilitate adaptive transactions;

lO. Processing the losses of status, mobility, and close family
ties with counselors in their new setting;

11. Confronting the fantasies and idealized impressions of
third culture;

12. Effectively implementing the network principle to con-
structively develop a support base and to allow the
sharing of experiences and differences with those who may
appreciate them.

The third culture student manifests a structurally differentiated

self. A person who at a critical developmental stage, adolescence, was
involved in conscious experiences divergent from the cultural norms

within the peer group he/she joins at the college level. These experiences

 

275

during adolescence are not perceived by the interviewees as merely a set
of enrichment, or enhanced or different experiences. Within the per-
ceptual framework of the students interviewed, these experiences make
them different, change the very way they attribute meaning and affect
their valuing process orienting them toward a broader, multi-cultural

context.

Recommendations

 

Familiarity with the nature of a transition and the components
involved can assist a person in making it properly or at least identifying
some resource areas in the new environment that might be helpful.
Counselors in American type High Schools overseas might be in a position
to begin the process in a special senior seminar with graduating seniors
raising consciousness about some of the problems as well as the resources
and opportunities that await the re-entering third culture college fresh—
man. One subject interviewed enjoyed such an opportunity in her overseas
school and noted it was a tremendous help to her. Transition seminars
modeled on the life-lab approach used with college freshmen at Michigan
State and modified to apply the experiential exercises to the adaptive
transactions of third culture students on re-entry might be constructed.
The senior seminar might also include lists of alumni from different
schools in the United States and invite people in the overseas community
from different universities to speak to students on the resources
available when students return. Brochures might be collected so that
students might become familiar with the situation of schools and
support networks structured around the transition theme so that when
and if students return during the high schoOl year they might share some

of their experiences and add insight to the process.

276

A greater consciousness of the reality of third culture and
the special needs, opportunities and resources it has to offer a global
population seeking more enriched options and alternatives needs to be
cultivated. The beginning of that consciousness rests in the self—
consciousness of third culture members. The opportunity to offer high
school students a Third Culture Transition Seminar would begin this
effort toward consciousness in a concrete manner. Overseas associations
for American type secondary schools abroad might be alerted to this
option and might be willing to use the Seminar approach in developing a
network to provide a broader base for research on third culture youth
as they pursue adult careers and enter early and middle adult stages.
The need for a broader sample to test descriptive exploratory insights
offered is necessary. At the annual conference of each of these organie
zations, a group of scholars might present this option to overseas
administrators and educators to ascertain interest and commitment.

If the sending schools, the overseas schools, begin the transition
process at the senior high school, it remains for the receiving college
to offer at least some initial help to these third culture students.
The type of experience that interviewees suggested was a set of
informal sessions, of opportunities to talk with others who were re—
entering the United States and entering college so that that part of
the self set aside to facilitate the social interaction in the peer
culture might be expressed within the adapting group. These sessions
would not have to be formally structured except in the sense of
providing a time and place for these sessions to occur and informing
students of the option to attend.

The establishment of a national network for third culture

experienced youth and the publication of a newsletter might prove

277

beneficial. Cooperating with a developing effort within overseas schOOls
to establish alumni groups,it would be an efficient and effective forum
for communication, follow-up, and shared insights. This group might be
interested in liaison projects with younger students in overseas

schools modeled on such organizations as the girl scouts or boy scouts
but offering projects in global or international areas for recognition
i.e. language badges, desert studies, market explorations, children's
literature of a cross-cultural or inter-cultural type and other such
informative projects.

In terms of recommendations for further studies, a longitudinal
study of re-entering students from the time of the high-school-college
transition through the undergraduate college years and choice of the
first career might yield important insights. Given more time, would
third culture students transpose identity or would they continue to
maintain a third culture identity?

In another area, the role of overseas teachers might be explored
in terms of the reasons they go abroad, the quality of their experience
abroad, and the interaction with third culture students that occurs
and is often recounted by the subjects interviewed for this dissertation.
How does the role of the overseas teacher affect the third culture
student?

At a philosophical level, it might also be interesting to explore
the options, opportunities, and/or obstacles which occur as a result of
maintaining a third culture identity and how that identity maintenance
projects when return to the overseas environment is not an option for
students at a later period.

In the highly mobile setting of an interdependent, mega-industrial

278

reality, the number of persons making transitions of a geographical
type each year increases. The concomitant changes that such mobility
engenders challenges the self, the need for a concept of home and roots,
and strategies for simple adjustment and a deeper level adaptation.
Although the twenty-one third culture experienced youth studies here give
insights into their experiences only, perhaps some of the themes
presented by them are Shared by others involved in mobile life-styles
to a greater or lesser degree.

The value of the experiences these students have had, the need
for cross-cultural mediators and network builders in a growingly complex
world necessitates an outreach to them so that persons who intimately
understand the importance of linkages and strategies for maintaining,
strengthening and implementing those linkages may be encouraged to
pursue careers congruent with their talents and knowledge of the world.
Observers make good researchers. The honing and sharpening of observa-
tion skills as well as the need to develop participation skills in the
national culture presupposes an education process aware of the strengths
and weaknesses, the possibilities and obstacles that challenge third
culture experienced youth. They are human resources that link us with
the possibility of a harmonious, multi-cultural, more global future.
An understanding of the persons they are, the selves they project, the
needs they demonstrate and a processing of those areas carefully and
systematically may yield many benefits both to the national cultures
with which they identify (at least in terms of passport identification)

and the networks and nations they transit.

 

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APPENDICES

 

 

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PLEASE RETURN IN ENCLOSED ENVELOPE TO:
Professor Ruth Hill Useem
Michigan State University
513 Erickson Hail
East Lansing, Michigan h3823
Telephone: 517+355-6hh7
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**********************

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Dear Participant:

We are studying persons who, in their teen years, have attended school outside the
United States for one year or more. If you have not done so, please check below
and return thepguestionnaire in the enclosed envelope.

1. I have not attended school outside the United States during my teen
years for one school year or more.

(Signed)

If you have attended school during your teen years (ls-l9 years) outside the
United States for one school year or more, would you take a few minutes of your
time to fill out the following questionnaire?

 

Your name and address have been requested to facilitate mail follow-up studies.
Your responses will be used only in group summaries, and will not be identified
with you individually. Put your name and social security number (if known) on

this page only.

2. Name
(Print) Last First Middle or Maiden Name

 

Social Security Number (optional and if available)
3.

 

 

This study is part of a long-term study we are doing of American youth who have
attended school in places outside the United States. If, in addition to filling
out the following questionnaire, you are willing to talk with us further about
your experiences, please sign below, and give your local address and telephone
number. We will contact you later.

I am willing to be part of a long-term study.
(Signed)

A. Local address:

 

 

5. Permanent address at which you can be reached:

 

6. Telephone number: Area code: Local number:

 

7. Best times to be contacced:
Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat.

Hours A.M. and/or P.M. (please specify).

l.

13.

1%.

299

Code No.

Page two .

Your sex: Male Female

Where were you born?

 

(city) (State) (country)

What do you consider your home state?

 

Are you a U.S. citizen by birth? Yes No

 

Are you a naturalized U.S. citizen? Yes I No

 

If you are a naturalized U.S. citizen, state country of former citizenship,

age of naturalization:

 

 

Country of former citizenship Age at naturali-
zation

Are you a dual citizen? Yes No

 

If you are a dual citizen, state countries of dual citizenship:

and

 

 

What was your father‘s birthplace?

 

 

city state country
What was your mother's birthplace?

city state country
Have you had military service? Yes No

 

If yes, give dates of service, branch of service, and nationality of service.

 

(from), (t0)fir {branch of service) (nationality of service)

was any of this service outside the U.S.? Yes No

 

Where, outside of the United States, did you serve?

 

Page {EH-Io .

300

Countries, including the U.S. in which you have lived since birth. ‘

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name of School Iype of School
(If correspondence student body, Curriculum Bearded?
Country Ages Grades course write "tutor")Int. 9OZU.S. U.S. Other Yes No
__to__.__to__
.__CQ__.__CQ__
_to_ _t O-
_________ ...39__._.t9__ ;
'__to__-__tq__
___to__.__tq__ °
__FQ__._.tQ_.
________ ‘__to__.__to__
_________ -__tq_____to__
.__tq__-__to__
.__‘9__.__39__
___,~h __CQ__.__¢9__ ___ -_._________ _‘H_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

w '- 0*.“0.” 0. ... 0“

 

15.

16.

17.

301

Code fio.
Page Three.
Beginning with the most recent and working backwards, list below all the places
you have lived overseas during your teen years. Enter your approximate age,
circle the grade or grades, fill in the name of the school or type of education.

Name of School Attended

A89 (if none, indicate if you took
at correspondence courses,
Country Lived In Time Circle Grade or Grades tutored at home, etc.)

 

 

Most recent

thg9th 10th 11th 12th 13
(city, country) (age) (grade) (name of school)

8th 9th 10th llth 12th 13
(city, country) (age) (grade) (name of school)

8th 9th 10th llth 12th 13
(city, country) (age) (grade) (name of school)

...:
(N

8th 9th 10th llth 12th
(city, country) (age) ' (grade) (name of school)

8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13
(city, country) (age) (gradE) (name of school)

Was the "most recent" overseas experience recorded in Item 15 above, in conneCtion
with the overseas employment of the head of your family?

Yes. The head of my family was employed as

 

(occupation)

with in
(organization) ((City) (country)

 

No. I was overseas because
((State reason or purpose)

 

During your first through seventh grades, approximately how many years were you

overseas?

(years)

In what country(ies)

 

 

 

23.

2h.

25.

26.

27.

302

Code No.

 

Page Four.

Have you ever attended boarding school in the United States?

Yes No

 

 

If "yes," circle grade or grades in boarding school in the United States.
1 2 3 h 5 6 7 8 9 10 ll 12 13

Where were your parents living at that time?

 

(city) (state) (country)
Have you ever attended boarding school overseas?

Yes No

 

 

If "yes," circle grade or grades in boarding school overseas.
123h5678910ul213

Where were your parents living at that time?

 

(city) (state) (country)
Other than in boarding school, have you lived away from yourgparents in order
to attend school?

Yes No

 

 

If "yes," where did you live?

 

(city) (state) (country)

With whom did you live?

 

What grade or grades did you attend?

 

Where were you parents living?

 

(city) (state) (Country)

Describe your present living arrangements, e.g., dormitory, residence hall,
private home, private apartment, living with parents, etc.:

 

 

28.

29.

3(X3

Code Ho.

Page Five.
What is the highest level of formal education obtained by your parents?
(Check one in each column.)

Father Mother

Grammar school or less
Some high school
High school graduate
Some college
College degree

Postgraduate degree

 

What is your best estimate of the total income last year of your parental
family (not your own family if you are married)? Consider the annual income
from all sources before taxes.

Less than 6,000 Dollars

6,000 - 9,999 Dollars

10,000 lh,999 Dollars

15,000 - 19,999 Dollars
20,000 - 29,999 Dollars
50,000 - uo,ooo Dollars
h0,000 Dollars or more

In what religion were you reared?

 

What is your present religious preference?

 

How many brothers do you now have living?
How many sisters do you now have living?
Are you: ____ an only child?

the first-born (but not an only child)?
the second-born?

the third-born or later?

Page Five.

 

 

55.

38.

39.

ho.

kl.

304

Code No.

a

Page Six.

What is your father‘s present employment?

 

(name of occupation)

with .
(name of organization)

Where is your father living now?

 

(city) (state) (country)

What is your mother's present employment?

 

(name of occupation)

with .
(name of organization)

Where is your mother living now?

 

(_(city) (state) (country)

What is your parents present marital status?
Married

Divorced

Legally separated

Other (explain circumstances):

 

 

 

During the period or periods you lived outside the United States, how would
you describe your health? (Check one of the blanks below.)

On the whole, my health overseas was:
excellent good fair ’ poor

Did you have any major illness or accident while living overseas?

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. PLEASE MAIL THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN THE STAMPED
ENVELOPE. BE SURE TO SEAL THE ENVELOPE.

Page Six.

 

305

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APPENDIX B

 

INTERNATIONALLY MOBILE STUDENTS QUESTIONNAIRE

1 Institute for International Studies in Education
College of Education

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan #8823

LA AAA

 

l.

 

 

306

 

 

W, .
§.

e

if

‘4'! W —
'5

Ԥ In those items with fixed responses, circle the apprOpriete

.8

C

i} alternative which best describes your attitude, belief, or situation. If you

E want to qualify your answer, use the blank page provided at the back for this

*3 purpose. Be sure to mention the item you are qualifying.

In some items, a written response is called for. If the provided

Space is not sufficient, continue on the blank page provided at the back

for this purpose. Be sure to mention the item you are continuing.

 

 

307

 

 

..- ......

INTERNATIONALLY MOBILE STUDENTS QUESTIONNAIRE

Institute for International Studies in Education
College of Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan 48823

Circle your sex: M F

Date of birth: Age at last birthday: ___
(month) (day) (year)
Circle number of your marital status: 1. single
2. married
3. divorced
4. other (Specify)

 

College or University where enrolled:

 

Circle year in college: 1. freshman

2. saphomore
3. junior
4. senior

5. other (specify)

 

Present academic major(s):

 

Present academic minor(s):

 

Are you gainfully employed? (circle answer) Yes No

If yes, what do you do?

 

If yes, are you employed: (circle number) 1. full-time 2. part-time

What is your racial background? (circle number that applies)

1. Hy parents are of same racial background:(specify)

 

2. My parents are of different racial background.
My father is

 

My mother is

 

Citizenship of parents: (circle number and specify if appropriate)

1. both are U.S. citizens

father U.S. citizen; mother citizen of

 

 

2.
3. mother U.S. citizen; father citizen of
4.

father citizen of ; mother citizen of

 

Page One.

 

 

 

308

 

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PageTwo.

11. College students normally encounter problems - some small, some

large, some temporary, some long-standing - while they are at college.
Below is a list of problems which students mention as giving them
some worry or difficulty. To what extent is each of the problems a
current source of worry to you?

Circle (NO) if no problem; (SOM) if some problem; (SIG) if significant
problem. If the problem is a source of worry to you, also indicate
whether it is of recent onset (circle REC) or is a long-standing
problem (LNG).

 

 

TO WHAT EXTENT HOW LONG A
A PROBLEM PROBLEM
U
N U a
-O c q Q
.5 5 its 5 5!
PROBLEM AREA 3*? 0 z? 3 5' o’. 5 x?
. § as 3 “:4
e: co A? -3
Finances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N0 SOM SIG REC LNG
Handling the content of course work . . . . . NO SOM SIG REC LNG
Meeting members of the apposite sex . . . . . NO SON SIG REC LNG
Relationships with a particular
member of the opposite sex . . . . . . . . NO 50M SIG REC LNG
Deciding on my major field. . . . . . . . . . NO SON SIG REC LNG
Deciding on my future occupation or career. . NO SOM SIG REC LNG
Relationships with my parents . . . . . . . . NO SON SIG REC LNG
Relationships with relatives other than
parents I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I O “0 sm SIG REC LNG
Getting along with my roommate(s) . . . . . . NO SOM SIG REC LNG
Trying to "find myself" in the sense of
personal meaning and identity. . . . . . . NO SON SIG REC LNG
Finding friends who share my values and
background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NO SON SIG, REC LNG
Relationships with faculty member(s). . . . . NO SOM SIG REC LNG
Relationship with college administrator(s). . NO SOM SIG REC LNG
Health. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I no son SIG “c we
Other (specify) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NO SOM SIG REC LNG

 

 

USE BLANK PAGE AT BACK FOR ADDITIONAL REMARKS OR QUALIFICATIONS

Page Two.

 

 

 

309

 

12.

13.

I4.

15.

16.

17.

Circle your average grade in secondary school:
A+ A A- 3+ 8 B- C+ C C- D

Circle where you ranked in your graduating class: 1. upper 10%

C003 NO.

Page Three .

2. upper third
3. middle third
4. lower third

Circle size of your graduating class: 1. 0-10
2. 11-25
3. 26—75
4. 76-99
5. 100-199
6. ZOO-299
7. 300 and over

What was the size of your class in your last year overseas? l.
2.
3.

4.
5.

Circle your grade point average for last term:
Check if no prior college term.
A+ A A- 3+ 8 B- C+ C C- D F

How did you feel about last term's grade point average? Circle
that applies. no prior college term

very satisfied

1.
2. somewhat satisfied
3. somewhat dissatisfied
4.

very dissatisfied

Paco Thvna,

0-10
11-25
26-75

76-99
100 and over

numb er

'g’v ‘-v -‘

~--._..— .—-.-~—.' r—"

 

 

was“ +51qu a J {A m Milli-13“ 11" "“‘W‘ “3" ‘9

1 .f'

310

 

Page Four.

13. How did your parents feel about your last term's grade point average?

Circle letter that applies.
no prior college term

1. very satisfied

2. somewhat satisfied

3. somewhat dissatisfied

4. very dissatisfied

5. my parents don't know about my grades

6. my parents don't care about my grades

19, Compared to last college term (or high school if no prior college), do

you expect your next grades will be:
1. higher

2. lower
3. about the same

4. don't have any idea

20. If you are failing one or more courses, to what do you attribute this?

 

 

 

21.How important is it to you to get good grades? Circle one.

I. very important
. fairly important

2
3. not very important
a

. not important

- Page Four

’.——-

-,__ ... "...—r—V‘

 

 

 

 

1

22.

24.

311

 

Code No.

Page Five.

If the majority of your secondary education was obtained overseas, how well

do you feel it prepared you for college academic work? Circle number that
applies.

1. did a very good job preparing me for college work
. did a fairly good job

N

3. did a poor job

4. did a good job in some areas but poor in others

If the majority of your secondary education was obtained in the U S., how
well do you feel it prepared you for college academic work? Circle number

that applies.
1. did a very good job preparing me for college work
2. did a fairly good job
3. did a poor job

4. did a good job in some areas but poor in others

In what ways do you think the secondary education which you had overseas
gave you outstanding or exceptional preparation for college work?

 

 

 

In what ways do you think the secondary education which you had overseas
was deficient in preparing you for college work?

 

 

 

What were the major factors leading you to apply or chocsing to enroll at
this college?

 

 

 

 

Page Five.

 

312

M

Page Six

 

27. As you see your situation at the present time, how much education
do you think your parents (or guardians) expect you to get? Circle
number that applies.

. a year in college

two years of college

1
2
3. three years of college
4 four years of college (Bachelor's Degree)
5

graduate or professional school

28. As you see your situation at the present time, how much education
do you really expect to get? Circle number that applies.
l. less than four years of college

Bachelor's Degree (B.A., 8.5., etc.)
Master's Degree (M.A., M.S., etc.)
Ph.D. or Ed.D

M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M.

L.L.B. or J.D.

H.D.
other (specify)

QNOU‘J-‘UN

 

29. Do you plan to go straight through until you reach the level of ed-
ucation specified above?
1. Yes

2. No

If No, when might you interrupt your studies-and for what purpose(s)?

 

 

 

30. Are you considering transferring to another college during your under-
graduate work?
I. Yes (If yes, why?)

2. No

 

Page Six

 

3113

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Code No.

PageSeven.

}. People attend college for a variety of reasons. Listed below are some of
L the reasons students give for attending college. We would like to know

é what are important reasons for your being in college. Circle IMP if the
reason is important to you, circle NOT if the reason is not important to

i y DU 0

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f I want the prestige attached to a college degree . IMP NOT H
g n
. I want to please my parents . . . . . . . . . . . IMP NOT

I I want to live up to a family tradition of going
’ to college . . . . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . IMP NOT

I enjoy the social part of college life . . . . . IMP NOT

College gives me an opportunity to deve10p meaning
in my life I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I LVP Nor

College gives me an Opportunity to participate

1
in radical movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IMP NOT '}
It will help me get a position overseas . . . . . IMP NOT ‘:
It will help prepare me for a life of service r
to others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IMP NOT ‘.
I want a student deferment for military service . IMP NOT )3
Other (Specify) IMP nor '

 

0.0
I

Circle YES or NO to the following:
I am the first of my family to attend this college . . . YES NO

One or more of my brothers or sisters have attended or
are attending this_college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES NO

One or both of my parents attended this college . . . . . YES NO

 

One or more of my grandparents attended this college . . YES NO

33' Which type of college work do you prefer? Circle number that applies.

1. a predominance of class work, class assignments, and regular
examinations i

2. a predominance of independent reading, writing, and research

 

 

 

314

 

Page Eight.

34. Rate yourself on each of the following traits as you reallygthink you are
when compared with other students of your own age. We want the most
accurate estimate of how you see yourself.

Circle one for each item.

q, 0
As j? C? a,
3::e...
Academic ability . . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Athletic ability . . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Artistic ability . . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Attractive to opposite sex . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Drive to achieve . . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Leadership ability . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Mathematical ability . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Originality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Physical appearance . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Public speaking ability . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Self-confidence (intellectual) . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Self-confidence (social) . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Sensitivity to criticism . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Well - liked by others . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT
Writing ability . . . . . . . . . . . . HT AA A BA LT

Use blank page at back for additional remarks or qualifications.

 

315

' . ~'i -.-
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Code No.

PageNine

3, The following items refer to some general reactions which you might
have to a variety of issues.

Please circle whether you agree (A),

,5 q, ..
are uncertain (U).or disagree (D). 4? 5'
o J' 69
° 0 .9
03' ‘7 c? 1
I am just as comfortable with foreigners as I V ° ' 3!
am with my fellow countrymen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D U
, ‘1
I talk about different things with pepple who have had .!
overseas experience than with those who have not. A U D 1

I doubt that there are any other countries where I could
live as happily as in the United States . . . . . . . . A U D

I feel more comfortable with peOple who have had overseas
experience than with those who have not . . . . . . . . A U D
when I am overseas than when I am in the U.S. . . . . . A U D

I am more aware of being an American when I am overseas
than when I am in the U.S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

1
I have more positive feelings about being an American 1
1
1
1
1
1

I feel different from peeple who have not had overseas 2
experienceI I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I A U D 3‘
1

I feel like a spectator on American life . . . . . . . . . A U D ‘
I feel I can trust most Americans I meet overseas. . . . . A U D “

I feel I can trust most Americans I meet in the 1
UnitedStates.....................AUD 1

I feel I can trust most foreigners I meet in their
home country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

I feel I can trust most foreigners I meet in the
United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

I feel very much a part of American life . . . . . . . . . A U D 11

1
I am well informed about national political affairs. . . . A U D :1
I am well informed about international political affairs . A U D

I tend to keep up on affairs in the cOuntry (countries)
in which I lived overseas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

Most people neither understand nor care about what my
overseas experience means to me .

 

I

 

aqno \Va'na

.«ar

 

 

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

316

 

What shocked you upon returning to the U.S.?

 

 

 

 

What surprised (but not necessarily shocked) you upon returning to the
U.S.?

 

 

 

What did you do last summer? Briefly indicate.

Worked at

 

Voluntary service as

 

Travelled in or to

 

In school, studied at

 

Other (specify)

 

What are your plans for the coming summer? Briefly indicate.

Working at

 

Voluntary service as

 

Travelling in or to

 

In school studying at

 

Other (specify)

 

Which political party do you prefer?
1. Republican

2. Democrat

3. Other (specify)

 

Page Ten

--

 

 

 

317

 

CODE NO.

Page Eleven.

4. Below is a general list of things that students sometimes do. Indicate
which of these things you did during the past year in school.

If you engaged in an activity frequently, circle "P". If you engaged in
an activity one or more times, but not frequently, circle ”0" (occasionally).
Circle "N" (not at all) if you have not performed the activity during the

past year. ;§

Circle one for each item. t
afi

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0 g N j.

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O I” g 1

Read poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O
Voted in a student election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P O N
Cut class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P O N
Studied in the library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
g Participated on the Speech or debate team . . . . . . . . . . F O N

Acted in plays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N

4 . a. -zw_e..-afi*.—.I._...e ..

1 Talked with a faculty member outside of class . . . . . . . . F O N ‘
' Wrote for the school paper or literary magazine . . . . . . . F O N W
1

Wrote a short story or poem (not for class) . . . . . . . . . P O N 1

 

Checked out a book or journal from the school library . . . . F O N
Attended a public recital, concert, or ballet performance . . P O N
Typed a homework assignment . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . P O N

Cheated on an examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P O N

_ ___.-“___¥v._-..—.__.- “7.4.-

Turned in a paper or theme late . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N

Asked questions in class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Attended a lecture on some serious topic. . . . . . . . . . . P O N '.

Participated in pre-professional clubs or clubs in my major
field. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I F o N

Participated in internationally related clubs or organizations F O N

Participated in traditional political organizations
(eg. Young Republicans, Young Democrates). . . . . . . . . F 0 N

Participated in contemporary political organizations
(eg. S.D.S., Students for Civil Rights). . . . . . . . . . F O N

318

m

 

Page Twelve.

42, Below are a series of statements which may characterize your feelings
about college life.
a VQ
Circle whether you agree (A), .3 we
are uncertain (U) or disagree (D). d? A} J;
o a
‘90 QC Q»
This college has high academic standards. . . . . . . . . . .A U D
I am proud to say that I go to this college. . . . . . . . . A U D
I like the region of the United States in which this
college is located. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D
This college has an excellent program in my fie1d(s)
of study. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I A U D
Most of my professors are good to excellent. . . . . . . . . A U D
I feel like a "number” at this college. . . . . . . . . . . .A U D
I felt "lost" when I first came to this campus. . . . . . . .A U D
I feel an integral part of campus life. . . . . . . . . . . .A U D
The intellectual climate is challenging at this college. . . A U D
‘ There are students from a wide variety of backgrounds

at this college. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A U D
I get a lot of individual attention from the faculty. . . . .A U D
I have a lot of personal freedom at this college. . . . . . .A U D
in life. . . . . .A U D

My college work is relevant to my concerns

Administrators at my college are too rigid in their
attitudes toward drinking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A U D

There is too much student concern with sex on my campus. . . A U D

 

 

College students should have more voice in

determining the

content of courseSI I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I A U D
College teachers are afraid to state their positions on

current issues in the classroom. . . . . . . . . . .A U D
College students should have more voice in faculty promotion

and tenure. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I A U D
College students should not have hours imposed on them. . . .A U D

Page Twe

lve.

 

 

......» .. -.

 

45.

47.

319

Code No.

Page Thirteen

How actively did you participate in highschool activities? Circle
number that applies.

1. very active
2. moderately active
3. not active

Did you participate in a religiously-oriented youth group during
your teen years overseas?

1. Yes (describe briefly)

 

 

2. No

Do you generally like or dislike assignments requiring original res-
earth?

1. like
2. dislike

If you need help in your academic work to whom do you turn for help?
(e.g. instructor, counselor, parents, friends, tutor, etc.)

never need academic help

never turn to anyone else, try to solve problem myself

I turn to (specify)

 

 

If you need help on personal problems, (other than academic) to whom
do you turn for help? (e.g. instructor, counselor, resident assistant,
parents, health center, clergyman, student friends, roommate, "steady",

etc.)
never need help
never turn to anyone else, try to solve problems myself

I turn to (specify)

 

 

Page Thirteen

<. 4_ ....

,_ -... ...... .‘

.————_— -..-n— _—
"AM

 

320

 

.. 48. Indicate the Dmportance to you personally of each of the following.

Circle 8 if essential, V if very important,
5 if somewhat important, and N if not
.7 important.

04‘“);

Becoming accomplished in one of the performing arts
(acting, dancing, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . .

Becoming an authority on a special subject. . . . .
Becoming an expert in finance and commerce. . . . .
Having administrative responsibility. . . . . . . .
Being very well-off financially. . . . . . . . . .
Helping friends who are in difficulty. . . . . . .

‘ Participating in a voluntary service organization
domestic (e.g. VISTA, etc.). . . . . . . . . . .

Participating in a overseas voluntary service
organization (e.g. the Peace Corps, I.V.S.). . .

Making a contribution to science. . . . . . . . . .
Writing original works (poems, novels, essays). . .

Being free of obligations to others; "doing my
Wu thing..I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Creating artistic work (painting, sculpture,
decorac1n8)I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Taking responsibility for church-related activities.

Being well-liked by others. . . . . . . . . . . .

Page Fourteen.

Fourteen.
3‘
Qt?
58's
as:
”a. If

33:0

a ~e 5L

5’ :5 a *v

3:303;

‘0 we
.E V S N
.E V S N
.E V S N
.E V S N
E V S N
B V S N
.E V S N
.E V S N
.E V S N
.E V S N
E V S N
.E V S N
E V S N
.E V S N

...-....-. _.

 

321

2 Code No.

Page Fifteen.

'59. In what places of the world do you feel most at home?

 

 

.50. Which of the following comes closest to describing your career plans?

Circle number of response which best fits.
l. I know exactly what I am going to do

2. I am fairly certain as to what I want to do
3. I am uncertain as to what I want to do
4. I have no idea what I am going to do

If you answered 1 or 2 in the above question, please answer the
following question.

When did you really decide on what yOu want to do?
1. Before high school
2. During high school
3. After high school but not in college
4. In college
31. In thinking abOut your occupational future, do you feel that in the
long run you will have a preference for:

Circle number that applies.
1. An academic life (Teaching, research, other scholarly work)

business career

professional life (doctor, lawyer, engineer etc.)

career as a trained technician or craftsman

life centering upon some aspect of the creative arts
life centering arOund a home and family.

military service career

0mNO\U|‘-‘UN

A
A
A
A teacher on the elementary or secondary level
A
A
A
I

have not given sufficient thOught to this matter to say

H
O

. Other (Please explain)

 

 

Page Fifteen.

 

 

r-ww

 

53.

54.

55.

S6.

322

 

Page Sixteen.

Do you have any preferences as to where you would like to establish your

home? Specify and briefly indicate why:

 

 

(To be answered by gosh men and women.)
How many children would you eventually like to have? Circle appropriate
number.

0. none

1. one
2. two
3. three
4.

four or more

Where would you like to have your children spend their teen years? Specify

and briefly indicate why:

 

 

Where would you prefer to pursue your occupation?- or - where would you
prefer that your husband pursue his occupation?

l. in one area overseas (indicate country or area)

 

2. overseas in a number of countries (indicate general area(s))

 

3. based in U.S. but with occasional one- or two-year assignments
overseas -

4. based in U.S. but in a position which includes overseas travel
5. in U.S. only

6. other preference

 

Other than for occupational reasons, are there any places in the world,

including the U.S., which you would like to visit or travel in? (Indicate

 

area and possible reasons for preference, if any.)

 

- Page Sixteen.

a...

 

Si.

58.

S9.

60.

61.

 

323

Code No.

Page Seventeen

While growing up, who in your parental family really had the final
say about things concerning the rhildrrn? Circle one number.
l. almost entirely up to [nthvr

almost entirely up to mother

usually up to father

usually up to mother

decisions jointly made by mother and father -

decisions jointly made by parents and children

NO‘U‘v‘-‘UN

other (specify)

 

while I was growing up, I would describe my family as: (circle one number)
. very close

fairly close

. not particularly close

I‘UNH

. not close at all

Do you feel that in the last year or so you have been growing closer
to yOur family or further away from it?
1. much closer

2. slightly closer
3. slightly away
4. much further away

During the coming year, how often do you plan to see your parents?
1. every day or almost every day =

2. about once a week
3. during hilidays and/or occasional weekends
4. only during the summer
5. not at all
How dependent or independent of your parents (or guardians, if applicable)

do you consider yourself to be at the present time?
1. quite dependent

2. somewhat dependent
fairly independent

4. very independent

Page Seventeen

 

 

 

62.

63.

324

 

P389 Eighteen.

The following three questions are concerned with how you keep in touch with
people you knew when you were overseas. Please do not put down any names
but indicate some position (e.g., biology teacher) or relationship to you
(e.g., girl friend) or group (e.g., ten classmates) to indicate person or
persons. You may not have any to list. If so, check in indicated space.

On the left, list by position any former overseas teachers, principal,
coach, or other adult with whom you have been in touch DURING THE LAST YEAR.

have not kept in touch with any adult (other than family) since leaving

overseas “88.

used to keep in touch with one or more adults but have not been in

touch during past year.

Have been in touch during past
year with: (e.g., biology
teacher, coach,etc.)

 

 

 

Have kept in touch through
(e.g., personal letters, visited
overseas, visited me here,
alumni newsletters, etc.)

 

 

 

(Continue on back page if more space is needed.)

0n the left, list any Americans you knew overseas roughly your age with
whom you have been in touch DURING THE IAST YEAR.

have not kept in touch with any Americans my age since leaving overseas

“Bl -

during the past year

Have been in touch during past year
with

(e.g., girl friend, boy friend,
classmates)

 

 

 

used to keep in touch with one or more, but have not been in touch

Have kept in touch through
(e.g., reunions, visits, telephone,
rooming with, etc.)

1.

 

2.

 

3.

 

(Continue on back page if more space is needed.)

Page Eighteen.

 

 

 

 

325

CODE NO.

Page Nineteen.

0n the left, list any host nationals or other nationals of any age with
whom you have kept in touch DURING THE LAST YEAR.

have not been in touch with any host nationals or other nationals
since leaving overseas area.

used to keep in touch with one or more but have not been in touch
during the past year.

 

 

 

 

Have been in touch during past Have kept in tough through: (e.g.

year with: (e.g. French class- letters, home visits, travelled

mate, German landlady, Thai boy- with, etc.) .”
friend) ,‘
l. l.

2. 2.

3. 3.

 

 

(Continue on back page if more space is needed.)

Do you know of other students at your college who have had overseas exper-_
ience? (Circle number that applies)

1. I don't know any.

2. Yes, I know one or two.

_ _ -..‘_.———— '

3. Yes, I know three or more.
If you know one or more, how many are close friends of yours? (Circle
number)

1. None of them are close friends.

2. One or two are close friends.

3. Three or more are close friends.
Of those students with overseas experience at your college, how many did
you know overseas. (Circle number)

1. Knew none of them overseas ‘

2. Knew one or two overseas

3. Knew three or more overseas

Page Nineteen.

 

326

 

Page Twenty.

68. Compare the teenagers you knew overseas with your college classmates
on the characteristics listed below. In every group there are ex-
ceptions, but in general, which group shows more of the characteristic
indicated.

Circle (T0) if you want to choose teenagers overseas, (CC) for college

classmates and (S) for about the same. ‘3! Q? q,
o e o c; -c
: In general which group gas” :32; 3'“
i would you say were: a? f (3*? ~o° as,»
: friendlier. . TOO CC? ‘8':
l more sophisticated. . TO CC 8
more morally upright. . . . . . . . . . . . .,. T0 CC 8
more provincial . . T0 CC 8 .
better informed . . TO CC 8
more conservative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TO CC 3
more religious. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TO CC 5
more serious-minded . . TO CC S
more responsible. . . . TO CC S
financially better off. . TO CC S
better dressed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . TO CC 3
; more competitive. . T0 CC 8

Page Twenty.

 

 

J

327

CODE NO.

Page Twenty-One.

Are any of your friends foreign students? Yes No
If yes, from what country (countries) are they

If yes, is any one of them your best friend? Yes No

Are any of your friends of a different racial background from yours?
Yes No

If yes, of what racial background(s)

 

If yes, is any one of them your best friend? Yes No

(If you are married, omit the following question.)
what is your best guess as to the chances that you will marry while in
college? Circle appropriate number.

1. very good chance
2. some chance
3. very little chance

4. no chance

Are you engaged or going steady?
1. yes

2. no

If yes, is this person:

...

. a foreigner

2. an American with overseas experience

3. an American with no overseas experience but very
interested in going overseas

4. an American with no overseas experience or
interest

Page Twenty-One.

 

 

 

 

 

 

328

Page Twenty-run.

73. The following items refer to some general reactions which you might have
to a variety of issues.

Please circle whether you agree (A),
are uncertain (U), or disagree (D).

‘5? 0°
«7 “
a? g' g”
.2 .0 4"
‘r a; ‘Q

I often react with intense personal feelings to works of
art 0: mate. 0 O O I O O O D C O O O I I O O O O D O A U D

I barely have enough money to meet my daily needs . . . A
Most of the time, I feel that I am a person of worth . . A U D
Generally speaking, most things have gone my way . . . . A

In general, I am more comfortable with older peOple than
peeple my own age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

I get more enjoyment out of life than my parents do . . A U D
Generally speaking, I like competitive situations . . . A U D,

I consult with close friends when I am faced with an
important personal decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

I do not make an important personal decision without
consulting with my parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

I think life should be endured without complaint . . . . A U D

I feel that it is important to satisfy my parents'
"181168 O O O O C O O O O C O C C O U C C O O O O O C A U D

In general, I feel that I have control over my own life. A U D

My parents accept my right to make my own decisions
even when they do not fully approve of my choices . . A U D

One should never compromise one's own beliefs . . . . . A U D
All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure . A U D

I feel I have an adequate personal philosophy of life . A U D

Page Twenty-Two.

 

329

Code No.

Page Thenty-three

At the present time, what family members do you feel very close to?
(Specify by relationship to you, e.g., father, cousin, grandmother,
aunt, etc.)

 

 

 

At the present time, what persons (other than family) do you feel

very close to? (Specify - e.g., boyfriend/girlfriend, landlady,
professor, roommate, etc.)

 

 

As a description of yOurself, how accurate is the following statement:
"I am one in a group of close friends, and we do most things together."
Circle number of apprOpriate response.

1. very accurate
2 fairly accurate
3. not particularly accurate
4. definitely inaccurate
Other than on dates or with your spouse, do you generally pursue leisure s
time and recreational activities ( movies, exhibits, hobbies, etc.)

with a group of friends, by yourself, or with one friend? Circle
number of apprOpriate response.

1. almost always with a group of friends

2. usually with a group of friends

3. usually by myself or with one friend

4. almost always by myself or with onefriand I
would you say that you often seem to ignore the Opinion of others when

trying to accomplish something that is important to you?
1. no, never

2. rarely
3. occasionally
4. yes, quite frequently

Before you do something, do you try to consider how your friends will
react to it? Circle One number.

1 yes, I always do
2. yes, I usually do
3. sometimes I do

4

. no, usually not

Page Twenty-three

D
. ......” .... --.--._'~ -

4M-.. F-‘-—~>-“—~—I—- ----_—

 

 

 

 

—~m-’ .-.- -
"_|'-YI"'"VYV r ‘vw vv-‘wv— 71‘ W r—v (* 1.11 m“ . “V

w W‘rv' vw ..
u

wv-.'(

 

 

33()

Page Twenty-Four.

 

is
i 80. Below is a general list of things that students sometimes do. Indicate
;. which of these things you did during the East year in school.

If you engaged in an activity frequently, circle "P". If you engaged in

an activity one or more times, but not frequently, circle "0" (occasionally).
Circle "N" (not at all) if you have not performed the activity during the
past year.

i r! q .l'. n

‘ A
~
f <5 37 4>
V c 9
- . 6’ x9 9
1 Circle one for each item. 63 g e
3. ' ‘0 C0Q é’
._ a cf ‘%
% Played games, e.g. bridge, monpoloy, cribbage . . . P O N
3' ‘ Spent time in a local grill or snack bar . . . . . F O N
If Watched TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r o N
Gambled with cards or dice . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Drove a car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Went to the movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Listened to pOp, rock, or folk music . . . . . . . . F O N
went danc ing e e e s e e s e e a o 'e e e e e e e e e F 0 N
smoked Cigarettes O 0 O O O O O O O O O O C O I O O O F o N
f Arranged a date for another student . . . . . . . . . F O N
' went to an over-night or week-end party ... . . . . . P O N
Drank beer, wine, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
a Stayed up all night to study . . . . . . . . . . . . F 0 N
was in bull sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P O N
' D.ted I O I O O O O O O O O O O I O O 0 O O O O O O O F o N
; Overslept and missed a class or appointment . . . . . P O N
f Attended Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P O N
Prayed (not including grace before meals) . . . . . . F O N
Attended ChurCh O O O O O C O C O O O O O O l O O O O F o N
Participated in non-violent demonstrations . . . . . P O N
Participated in violent demonstrations . . . . . . . F O N
Participated in voluntary service activities during
the college year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N

Page Twenty-Four.

 

331

 

Code No.

PageTwenty-Five.

The following items refer to some general reactions that you might
have about a variety of issues.

Please circle whether you agree(A), 4? o
are uncertain (U) or disagree (D). .3 ,3
.9 «'7 8"
a ° ”
a: S? A?
U.S. trOOps should be withdrawn from Southeast Asia V
imediaCBIYe O O O O O O O C O C O O . O C O I O O O 0 .A U D

U.S. should help Israel maintain itself as a nation. . . . . A U D

Most people have false ideas about what it is like to
live overseas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A U D

Colleges should accept all students who apply regardless of
academic achievement in high school. . . . . . . . . . . .A U D

I think there are some duties to mankind that are more
important than duty to my country. . . . . . . . . . . . .A U D

Outside radical student leaders should not be permitted on
our campus. 0 O O O O O I O l C O O O O I O O O O O O O O A U D

Our country is probably no better than many others. . . . . .A U D

A college should place more emphasis upon academic
than upon social develOpment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

It would be better to be a citizen of the world
than of a particular country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

We should try to solve our own domestic problems before we
try to help people in other countries. . . . . . . . . . .A U D

College teachers should be rewarded more for teaching
than research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A U D

Law enforcement officers should forcibly put down
violent protests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

A person in a skilled trade is worth as much to society
as one in a profession. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U D

It-is inapprOpriate for college professors to state their
position on current issues in the classroom. . . . . . . .A U D

Individual liberties and justice under law are not

possible in socialist countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . .A U D

Pace Twantv-Flve.

 

-......v«

...-....-.a.-. -v

.. -..-... ...-c ¢o~e

-. -..q--.<-q'- na‘a-"u

-3...- .4.-

- -k‘ a”

332

 

Page Twenty-Six,

32, What musical instrument (5) do you play

 

 

If you have not sung, nor played a musical instrument in the last year,
check here and go on to the next question.

83. Below is a list of musical activities in which students sometimes partic-
ipate. If you engaged in the activity frequently, circle "P". If you
engaged in the activity one or more times, but not frequently, circle "0"
(occasionally). Circle "N" (not at all) if you have not performed the ;
activity during the past year.

A
<7“. "7 N:
{e A? ‘N
0 o 9
6? V a
U ”a Q
4' ° «1
0" °
Played in a school orchestra or band. . . . . . . . . . . . F 0 §
Sang in a school choral group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P O N 3

Sang in a choral group outside of school (church choir, etc.) F O N

Played in a combo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Played in informal jam sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Taken vocal or instrumental lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Played or sang for pay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Played or sang classical music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Played or sang pop, rock or folk music. . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Participated in informal group sings. . . . . . . . . . . . P O N
Practiced alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N
Performed solo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N 83

Page Twenty-Six.

 

333

        
 

..- --....a- . “...-en. . ...--- .-.-...-.--“- ‘ a. .‘ .
'.".-a....“»...... ... fi‘.-..., - -.-..| ..H......

 

Code No.

Page Twenty-Seven.

. How much weight have you gained or lost during the last year? l
gained pounds fl
lost pounds h

To what do you attribute this weight change?

 

 

Have you been hospitalized during the past year? N
1. Yes

1
2. No .4
l

2

If yes, for approximately how long?

 

For what reason?

 

Roughly how many weeks of school have you missed this school year
because of illness?

1. less than one week
2. l-4 weeks

3. more than a month

long-standing physical disability or illness?

 

I
1
l
l
I
In what ways are you restricted in your activities for reasons of :
I
l
l
l

 

Is this condition in any way related to your living overseas? If
so, indicate in what way.

 

 

 

How do you usually feel?
1. tired most of the time

 

2. tired occasionally, but generally active
3. tired seldom, usually active ‘

”~_——>

Page Twenty-Seven.

 

[Niall-II?
I'll

 

334

 

Page Twenty-Eight.

 

89. To what degree are
you troubled by: Serious Mild Rare Never
f case case occurrence troubled

 

i Acne
Hives or
Excema

 

 

Asthma

 

Ulcers

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a list of the health problems which people sometimes have.
Indicate the extent to which you have been troubled by each of these
problems during the past year.

, j 90. Circle P, if you have been troubled frequently, 0 if you have been
- ‘ troubled occasionally and N if you have not been troubled.

Had headaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : . . .

I

Had allergic reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N

_-_‘_.....*-r.c..- -__.- .

Had to rest during the day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P O N
Had colds or respiratory infections. . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N

Went to infirmary or health clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . F O N

.... —. A—.--—-.—.‘_

Incurred small injuries. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . F O N

l q: w «mun...- amusing “WlWMF-W'M}. .

Page Twenty-Eight.

 

EI35

 

Code No. "

Page Twenty—Nine.

FOR MALES ONLY:

(Circle Number of appropriate reaponse.)

l l
Have you had or are you now enrolled in basic ROTC? 1. Yes 2. No ,..
Are you now in or will you take advanced ROTC? 1. Yes 2. No I
Are you, or would you consider being, a conscientious
objector? 1. Yes 2. No
h

How would you describe your concern abOut military service?

(Circle as many as apply.) '3i
1. If drafted, I would serve l3:
2. If drafted, I would request non-combatant service 3
3. If drafted, I would refuse to serve . ‘
4. If not drafted, I would enlist l ‘
5. If not drafted, I would nor enlist l
6. I am in ROTC and will be commissioned as an officer

7. Other (specify):

 

FOR WOMEN ONLY:

Fifteen years from now would you like to be: :
(Circle appropriate response.) J
l. A housewife with no children ‘
2. A housewife with one or more children

3. An unmarried career woman

4. A married career woman without children

5. A married career woman with children

6. Right now I am not certain

 

Page Twenty-Nine.

‘ —._.. ...-— ‘I’.~ -

Page

Item
No.

336

Qualification of answer:

 

Page Thirty.

 

 

 

Page Thirty.

337
APPENDIX: C
INTERVIEW DESIGN

It is the purpose of this 60 minute interview to gather information
on your experience from the time of your graduation from your overseas
high school in through your adapting to your new
college or university experience. I am interested in collecting infor-
mation on students who lived and went to school overseas while their
parents were involved in the missionary or business communities there.
Very little information is available on students that have shared in
this overseas experience. Will you answer some questions for me at
this time? Your name will not be used in any reporting of collective
results, however I am willing to give you feedback on the study as a
whole after its completion, if you are interested.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

l. How long were you overseas? When did you first go abroad? How
do you feel about the experience you had while living overseas?

2. During your high school years what persons were significant to
you in making the decision to go to college or university?
How did you decide on M.S.U. or Wooster? What did you know
about the University/College you chose? How did you get this
information?

3. What did your parents do overseas? What was the effect of
their involvement on you? On your life? How did you feel
about what they were doing? Would you like to be doing
something similar to what they were doing?

4. What were some of your experiences in getting ready to go to
college? How did you feel about leaving overseas and coming
to the U.S.? How did you feel about graduating from High
School and coming to the college/university?

5. On entering college/university what were your experiences?
What were some of the best happenings? The worst? Who did
you first meet? What persons were closest to you? What were
your expectations? What was especially supportive of you?

6. How did you interact with your new environment? Did you explore
it? To what extent? Did you prefer to actively search for
experiences or wait on things/people finding you? What were
your classes like? Did you feel well-prepared for them? What
differences did you experience between High School and
college/university? What sameness? Did you articulate goals
for yourself? In what areas?

7. In Which environment (overseas or U.S.) do you feel most at
home? Why? In what way?

10.

ll.

l2.

13.

338

Did you experience any illness after changing environment?

What areas of student life were easiest for you in transition?
What areas were most difficult? What were your key problems?

Were there any outreach programs to assist you in the beginning
of your adaptation to college life? What were they? What did

you think of them? Did you participate in them? Do you think

programs are helpful? Which ones would you suggest?

Did you return overseas at any point in your adaptation period?
Did you call parents overseas? How many times? Did you have
family friends to visit in the states? Did you visit them?

Did you call them? How did you feel about this network?

Are there any key events or happenings that you feel were
particularly significant in this adaptation period? Any
especially significant persons?

Is there anything else you would like to share with me
regarding your adaptation period?

339
TELEPHONE CONTACT SCRIPT: APPENDIX D
Hello,

My name is Kathy Jordan and I'm a Ph.D. student at Michigan State
University. I have received permission from the University to call
you and ask you if you have a few minutes to help me with a study I
am doing on students that graduated from High School overseas.

Do you have a few minutes to talk to me now?

Did you graduate from an Overseas High School?

Where was it?

How long have you lived Overseas?

Were your parents part of the business or missionary

community?

My study is seeking a sample of students from the business and
missionary communities. Would you be able to give me an opportunity

to interview you and ask you some questions?

340

APPENDIX: E
April 8, 1980

To: Dr. Paul Dressel
Chairperson of Committee on Release of Confidential Information

From: Kathy Jordan, Ph.D. Student
Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

Re: Information 1980 - Faculty Facts Book
P. 27 - Third Culture Students
...42 students here categorized vs. citizens from abroad

As a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University under the Chairman-
ship of Dr. Ruth Hill Useem, Dept. of Education, 513 Erickson Hall, I
have defined a dissertation topic with my committee addressing the
adaptation of American children who have spent their teen years abroad
as the dependents of Overseas Americans (third culture students) to the
U.S. university environment. In identifying this population many
sources are being used to help. The fact listed in the Faculty Facts
Book indicated that a possible list providing a current universe of
these students at MSU might exist.

In pursuing the source,I talked with the Department of Information
Service Bob Blanc who referred me to Phyllis Wilkie in 222 Administration
Buillding who kindly shared with me the steps of the process to apply for
permission to access this information. Ms. Wilkie directed me to send
a memo to you as the Chairperson on Release of Confidential Information
and inform you of my need to identify the population and the rationale
and design of my study so that you might evaluate my request.

My interest in Third Culture Students grew out of my own involvement
in the International Schools from l970-l977 and my work with Dr. Ruth
Useem inspired me to come to MSU in l977 to pursue a doctorate in the
school of education here at MSU.

The actual heart of my study is to administer a questionnaire which
was administered here at MSU 10 years ago - "The Study of Internationally
Mobile Students" and to ask permission of twenty of these students to
interview them on their adaptation to Michigan State University. I have
included here the questionnaire and the interview design that I wish to
use if the students are willing to be involved in the study. It would
be my objective to use a list provided to make a call to them and ask
them if they wish to help me or have time to assist in this work. I
would also provide for them if they were interested the results of the
project.

It is my hypothesis - or at least one of my major hypotheses - that
the adaptation studies done on campus by Dr. Ray Jackson, Dr. Max Raines, and
Dr. Kenneth Hall may be modified for the third culture student who adapts
to the University while also experiencing re-entry to the home country.
I think that some of the identified stages of adaptation may be modified
or perhaps totally different.

341

Page 2

Identifying a population of Third Culture Students at MSU is
difficult because they comprise a very small percentage of students
at this University. By word of mouth and the informal network I
have found approximately five students who are extremely enthusiastic
about helping me. Other colleges have provided me with lists of
students who would like to be involved but since I have severe
budget constraints and time constraints for travel (I have a full
time job here at the University), if I could work with a population
here it would greatly facilitate my task.

Under no circumstances would the name of the person appear in
connection with the interview I have with them. Feedback would be
of a general nature in terms of the trends and areas of responses.

If you need more information or would like to make an appointment
with me I am available at l32 Gilchrist Hall. My office phone number
is 5-8624. My home phone number is 5-0468.

Thank you for reading my request. I hope to hear from you soon.

(WW

Kathleen A. Jordan

cc: Dr. Ruth Useem
Ms. Phyllis Wilkie

342

APPENDIX: E

Example of method of identifying transactions from interview data:

Subject:

Henrietta

Question: On entering college/university what were your experiences?

Answer:

What were some of the best happenings? The worst
happenings? Who did you first meet? What persons were
closest to you? What were your expectations? What was
especially supportive for you?

I remember feeling very different. The girls on my hall

would go to dinner together and the conversations had to

do with high school experiences. I felt detached from talking

about varsity sports and high school band and basketball.

We had those activities too, but it was different.

The best happening was being in a different place because

I had some bad experiences in the boarding school situation

and it was much easier for me living in a dorm. I liked

the scheduling and the less structured aspect of three

classes a day and going out somewhere to eat but I felt

very homesick and uncomfortable being in the United States.

I couldn't find (2) enough people who had foreign experience.

I associated with some foreign students but that wasn't really

the same. I didn't come across too many students like myself

and that made it difficult. One or two roommates were close

 

to me. One (2) has become a close friend. I also had four

 

or five other friends.

My expectations of the U.S. environment (3) were based on what

 

I had seen the year before when I visited. I expected that

 

343

people would not understand me and so I purposefully

detached myself. I think I expected the fast pace,

 

big shopping centers, lots of chewing gum, the stereo-

typical. I expected a very tranquil college environment.

 

I wasn't really sure how to act as a college student in

terms of what is done and what isn't.

(2)

Eppecially supportive for me were letters from home

 

and at that time family ties, parents' friends in Akron -
just the fact that they were there - and international
students.
Method Applied: After reading each page of interview data, identi-
fications of areas of adaptive transacting were
noted and listed for each student. In this data
here, the number (2) noted identifies information
on transaction 2: developing support; the number (3)

and underlinings identify expectations. This

 

listing and selecting of examples from interviews was
applied to 263 pages of transcribed interview

information for the 21 subjects.

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