A MIXED - METHOD STUDY OF FRIENDSHIP NETWORKS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL ADAPTATION AMONG CHINESE INTERNATIONAL UNDERGRADUATES IN U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION By Mingjun Xie A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfi llment of the requirements for the degree of Human Development and Family Studies Doctor of Philosophy 2019 ABSTRACT A MIXED - METHOD STUDY OF FRIENDSHIP NETWORKS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL ADAPTATION AMONG CHINESE INTERNATIONAL UNDERGRADUATES IN U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION By Mingjun Xie In recent years, U.S. colleges and universities have observed a rapid expansion of the enrollment of international students. Particularly Chinese students, the largest group of international students since 2010, have in creased nearly threefold in just eight years ( Institute of International Education , 2010 2018). Prior studies have in vestigated the friendship networks of international students ( Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013 ) and the influence of peer relations on int - cultural adaptation (Hendrickson, Rosen, & Aune, 2011). However, the extant literature has largely neglected to examine lived experiences of establishing friendship networks and the underlying mechanism of the associations between friendshi ps and international student adaptation. Guided by social capital theory (Lin, 199 9) and acculturation process framework (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001), the pee r interaction patterns and how friendships influence their psychological well - being and sociocultural adjustment . My dissertation consists of two studies. The first study dr e w upon two waves of surveys collected with 46 Chinese students (30 females, M age = 18.89, SD = .80) and multiple in - depth interviews conducted with five students (three females, M age = 18.4 0 , SD = .89) . The results yield three main findings. First, C hinese students of the present study nominated predominant Chinese friends, much more t han domesti c and other international student friends, in both waves. Second, Chinese students did not necessarily develop more diverse, integrated friendship networks over time. Specifically, more than half of the participants nominat ed Chinese friends onl y in both w aves, possibly because of language barriers and prior discrimination experiences. Lastly, the interview findings illustrated that Chinese student engagement in college settings shaped their experiences of building friendship networks, such tha t greater e ngagement in meaningful common experiences (such as club activities, religious groups, and experiences of working together) could facilitate cross - cultural interaction between C hinese students and domestic students. Guided by social capital th eory ( Lin, 1999 ) and acculturation process framework ( Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001 ), the second study examine d : (1) how friendship networks, specifically the national backgrounds of nominated friends, the frequency of contact, and the intimacy of friends hips, are associated with psychological and sociocultural adaptation among Chinese undergraduates ( N = 273, M age = 19.18, SD = .84) in U.S. higher education; and (2) the role of social connectedness as a mediator. Results indicated that compared to superfi cial relationships, high - quality peer interaction (for example, friendships involving both frequent - cultural challenges. Further, social connectedness mediat ed the associations between friendships and student adaptation, such that frequent and intimate interaction with domestic students was associated with greater social connectedness and, in turn, better psychological and sociocultural adaptation. The finding s point to practical implications for the host institutions, especially for universities enrolling large numbers of international students. It is important for the host institutions to develop corresponding programs to facilitate social opportunities for d ifferen t groups to mingle and establish sustained friendships. Copyright by MINGJUN XIE 201 9 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of my dissertation would not have been possible without the help and support of my committee, the participants of the stu dy, and my families and friends. First, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. Desiree B . Qin, the chairperson of my dissertation. I am deeply grateful to her unwavering support throughout my graduate studies. H er research ha s profoundly sh aped my beliefs toward research , especially on how my research can contribute in promoting the well - being of children and adolescents from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. Second, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my committee members, D rs. Deborah J. Johnson, Claire D. Vallotton, and Steven Fraiberg, for their inva luable advice and constructive suggestions on my dissertation. Third, I would like to acknowledge the help of the Chinese undergraduate participants, who generously shared thei r time and experiences for the purpose of my research . Lastly, I would like to e xpress my gratitude to my families and friends, especially my father, Shaochuan Xie, for his unconditional love and support at a ll times; and my husband, Dr. Zhi Li, for his re lentless support and encouragement throughout my graduate studies at Michigan St ate Universit y. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... viii LI ST OF FIGURES ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODU CTION ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 1 Introduction to the D issertation ................................ ................................ ................................ 1 CHAPTER 2. STUDY ONE ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 5 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 5 Friendship Networks of International Students: Patterns ................................ ................... 6 Friendship Networks of International Students: Functions ................................ ................ 8 Challenges of Establishing Friendship Networks ................................ ............................... 9 The Present Study ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 10 Methods ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 12 Justification of Research Design ................................ ................................ ....................... 12 Sur vey Data and Analysis ................................ ................................ ................................ . 12 Interview Data and Analysis ................................ ................................ ............................. 16 Survey Data Results ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 19 Patterns of Peer Interaction ................................ ................................ ............................... 19 Profiles of Changing Patterns of Peer Interaction ................................ ............................. 20 Interview Data Results ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 22 Benefits of a Cultivated Guanxi with Co - nationals ................................ .......................... 22 The Importance of Cross - Cultural Understanding in Intergroup Friendships .................. 24 Student Engagement in College Settings ................................ ................................ .......... 25 Discussion ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 28 Limitations ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 31 Conclusion and Implications ................................ ................................ ............................. 32 CHAPTER 3. STUDY TWO ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 34 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 34 Theoretical Frameworks ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 35 Friendship Networks and International Student Adaptation ................................ ............. 36 vii Social Connec tedness as a Mediator ................................ ................................ ................. 40 The Present Study ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 40 Methods ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 41 Participants ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 41 Procedure ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................... 42 Measures ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 43 Analytic Strategy ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 46 Results ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 47 Preliminary Analyses ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 47 SEMs for Testing the Associations Between Friendship Networks and Student Adaption ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 48 The SEM for Test ing Mediation ................................ ................................ ....................... 50 Discussion ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 52 Limit ations and Future Directions ................................ ................................ .................... 56 Conclusion ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 57 CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSION ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 58 Co nclusion to the D issertation ................................ ................................ ................................ 58 AP PENDICES ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. 60 APPENDIX A: Chapter 2 Tables ................................ ................................ ........................... 61 APPE NDIX B: Chapter 3 Tables ................................ ................................ ............................ 64 APPENDIX C: Chapter 1 Figure ................................ ................................ ............................ 68 APPENDIX D: Chapter 2 Figures ................................ ................................ .......................... 69 APPENDIX E: Chapter 3 Figure ................................ ................................ ............................ 71 APPENDIX F: Supplementary Questionnaire ................................ ................................ ........ 72 APPENDIX G: Supplementary Inte rview Protocol ................................ ................................ 73 REFERENCES ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 75 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1. Study 1 Sample Demographics ( N = 46) . ................................ ................................ .... 61 Table 2.2. Study 1 Demographic Characteristics of Interviewing Participants. ........................... 62 Table 2.3. Comparisons Among Three Changing Patterns of Peer Interaction Among Chinese Undergraduates ( N = 46). ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 63 Table 3.1. Study 2 Sample Demographics ( N = 273). ................................ ................................ .. 64 Table 3.2. Descriptive Statistics of Study Variables. ................................ ................................ .... 65 Table 3.3. Path Coefficient Unstandardized Estimates from the SEMs. ................................ ...... 66 Table 3.4. Indire ct, Direct, and Covariate Effects from the SEM for Testing Mediation. ........... 67 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. Model of Acculturation Process. ................................ ................................ ................ 68 ..................... 69 Figure 2.2. Diagram of ). ..................... 70 Figure 3.1. Simplified Path Analysis Diagram of the SEM Testing Mediation. .......................... 71 1 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Introduction to the D issertation In the last two deca des, U.S. colleges and universities have witnessed a sharp increase in international student enrollment. Whereas back in 2000, there were 547,867 international students studying in the United State s , this number doubled and hit the one million mark in 2018 , with a total of 1,094,792 international students enrolled ( Institute of International Education , 2018a). Currently one out of every five students at U.S. colleges and universities is an international student ( Institute of Internat ional Education , 2018a). The continued growth in international students has brought substantial financial and cultural resources to universities, local communities, and the host society. During the 2017 - 2018 academic year, international students enrolled i n U.S. higher education institutes nationwide contributed $39 billion to the U.S. economy and supported over 455,000 jobs (NAFSA, 2018). In Michigan for example, the enrollment of international students ( n = 34,049) in local colleges and universities has b rought about $1.2 billio n to the state economy and supported nearly 15,000 jobs in the 2017 - 2018 school year (NAFSA, 2018). For every three international students enrolled in Michigan, one job is created and supported. The arrival of international students has also contributed to cross - cultural understanding and campus diversity. They not only bring international perspectives into research and classroom learning, but also improve intercultural competencies of U.S. domestic students (Breuning, 2007). Despite the rapid increase in i nternational students and their contribution to promoting ei, & Chen, 2015, p. 273 ). Studying in a foreign country might lead to academic and psychosocial adaptation 2 difficulties among international students. Challenges such as language barriers, high academic stress, homesickness, depressive symptoms, and discri mination are frequently noted in previous research (Lee, 2015; Smith & Khawaja, 2011; Yan & Berliner, 2009, 2013) . Asian international students, in particular, tended to experience more adaptation challenges than their peers from European countries. Studie s have found that they r eported more language barriers, higher levels of anxiety and acculturative stress, more difficulties in making friends, and greater exposure to discrimination (Fritz, Chin, & DeMarinis, 2008; Lee & Rice, 2007; Smith & Khawaja, 2011; Yeh & Inose, 2003). Chi nese students have become the largest group of international students on U.S. campuses since 2010. In the 2017 - 2018 school year, over 360,000 Chinese students were studying in the United State s , accounting for 33% of the total inter national student enrollm ent ( Institute of International Education , 2018b). Prior findings have demonstrated specific academic and psychosocial challenges Chinese students navigate (Leong, 2015). Academically, Chinese students reported lower levels of Engli sh proficiency (particul arly writing ability) than did international students from other countries (Li, Chen, & Duanmu, 2009). Many struggled to maintain minimum academic standards and GPA requirements during their first - year studies in the United State s ( Ma, 2014). Psychological ly, a high prevalence of depressi ve symptoms and anxiety was found among Chinese students (Han, Han, Luo, Jacobs, & Jean - Baptiste, 2013). Socio - culturally, Chinese students were found to be exposed to particular stereotypes and disc rimination directed towa rd their group, both on and off campus, which negatively affected their psychosocial adaptation (Xie, Liu, Duan, & Qin, 2019 ). How Chinese students adapt to and thrive in college is a major concern for student themselves, their pare nts, and host institutio ns. 3 Among the influencing factors in facilitating international student adaptation, social academic learning (Wang, 2017), psychol ogical well - being such a s life satisfaction (Yan & Berliner, 2011a), and sociocultural adjustment such as intercultural communication competence (Kim, 2001). For Chinese international students, since most of their established social relations remain back i n China, they need to bu ild new social networks in the host society to gain support for navigating challenges they face during cross - cultural transitions (Kim, 2001). Although the benefits of maintaining close relations with local students are well establi shed (Hendrickson, Rosen , & Aune, 2011), previous studies have largely focused on the national/ethnic backgrounds of nominated friends (e.g., Rienties & Nolan, 2014) and neglected to examine the contributing effects of other features of social contact (suc h as the frequency of co ntact and the intimacy of experiences of building peer relations during their studies in the host society. Grounded in social capital theory (Lin, 1999) and a cculturation process framework (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001 ; Figure 1.1 ), the purpose of my dissertation is to examine psychological well - being and sociocult ural adjustment. Social capital theory conceptualizes social relations as resources from which individuals can benefit to facilitate their knowledge and skills (Lin, 1999). Ward and colleagues (2001) incorporated the notion of interpersonal contact as soci al resources into the examination of acculturation and adaptation process, highlighting the contributing role of social interaction in promoting psychological and sociocultural adjustment of international students. 4 My dissertation consists of two studies . In study one , drawing on two - wave, longitudinal survey responses and in - d epth interviews, I used a mixed - method approach to explore: ( 1) the peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates studying at a large public Midwestern university ; ( 2) their nu anced experiences of building friendship networks ; and ( 3) how their frien dship networks and experiences might change over time. In study two , I used structural equation modeling to investigate : (1) the associations between friendship networks (specificall y the frequency of contact and the intimacy of relationships) and psycholo gical and sociocultural adaptation of Chinese undergraduates ; and (2) social connectedness as a potential mediator of the associations between friendships and student adaptation . I h ope the findings of my dissertation can help university faculty and profes sionals who work closely with international students to understand experiences of establishing friendship networks and how peer relations contribute to their cross - cultural adaptation. The findings may also point to important practical implicatio ns for the development of institutional programs aimed at supporting international student adaptation in U.S. higher education. 5 CHAPTER 2. STUDY ONE A MIXED - METHOD EXAMINATION OF L ONGITUDINAL CHANGES IN PEER INTERACTION PATTERNS OF CHINESE INTERNATIONAL UNDERGRADUATES IN U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION Introduction The number of Chinese students coming to the United States for higher education has been sharply increasing over the last decade. In the 2017 - 2018 school year, more than 360,000 Chinese students were stu dying on U.S. campuses , accounting for 33% of the total number of enrolled international student s ( Institute of International Education , 2018 b ). The continued growth in international students has brought substantial financial and cultural resources to universities, local communities, and the host society ( Breuning, 2007 ; NAFSA, 2018 ). Nevertheless, studying in a foreign country, Chinese international students m ay encounter difficultie s during cross - cultural transitions . Challenges in academic learning ( Heng, 2019 ), psychological adaptation ( Hirai, Frazier, & Syed, 2015 ), interpersonal relations (Bertram, Poulakis, Elsasser, & Kumar, 2014 ; Smith & Khawaja, 2011 ), and cross - cultural adju stment such as language barriers (Yan & Berliner, 2013) and discrimina tion experiences ( Xie, Liu, Duan, & Qin , 2019 ) have been noted in prior research. How Chinese students adapt to and thrive in U.S. higher education is a major concern for student themsel ves, their parents, and host institutions . Among the individual, interpersonal, and societal factors that contribut e to the adaptation outcomes of international students (Zhou, Jindal - Snape, Topping, & Todman, 2008), social interaction with peers in the ho st society is frequently cited as a n important predic tor of student adaptation , such as psychological well - being (Bender, van Osch, Sleegers, & Ye, 2019) and acquisition of new sociocultural knowledge ( Bierwiaczonek & Waldzus, 2016 ; Trice , 2004). Although the benefits of maintaining close relations with peer s in the host society are 6 documented (Wilson, Ward, & Fischer, 2013), limited work has elucidated Chinese international over time. Exploring s uch experiences would provide useful information abou t the changing social - interpersonal challenges and opportunities that international students navigate while they were studying in the host institutions . Building upon prior findings of friendship networks of international students (Bochner, McLeod, & Lin, 1977 ; Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013) , the present study uses a mixed - method approach to explore nuanced experiences in establishing friendship networks and the longi tudinal changes in their peer interaction patterns. Friendship Networks of International Students: Patterns or ethnic backgrounds of their nominated friends. Three g roups are identified: the co - national, host - national, and multi - national s (Bochner et al., 1977; Furnham & Alibhai, 1985 ; Hendrickson et al. , 20 11). Co - nationals of international students are peer s from the same country as their own (for example, Chinese friends nominated by Chinese international students). Host - nationals usually refer to domestic and local resident students in the host country. Multi - nationals consist of all other international students besides the co - natio nal peers . Early research indicates that international students prioritized their friendships with peers who shar ed similar cultures, such that they nominated co - national friends the most, multi - nationals the second, and host - nationals the least in their friendship networks ( Furnham & Alibhai , 1985) . Ho wever, international students might nominate more host - national students when asked about their larger peer network s (as opposed to nominating their closest friends). In a more recent study explor ing interna friendship networks , Hendrickson and 7 colleagues (2011) asked participants (mostly graduate students) to nominate up to 50 friends and identify their national or ethnic backgroun ds. Findings indicate that international students did not rep ort a higher ratio of co - national students in their friendship networks. Instead, they nominated host - national friends the most, compared t o co - national and multi - national friends, in their broad peer networks. With regards to the strength of friendships, international students tended to maintain moderate ties (i.e., remaining in contact but perceiving limited support) across the three peer groups (Hendrickson et al., 2011). Theories of acculturation and adaptation posit that international students woul d have more interaction with domestic students when they are more acculturated to the host culture s ( Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001 ; Ward, Okura, Kennedy, & Kojima, 1998 ). As such, it is assumed that international students would establish more cross - cultur al friendships over time during their stay in the host society ( Geeraert, Demoulin, & Demes, 2014 ). Nevertheless, empirical finding s seem to suggest the opposite. For example, using two - wave longitudinal network data collected with 592 students ( including 484 international students ) in the United Kingdom, Rienties and Nolan (2014 ) found that Asian international students usually establ ished friendships with co - national students , and that international students did not necessarily develop more connections wit h host - national or multi - national students over time . The tendency for international students to remain self - segregated might be as sociated with the difficulties of forming close relationships with host - national students due to language barriers and discri mination experiences (Hendrickson et al, 2011; Leong, 2015). The peer interaction patterns of international students can also be un derstood based on the national composition of friendship networks. Specifically, drawn on in - depth interviews conducted with 60 international graduate students studying in the United States , Rose - Redwood 8 and Rose - Redwood (2013) proposed a social interactio n continuum model and identified f our patterns of friendship networks, including self - segregator, host interactor , exclusive glo bal mixer, and inclusive global mixer . Self - segregators (27% of the participants) refer to international students who only interact with co - nationals. H ost interactors (7%) are those who only mingl e with co - national and host - national friends. Exclusive glo bal mixers (38%) are those who nominate both co - nationa l and multi - national friends. Finally, inclusive global mixers (28%) are those who develop friendships with all three groups, co - national, host - national, and multi - national peer s. To sum, prior studies primarily centered around the national backgrounds of the friends nominated by international students. Other essential components of networks, such as the quantity of contact and the quality of friendships (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001), had been largel y neglected. These two characteristics a lso play a role in shaping psychological adaptation of international students (Ward & Rana - Deuba, 2000). The present study extend s prior findings by including the frequency of contact and the quality of relation ships when examining the patterns of fri endship networks of Chinese undergraduates and how the patterns might change over time. Friendship Networks of International Students: Functions The contributing effects of friendship networks in shaping internation psychological and sociocult ural adaptation have been well supported by both theoretical and empirical evidence (Bochner et al., 1977; Furnham & Alibhai, 1985; Hendrickson et al., 2011; Kim, 2001; Wang , 2017; Yan & Berliner, 2011a). Theoretical ly , a functional model proposed by Bochn er and colleagues (1977) considered the co - national group as the primary and most important network for international students, as this group could support 9 expression of cultural identity and va lues. Besides, the co - national group was rated by international students as their most preferred group for emotional support and companion for daily activities (Furnham & Alibhai, 1985). The host - national group was de scribed as the secondary network, given its contribution in (Furnham & Alibhai, 1985) and acquisition of cultural knowledge (Bochner et al., 1977). Moreover, social interaction with host nationals was considered as a key to improve internat ional effective communication in the host society (Kim, 2001). Lastly, the multi - national group was considered as the least pre ferred group (Furnham & Alibhai, 1985), which had the least influence (Bochner et al., 1977) and only provided recreational and entertaining companionship. Empirically, prior findings suggest that international students usually benefit from knowledge - based resources and information shared withi n their co - national networks (Wang, 2017; Yan & Berliner, 2011a). For the influence of host - national friendships, international students nominating more host - national friends tended to report greater life satisfaction and contentment and less homesickness (Hendrickson et al., 2011). Finally, interaction with multi - national - cultural understanding and intercultural competence (Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013). Challe nges of Establishing Friendship Network s Problems and difficulties of developing friendships with host - national students are also documented in prior research . First, l anguage barriers often prevent international students from mingling with domestic students (Smith & Khawaja, 2011). Secon d, culturally different understanding of friendships might impede the establishment of close relationships between international students and host - nationals. For example, Chinese international students observed 10 that U .S. domestic students always ke ep some distance between friends (Yan & Berliner, 2013) , and that although they took the initiative to interact with host - nationals to expand their peer networks, they often found it difficult to build close relationships with host - nationals (Bertram et al., 2014) . Lastly, feeling isolated or segregated among domestic students made it harder for Chinese students to reach out to host - national peer s ( Xie et al., 2019 ; Bertram et al., 2014) . Prior experiences of being discriminated against by people in the host societ y might also hinder Chinese students with host - national peer s (Leong, 2015). The Present Study Although the friendship networks of international students are well examined (Bochner et al ., 1977; Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013), the existing literature has largely neglected experiences of establishing friendship networks in the host society. Furth er, most prior results were drawn upon mixed samples cons isting of a wide range of international students ( Hendrickson et al., 2011; Rienties & Nolan , 2014 ; Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013 ). Such findings might overlook the nuanced experiences of students from a particular culture, such as Chinese internationa l undergraduates of th e present study . Specifically, previous research noticed guanxi , an indigenous construct f eaturing interpersonal relations in the Chinese society (Chen & Chen, 2004), in affecting C and career experiences (Fraiberg, Wang, & You, 2017) . Compared to broadly defined inte rpersonal relationships, guanxi refer s to elaborately established networks of exchange through which individuals can obtain instrumental resources and social benefits (Bian, 2001). For some Chinese students, guanxi may be a main motive for building friendship networks in the host society. The present study would 11 contribute to the literature by examining consideration of guanxi . In sum, building upon the existing models describing friendship networks of international students ( Bochner et al., 1977; Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013 ), the present study use s a mixed - method approach to examine: (1) the peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates; (2) their nuanced experiences of building friendship networks at a large public Midwestern universi ty; and (3) how their peer interaction patterns and experience s changed over time (sophomore versus freshman year). I used a hybridized sociocultural framework (Heng, 2018) t o its the interdependence of individual behaviors and contexts, such that individual experiences are shaped by their embedded sociocultural contexts, including the schooling setting, the surrounding community, and the dominant socioeconomic - cultural contexts (Heng, 2018). Another tenet of this framework indicates that change over time (Heng, 2018). Guided by this framework, the present study assumes that y setting and the broader cultural context (such as Chinese cu ltures), and that their experiences would change over time. This study hypothesized that Chinese undergraduates would nominate a higher proportion of co - national friends relative to host - nationa l and multi - national friends, and that Chinese undergraduates would have a more diverse, integrated friendship network at Time 2 (for example, a higher ratio of host - national and multi - national friends) as they spent more time in the host society. The exam ination of changes in both the quantity and quality of friends hips of Chinese undergraduates was mostly exploratory, given a lack of prior research on this topic. 12 Methods Justification of Research Design Th is study use s a mixed - method approach to address the research questions. First, I drew on two - wave survey respon ses to examine the peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates (i.e., the national background of their nominated friends, the frequency of contact, a nd the degree of intimacy of their friendships ) and the longitudinal changes in these patterns. Nex t, I used a qualitative inquiry to explore building friendship networks and their meaning - making with regards to the changes in their peer interaction patterns over time. I chose a phenomenological approach, given that it a llows for the examination of common experiences of individuals who share similar living experiences (Starks & Trinidad, 2007) and how their experiences may c hange over time using multiple in - depth, semi - structured interviews conducted with the participants (Moustakas, 1994) . Both survey and interview data used in the present study were collected as part of a longitudinal, mixed - method study assessing academic performance , psychological well - being, and sociocultural adaptation of Chinese international underg raduates studying at a large public, land - grant university in Midwestern U.S. In 2014 when the data were collected, the university was ranked among the top 1 0 U.S. higher education institutions in enrolling international students. Survey Data and Analysis Participants . A total of 273 Chinese undergraduates were recruited to complete th e survey study, including 150 students participat ing in Time 1 survey ( first year), 77 students participating in Time 2 survey ( second year), and 46 students who completed both Time 1 and 2 surveys . Given that I was interested in the longitudinal changes in peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates, I used a subsample of 46 Chinese studen ts ( Time 1 mean age = 18.89, 13 SD = .80) who completed both waves of surveys . D emographic characteristics of the survey sample are presented in Table 2.1 . Procedure. Th is study used a convenient samplin g approach for participant recruitment. After obtaining the university Institutional Review Board approval, the resear ch team sent out an e - mail invitation with a link for the study survey to all first - year Chinese students. To be eligible for the survey s tudy, students must be originally from mainland China and at least 18 years old. The response rate of the survey study is approximately 20%. The online surveys were administered through the Qualtrics software (Version 4.18; Qualtrics, 2018), a web - based survey tool. Participants were asked to sign an informed consent before they started the survey. To encourage more Chine se students to complete the survey, multiple reminders were sent via e - mails one and two weeks after the initial invitation. The survey study was conducted completely their thoughts and feelings. Measures . The survey questions covered the following five aspects: ( 1) demographic ; ( 2) interpersonal relations such as relationships with parent s and peer s; ( 3) psychosocial adaptation such as perceived stress and social conn ectedness ; ( discrimination ; and ( 5) institutional support and campus resources. Responses included Likert - type scale s and open - ended ques tions. Results of this study were predominantly drawn upon survey responses to q uestions about A grid ( Appendix F ) was used to measure Considering that close contact with thr ee to five friends was adequate for measuring the influence of interpersonal relations (Dunbar & Spoor, 1995) , the 14 p articipants were asked to list up to six closest friends they had met on campus b y identify i n g : (1) t he national background of each nominated friend (1 = co - national , 2 = host - national , and 3 = multi - national ); (2) the frequency of contact ( from 1 = almost every semester to 5 = almost every day ) ; and (3) self - disclosure in friendships, i.e., if they would share personal concer ns with their nominated friends (1 = no , 2 = yes ), which was regarded as the proxy for intimacy of relationships. Moreover, given that language proficiency ( Smith & Khawaja, 2011 ), the quantity and quality of cross - cultural friendships ( Bertram et al., 201 4 ), and p rior experiences of being discriminated against by host - nationals ( Leong, 2015 ) are influential factors to intergroup relations among international students, these variables were also included in anal yses for the examination of Chinese undergradua how frequently Chinese students spoke English outside of class (from 1 = never to 4 = often ); (2 ) the frequency of contact with host - national s and multi - national s (from 1 = not at all to 5 = ve ry frequently ) ; (3) how comfortable they were when interacting with host - nationals and multi - nationals (from 1 = not at all to 4 = very comfortable ) ; ( 4 ) perceived discrimination; and ( 5 ) perceived hate. Both perceived discrimination and hate are subscales of Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS ; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994), a 36 - item scale measuring international and cultural adaptation challenges during cross - cultural transitions. Items were rated on a 5 - point Likert scale ranging from 1 ( strongly disagree ) to 5 ( strongly agree discrimination or hat e perceived from the host society. Two demographic variables, whether 15 students completed high school in China or in the United States and the nationa l background of their roommate s, were also included in analyses. Data analysis . nses to the peer network grid, I explored the peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates. First, I computed the total number of friends nomi nated by the participants and the subtotals for each peer group (co - , host - , and multi - nationals). Second, I calculated the ratio of friends of each peer group to the total number of nominations. Third , I computed the mean scores to show the average freque ncy of contact and the average degree of intimacy of friendships for each peer group. These steps were cond ucted to peer interaction patterns in both waves using : ( 1) the size of the shape to indicate the proportion (or ratio) of each peer group to the total number of nominations ( i.e., the more nominations, the larger size in shape); ( 2) the thickness of connecting lines betw een Chinese undergraduates and peer groups to represent the frequency of their interaction, with a thicker line reflecting more frequent interaction; and ( 3) t he length of connecting lines to reflect the degree of intimacy of their friendships. Ne xt, guided by the social interaction continuum model (Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013), I categorized Chi nese students into two groups based on the national composition of their nominated friends: self - segregators (nominating co - nationals only) and mixer s (nominating at least one host - national or multi - national friend besides co - nationals). I n order to descri I further specified four profiles: (1) self - segregator self - segregator ( a student who remain e d a self - segregator over time); (2) self - segregator mixer ( a student who was a self - segreg ator at Time 1 but turned into a mixer at Time 2); (3) mixer mixer ( a student who remained a mixer over time); and (4) 16 mixer self - segregator ( a student who was a mixer at Time 1 but turned into a self - segregator at Time 2). Finally, I explored how the characteristics of Chinese undergraduates (as collected at Time 1) differed by the four profiles describing the changing patterns of peer interaction , using (1) cross tabulation tests to examine potential group differences with regards to whether s tudents completed high school in the United States or in China, the national backgrounds of their roommates, and how frequently they spoke English outside of class; and (2) one - way ANOVAs to examine if significant group differences exist in terms of how fr equently participants interacted with host - national and multi - n ational students, their perceived comfort level in interacting with host - nationals and multi - nationals, and perceived discrimination and hate from the host society. All analyses were conducted using data adjusted for missing values via SPSS (Version 25, 20 17). Interview Data and Analysis The present study use d semi - structured, in - depth interview s to discover the nuanced experiences of Chinese undergraduates with regards to their cross - cultural l earning and adaptation experiences in the United State s . The pu rpose of in - depth interviews, as commented The interview data allow u meaning making about the chan ges in their peer interaction patterns over time . Participants . Twenty - seven Chinese undergraduates (13 females) participated in the two - wave, longitudinal interviews. Students were first inter viewed during their first year and then followed - up when they were juniors. Most interviewees were majoring in b usiness, e ngineering, b iochemistry and m edical s cience , and education. Given that r esearch using a 17 phenomenological inquiry usually involves pur posive sampling methods to recruit a relatively small het erogeneous group ( varying from 3 to 15 participants ) who have experienced the phenomenon of interest (Creswell, 2013; Starks & Trinidad, 2007) , in this study, I used a subsample of five Chinese under graduates (3 females, Time 1 mean age = 18.4, SD = .89) who completed both waves of surveys and interviews to explore their nuanced experiences of the changes in their peer interaction patterns over time. These participants were selected because their peer interaction patterns were diverse and could roughly rep resent the experiences of other Chinese students at the university. Specifically, among the five interviewees, two were self - segregators at Time 1 and remained self - segregat ors at Time 2; the remainde r were mixers at Time 1, including two remaining mixers at Time 2 and one turning into a self - segregator at Time 2. The demographic characteristics of the interview sample are displayed in Table 2 .2 . Procedure . Interviews were firstly collected in spring 2 015 when the participants were in their first year and a gain in fall 2016 when they were juniors. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling (Merriam, 1998) through personal networks and WeChat (a Chinese social media app) groups. A semi - structure d interview protocol was developed to explore prior schooling experience s ; (2) their academic learning experiences after arrival; (3) student adaptation experiences , such as mental health issues and perceived stereotypes and discrimination; and (4) interpersonal relations . Interviews w ere conducted in Mandarin Chinese by a team of researchers trained in qualitative research . Each interview lasted from one to two hours. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed in Chinese verbatim. In th is study, I mainly focus ed on Chinese un experiences of how they interact ed with co - national s , host - national s , and multi - national s on campus and how their peer interaction patterns changed over time . 18 Data analysis. I follow ed a three - step analysis of phenomenological research (Creswell, 2013; Moustakas, 1994) to code interview transcripts : (1 ) h orizonalization of data ; (2) c lustering of meaning ; and (3) integrating e ssential description s. First, after reading all transcripts several times to gain a general understandi interacting with peers. I then d evelop ed a list of significant statements that provide d non - repetitive , non - overlapping information to understand roup ed the se significant statements into larger units (or clusters) of information which presented the common themes of transcripts. Lastly, I inte grated the significant statem ents into in - depth descriptions to illustrate (or themes) of the phenomenon , i.e., Chinese undergraduates experienced with regards to their interaction with peers, as presented in the present stud y . Positionality. Moustakas (1994) suggested that researchers should bra cket biases, i.e., reflect on personal experiences and tak e when conducting phenomenological studies. As a Chinese student coming to the United State s for graduate school in my early 20s , my cultural backgrounds and proficiency in Mandarin helped me develop rapp ort with the participants (Berg & Lune, 2012), allowing me to explore their lived experiences of establishing friendship net works. However, students used to view me as a representative of the university who tried to investigate their college life, and henc e, some students hesitated to share their personal opinions and negative experiences a t the beginning. In order to gain the confidence of the students, I explained my positioning, including the responsibility to protect confidentiality and my interpersonal experiences at graduate school, a medium - size, private university enrolling small numbers of international students . I expe cted 19 differences in the experiences of Chinese students in this stu dy, who studied at a public, land - grant Midwestern university enr oll ing a large group of Chinese undergraduates . I also ensured the trustworthiness of the study through clarifying researche r bias, peer debriefing, and providing rich, thick descriptions of data (Merriam, 1988). Survey Data Results Patterns of Peer Interaction Chinese students in th is study nominated pr edominantly co - national friends compared to host - nationals or multi - nationa ls in their friendship networks. The participants nominated a total of 216 friends at Time 1 ( Figure 2.1 ), including 184 co - nationals (85.2%), 23 host - nationals (10.6%), and 9 multi - nationals (4.2%). The average frequencies of contact for co - national, host - national, and multi - national friend s were 3.23, 3.96, and 4, respectively. Given that in the peer almost every other two weeks almost every week , students in th is study, on average, contacted their friends about once a week. Moreover, the participants tended to have relatively more frequent interaction with their host - national and multi - national friends than with their co - national friends. The average intimacy for friendships with co - nationals, host - nationals, an d multi - nationals were 1.23, 1.3, and 1.22, respectively, indicating that Chinese students did not hold close friendships with all three peer groups, since 1 indicates no self - discl osure in friendships and 2 indicates participants would share personal conc erns with their nominated friends. The p articipants nominated more friends at Time 2 (Figure 2. 2) than at Time 1, with a total of 240 friends including predominantly co - nationals ( n = 215, 89.6%), 15 host - nationals (6.3%), and 10 multi - nationals (4.1%). Th e frequencies of contact for an average co - national, host - national, and multi - national friend were 3.27, 3.67, and 3.5, respectively, suggesting that 20 Chinese students, on average, c ontacted their friends between once every two weeks and once a week. The av erage intimacy of friendships remained relatively low, with 1.27, 1.4, and 1.2 for co - nationals, host - nationals, and multi - nationals, respectively, indicating that Chinese students in th is study were unlikely to share their personal concerns with their friend s across the three groups. Notably , Chinese students nominated more co - national friends and less host - national friends over time. Similar results were found in the peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates (Table 1). Speci fically , more than half of the participants (58.7%) were self - segregators (nominating co - national friends only) at Time 1, and this number increased to 73.9% at Time 2. Approximately 42% of the participant s were mixers (students nominating at least one host - national or multi - nati onal friend) at Time 1, and this proportion dropped to 26.1% later. This finding contradicts the hypothesis such that students would develop more diverse, integrated friendship netw orks in their second year than in the first year. Further, the average freq uency of interaction between Chinese students and host - nationals slightly decreased over time. It is possible that although Chinese students h ad increasing chances to make more friends (as reflected in the growing number of total nominations of friends), they might face challenges to interact with domestic students and maintain long - term friendships. I further discussed this issue using qualitat ive results below. In the next section, I continue to explore the changing patterns of peer interaction among Chi nese undergraduates. Profiles of Changing Patterns of Peer Interaction Results indicated that slightly more than half of participants (Table 2. 1) remained self - segregated, i.e., nominating co - national friends only in both waves. Only three self - segregators (6.5%) at Time 1 became mixers (listing at least one host - national or multi - national friends) at 21 Time 2. Of the 19 mixers at Time 1, nine (19. 6%) remained mixers; the rest (21.7%) turned into self - segregators at Time 2. This finding suggests that almost t hree quarters of the participants either remained or became self - segregators at Time 2. Given that participants of the two profiles (self - segre gator mixer and mixer mixer) were less than 10, I combined the two groups and further examined potential grou three categories: (1) self - segregator self - segregator; (2) mixer self - s egregator; and (3) self - segregator/mixer mixer. Results of cross tabulation and one - way ANOVAs (Table 2. 3) ind icated significant differences between students remaining self - segregated and those who became or remained mixers during their second year. Par ticularly, for the self - segregator/mixer mixer group, there was a significantly higher percentage of Chinese un dergraduates who often spoke English outside of class, as opposed to the students speaking English less frequently at Time 1 . Moreover, student s who became or remained mixers at Time 2 tended to report significantly lower levels of perceived discrimination and hate at Time 1, compared to students remaining self - segregated over time, indicating that Chinese students who experienced lower levels of perceived discrimination and hate at Time 1 were more likely to mingle with host - nationals or multi - nationals at Time 2. This finding suggests that prior exposure to discrimination and hatred from the host society might prev ent Chinese students from maint aining long - term friendships with host - nationals or multi - nationals. No significant differences were found with regards to whether Chinese undergraduates completed high school in the United States, the national backgrounds of their roommates, the frequenc y of interaction with non - Chinese students during their first year, and their perceived comfort level in interact ing with host - nationals and multi - nationals. Interestingly, Chinese 22 students graduating from U.S. high schools did not necessarily become mixer s in their second year. In fact, almost 85% of Chinese students completing high school in the United States in th is study either remained or became self - segregators over time. In the next section, drawing upon in - depth interviews, I continue to explore Chi friendship networks at a large public Midwestern university and how their experiences changed over time. Interview Data Results Following the three - step analysis procedure of phenomenological research ( Moustakas, 1994 ) , I lived experience s of building friendship networks. From the 10 verbatim transcripts, 47 significant statements that provide d non - repet itive information to understand were extracted. The significant statements suggested three factors shap ing the p eer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates: (1) benefits of a cultivated guanxi with co - nationals; (2) the imp ortance of cross - cultural understanding in intergroup friendships; and (3) student engagement in college settings. Benefits of a Cultivate d Guanxi with Co - nationals Chinese undergraduates of the present study commented that a cultivated guanxi with co - nati onals was beneficial to their academic learning and future career , which partly explained the predominant number of co - national friends in their peer networks. Guanxi is a typical interpersonal network of exchange in Chinese culture s . Establishing guanxi is very important in the Chinese society, given the social resources and personal advantages (such as job opportunities and preferential tr eatment) guanxi could bring to individuals within the networks (Bian, 2001). Tian and Feng (males, both were majorin g in accounting), who were self - 23 segregator s during their second year, emphasized the importance of a cultivated guanxi with co - nationals. Es pecially for students in business majors, the guanxiwang ( or nets of relationships ; see Smart, 1999) of local Chines e would be helpful for their future career either in the U nited States or back in China. That was the main motive for Tian join ing Chinese s tudent organizations to expand his interpersonal connections with other Chinese students . Another participant, Feng, had clear goals of establishing guanxi with co - national s . Specifically, he preferred to work with high - achieving Chinese students and take the same courses with them so that he could be - achieving friends (or riding on the coat - tails o f the high - achievers; see Fraiberg & Cui, 2016; Wang, 2017 ). Moreover , he carefully cultivated friendships with Chinese undergra explaine d: utilitarian . Wealthy second generations not only have the financial capital to buy the luxuries and f ancy cars, but also have access to better educational resources provided b y their parents. They are offered much more opportunities than we could imagine, due to their own guanxi with other rich students or the guanxiwang eas ier to find a job (back in China) if you have more guanxi with the wealthy . guanxi with co - nationals might justify his omputer guanxi in Chinese cultures partly explained why some Chinese undergraduates purposef ully remained self - segregated and mingled with co - nationals only while the y were studying abroad. As many Chinese students of 24 the present study plan to go back to China in the futur e, a cultivated guanxi with co - nationals might be more helpful for their ca reer or business startups in China. The Importance of Cross - Cultural Understanding in Intergroup Friendships In line with prior research (Hendrickson et al, 2011; Smith & Khawaja, 2011), the participant s considered language barrier as a key factor prevent ing them from establishing close relationships with both host - nationals and multi - nationals. Nevertheless, for students like Xue ( female , special education major) and Feng who had experiences of studying in U.S. high schools, they also found it difficult t o mingle with host - nationals , despite the fact that they spoke fluent English . Both Xue and Feng remained self - segregators over time. C ompared to language proficiency, cross - cultural understanding m ight play a more important role in the establishment of a diverse, integrated friendship network, due to the following two reasons. First, while a sizable portion of Chinese students are able to speak fluent Englis h , very few of them are knowledgeable about mai nstream culture s in the host society, particularly ab out topics such as American history and sport cultures (Feng). As a result, many Chinese students found it difficult to join the conversations with host - national students (Tuan , female, majoring in accou nting ). Even though some Chinese students took the in itiative to interact with host - nationals, most of them did not know how to continue the conversations and maintain long - term friendships with host - nationals (Tian). relationships with host - nationals, friendships with co - nationals were similarities in cultural backgrounds, the use of the same language, and the easy availability of large numbers of co - nationals on c ampus ( Xue ). As such , many Chinese undergraduates, including those wh o completed high school in the U nited States , tended to remain self - segregated and stay in a closed group with Chinese peers. 25 Second, the participants observed that many domestic student s knew little about Chinese culture s s (Feng). Domestic students was to a certain extent , which in turn, might lead to biases and stereotypes about this group. For instance, s ome American students tended to overgeneralize behaviors such as driv ing luxury cars performed by a few Chinese students to the whole group, and they - nationals also per - L ing , fe male, majoring in actuarial science ), and thus, they might be less likely to mingle with Chinese students. Ling commented that cross - cultural communication could help reduce American stud ents tient and spend more time communicating with us , they will find out that Chinese students have many good characteristics, not just being wealthy or closed - minded Student En gagement in College Settings The participants also remarked the important role of student engagement in shap ing their experiences of building friendship networks . For example, Chinese undergraduates often met new friends through class activities, especially host - national and multi - national peers (Tian). Nonetheless, friendships with cl assmates were usually short - term , and it was challenging for Chinese students to maintain contact with their classmates after the completion of the course (Feng). Partic networ ks. The participants valued living on campus, and some of them even met their best friends in the residential hall during their first year. That was the case for Xue , who described friendships built in the dormitory as precious memories to her study - abroad experiences and indicated that staying with her friends gave her a sense of belonging . 26 It is noteworthy that disengagement from residence life might change the peer interaction patterns of Chinese students. Specifically, when Chinese students moved outsi de the campus, they tended to make less host - national or multi - national friends, and their friendship networks became narrower compared to t heir peer networks during the first year, probably because they were less likely to have opportunities to join on - ca mpus activities to mingle with peers of different groups . That was the case for Tian, who was a mixer at Time 1 but turned into a self - segre gator at Time 2 . Another participant, Ling, who remained a mixer over time , shared similar feelings: During my sopho more year, I lived off campus, and I barely knew anyone living in the Thus, I decide to move back to the campus. It turns out that I have met a great m ore people here, which makes me feel pleased and integrated. For Ling, living on campus was key to the establishment of a more diverse friendship network. T ransitions after the first year, such as moving to off - campus housing , may result in a tendency to remain self - segre gated among Chinese undergraduates at Time 2. Specifically, over 70% of the survey participants (34 out of 46 ) lived in off - campus housing in the sophomore year , among which 73.5% chose co - national roommates (25 out of 34). Of the r emainder students ( n = 1 2) who liv ed on campus, 50% of them were from self - segregators turning into mixers at Time 2 . This number is greater than the ratio of mixers among students liv ing off campus (17.6%). A possible explanation is that Chinese students living in the residence hall might be more likely to take advantage of on - campus activities that usually involve students of different groups , and hence, they had more opportunities to mingle with host - nationals and multi - nationals. 27 Lastly, participation in student organization a ctivities and working on campus also allowed Chinese undergraduates to meet more co - nationals and peers of diverse backgrounds. Both Tian and Xue joined Chinese student organizations , where they had met many senior Chinese undergraduates. These experiences expanded their interpersonal networks from which they gained resources and information about advanced courses and internships (Tian). Nonetheless, excessive in volvement in Chinese student organizations might further narrow oth Xue and Tian nominated co - national friends only at Time 2). For Tuan, she found it very beneficial to join student organizations. During her first year, she engaged in a Bible study group where she had met many host - national friends, and they often stu died as a group and celebrated holidays together. Frequent interaction with her domestic friends made her remained a mixer at Time 2 . Working on campus also pr ovided opportunities for Chinese undergraduates to reach out to peers of diverse backgrounds. St udents with similar experiences in the workplace were more likely to develop high quality friendships. In fact, some Chinese students met their best friends whi le they were working in the residential hall (Ling) or at the cafeteria (Tuan). Specifically, Li ng commented that she never expected that she could make such great friends with domestic - hearted, always caring about me both at work One explanation is that frequent, meaningful interaction occurred in t he workplace helped Chinese students develop connections that we re more than a simple meet and greet with host - nationals, which we re often long - lasting than rel ationships built upon in class or the residential hall . Moreover, experiences of joining club ac tivities or working together are different from peer interaction occurring in temporary dorm itory or class attendance situations: The former involves 28 activities sharing a common goal or interest, and hence, students are more likely to have meaningful inter action with peers. Discussion Most studies examining the peer network patterns of international students focus on the national backgrounds of their nominated fr iends ( Bochner et al. , 1977; Furnham & Alibhai, 1985 ; Hendrickson et al. , 20 11 ). Limited researc h, however, has elucidated international functional model of friendship networks ( Bochner et al., 1977 ) and the social interaction continuum model ( Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013 ), the present study used a mixed - method approach to examine the longitudinal changes in the peer interaction patterns of Chinese underg raduates and their nuanced experiences of building friendship networks at a large public, Midwestern unive rsity. The results yield three main findings. First, aligned with previous studies ( Bochner et al. , 1977; Furnham & Alibhai, 1985 ; Rienties & Nolan , 2 014 ), this study found out that Chinese undergraduates nominated predominant co - national friends , much mor e than host - national and multi - national friends , in both waves . This finding could be explained using the theory of similarities in friendship formati on, or , such that individuals tend to affiliate with friends who sh are similarities (McPherson, Smith - Lovin, & Cook, 2001) . Similar background characteristics such as race / ethnicity and the use of language were found to be important predictors of friendship formation ( Kandel, 1978). As suggested by the hybridized sociocul tural framework (Heng, 2018), this finding may also be related to the context in which Chinese students interact w ith their peers. Specifically, studyi ng on a campus ranked among the top 10 U.S. universities in enrolling international students (with over 6 2% of 29 them coming from China ), the participants had sufficient opportunities to interact with Chinese peers. Likew ise, with limited representativeness of non - Chinese international students on campus, Chinese undergraduates of the present study were less li kely to have chances to mingle with multi - nationals, and thus, they nominated the least multi - national friends in their peer networks. Moreover, results of the in - depth interviews suggest that another motive for Chinese undergraduates maintaining close rel ationships with co - nationals was guanxi , an indigenous interpersonal relation in Chinese culture s , given that a cu ltivated guanxi with other Chinese students might bring about social advantages, such as preferential treatment and job opportunities ( Chen & Chen, 2004 ). It may also be related to some features of the recent wave of Chinese international students, who be long to a new generation of transnational citizens, most with goals of returning to China because of the opportunities and economic growth in the country and being able to take care of their parents most of them are single children in family . As such, establishing sustained guanxi may be more beneficial for Chinese students in this situation. Se cond, i n line with Rienties and Nolan ( 2014) res earch , the findings suggest that Chinese undergraduates did not necessarily develop more diverse , int egrated friendship networks over time . Specifically, more than half of the Chinese undergraduates of this study remained self - segregated, possibly because of language barriers and challenges they navigated during cross - cultural transitions. Results of two - wave survey responses indicate language proficiency as a n important factor predicting students w ho spoke English more frequently outside of class during t he first year were less likely to be self - s egregated when they were sophomores, which is consistent with prior findings of positive associations between English proficiency and cross - national intera ction (Hendrickson et 30 al., 2011). L imited language proficiency , on the contrary, serves as an obstacl e to effective communication between Chinese students and host - nationals . In addition, stereotypical and discriminative perceptions directed toward Chinese students may discourage both Chinese and domestic students from mingling with each other. Specifically, stereotypes circulating around - - (Xie et al., 2019). For Chinese undergr aduates, prior experiences of being discriminated by host - nationals m ight prevent them interacting with host - national peers ( Leong, 2015 ). Lastly, this study illust engagement in college settings greatly shaped their peer intera ction patterns. Chinese students of this study point ed out the contexts in which their interaction with friends were most likely to occur, including the class settin g, student dormitory, student organization activities, and the workplace of on - campus jobs. Results indicated that greater participation in these settings could facilitate cross - cultural interaction between Chinese undergraduates and both host - national and multi - national students, and that whether students living in on campus might be a key fact or affecting their peer interaction experiences. In particular, Chinese students who stayed in on - campus dormitories tended to establish more diverse, integrated fri endship networks, compared to the Chinese students living in off - campus apartments. This fi nding could be explained using the theories of student engagement such that students who actively engaged in college - related activities are more likely to thrive and achieve success (Kuh, 2009). Living in dormitories, participating in student organizations , and working on campus could promo activities, which in turn, increase their chances of mingling with students of diverse backgrounds. It should be noted that compared to temporal peer interaction occurring in the class 31 setting, engaging in meaningful common experiences (such as club activities, religious groups, and experiences of working together) may be more beneficial for the establishment of sustained cross - cultural friendships. Limitations It is important to note the limitations when interpreting the results of this study. First, the findings are constrained by the nature of the sample. Drawn on a small sample size of Ch inese international undergraduates from a public, Midwestern university enrolling a large g roup of Chinese students, the findings on the longitudinal changes in peer interaction patterns may not be generalized to Chinese students studying in other contexts, given that their experience s would be shaped by their embedded sociocultural environments (Heng, 2018). It is possible that Chinese undergraduates studying at universities with more diversity in college student enrollment report distinctive patterns of friendship networks. Moreover, due to the small sample size, I was unable to use advanced statistical methods (for example, logistic regression) to examine how student characteristics (such as la nguage proficiency, perceived discrimination) at Time 1 predict their peer interaction patterns at Time 2. Q uantitative research investigating multiple waves of friendship networks collected from a large group of Chinese students could add substanti ally to the findings of this study . Therefore , it will be informative for future work to focus on Chinese undergrad uates in different college settings and recruit a larger sample size to examine the longitudinal changes in peer interaction patterns of Chinese stu dents. Second, the findings might be limited by the numbers of friends the participants could nominate. By asking the participants to list up to six closest frie nds, I attempted to center on friendships that have the most influence on cross - cultural adapt ation of Chinese undergraduates. 32 Nonetheless, it might constrain students from reporting a complete list of friends in their peer networks. Pr ior research suggests that international students tended to report a higher ratio of host - national friends than co - national friends when they were given the chance to nominate as many friends as they had ( Hendrickson et al ., 2011 ). Future studies should continue to investigate this topic by asking Chinese students to provide an exhaustive list of their friends to show a fuller picture of their friendship networks. Conclusion and Implications Despite the limitations, this s tudy contributes to the literature by providing a fuller understanding of peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates. Drawing upon two - wave , longitudinal survey responses and in - depth interviews, this study (1) shed light on four profiles depictin g the longitudinal changes in peer interaction patterns of Chinese undergraduates and (2) illustrated how factors ( such as cross - cultural understandi ng, guanxi in the Chinese culture, and ) contributed to the changes in peer interaction patterns . Finally, the findings point to important practical implications for the host institutions, especia lly universities enrolling large numbers of international students. Given that cross - cultural communicat adaptation ( Hendrickson et al., 2011; Kim, 2001 ; also see Chapter 3 of this dissertation ) and improve intercultural competencies of U.S. domestic college students (Breuning, 2007) , it is important for the host institutions to develop corresponding programs, such as buddy projects for both international and domestic stude nts, to facilitate social opportunities for different groups to mingle and establish sustained friendships. Moreover, the findings of the associations between student engagement and their friendship networks may be informative for the host institutes to 33 ta ilor more responsive services aimed at encouraging Chinese students, particularly those living in off campus , to engage in frequent, meaningful interaction (beyond a simple meet and greet) with both host - national and multi - national students. 34 CHAPTER 3. S TUDY TWO FRIENDSHIP NETWORKS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL ADAPTATION AMONG CHINESE INTERNATIONAL UNDE RGRADUATES: SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS AS A MEDIATOR Introduction In recent years, U.S. colleges and universities have observed a rapid expansion of the e nrollment of international students. Particularly Chinese students, the largest group of international students since 2010, have increased nearly threefold in just eight years ( Institute of International Education , 2010 2018). The arrival of international students has significantly contributed in promoting campus cultural diversity (Breuning, 2007) and local economic growth (NAFSA, 2018). For the host institutions, the revenues from tuition fees paid by international students have substantially bolstered th eir capacity of coping with shrinking budget (Choudaha, 2017). Despite the economic and i ntercultural benefits international students bring to the host institutions, this group remains one of the under studied and underserved populations in U.S. higher educa tion (Wang, Wei, & Chen, 2015). Friendships formed on campus have been found to be positi vely associated with first - year 2007). For Chinese international students , relationships with their fellow students are especially important for their adaptation in host institutions, specifically in the domains of academic learning (Wang, 2017), psychological well - being such as life satisfaction (Yan & Berliner, 2011a), and so ciocultural adjustment such as intercultural communication competence (Kim, 2001). Althou gh the benefits of establishing close relationships with people in the host society are well documented, previous studies have largely focused on the national/ethnic b ackgrounds of nominated friends (e.g., Rienties & Nolan, 2014) and neglected to examin e t he effects of other aspects of friendship networks , such as the frequency of contact and closeness of relations . 35 Moreover, limited studies have elucidated the underlyi ng mechanism (e.g., potential mediators) of the associations between friendship networks and cross - cultural adaptation among international students. Grounded in social capital theory (Lin, 1999) and acculturation process framework (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham , 2001), th is study aims to investigate : (1) how friendship networks (i.e., the national backgrounds of nominated friends , the frequency of contact, and the intimacy of relations ) are associated with psychological and sociocultural adaptation among Chinese international undergraduates in U.S. higher education; and (2) the potential mediating e ffects of social connectedness on the associations between friendship networks and student adaptation. Theoretical Frameworks The effects of friendship networks on in ternational student adaptation can be understood through social capital theory (Lin, 1999 capital posits t hat well - established social relations provide both instrumental (such as information, kno wledge, and skills) and emotional support for individuals within the networks (Lin, 1999). For international students, in order to utilize social resources to promote their t country (Neri emotional) capital, whereas friends living in the host society resources , such as knowledge of local customs (Neri & Ville, 2008). Another guiding framework of the present stud y is acculturation process model (Ward et al., 2001), which highlights the contributing role of social inte raction in promoting cross - cultural adjustment of international students. Ward et al. (2001) operationalized social contact into three 36 aspects: (1) intragroup versus intergroup interaction; (2) the amount of contact; and (3) the quality of social relations , indicating that different aspects of social contact might have distinct effects on international student adaptation. Moreover, this framework further specified cross - cultural transition outcomes into psychological and sociocultural adaptation: The former refers to psychologically adaptive responses (for example, life satisfaction and absence of stress ) , whereas - cultural challenges , such as racial/ethnic discrimination (Ward et al., 2001; Ward, Fox , Wilson, Stuart, & Kus, 2010). Grounded in th is framework, th is study examines how social contact of Chinese students is associated with their psychological and sociocultural adaptation in U.S. higher education. Friendship Networks and International Stude nt Adaptation Prior studies usually categorize friendship networks of international students into three groups : the co - national, host - national, and multi - national peer groups (Bochner, McLeod, & Lin, 1977; Furnham & Alibhai, 1985; Hendrickson et al. 2011). The co - national group. Often defined as peers coming from the same sending country (China in this case), the co - national group was considered as the primary peer network for international students, given that friendships with co - nationals strengthen stude identity and values (Bochner et al., 1977). This group was also rated by international students as their most preferred companion for daily activities , such as helping with academic studies (Furnham & Alibhai, 1985). Theoretically, r elationsh ips with co - nationals could offer instrumental - cultural adaptation (Kim, 2001). Empirical findings suggest that Chinese students obtained knowledge - based resources and information from their co - national networks to facilitate academic lear ning (Wang, 2017; Yan & Berliner, 2011a). Interaction with co - nationals might also have protective effects 37 against discrimination , such that Asian international students who reported more support from their co - national friends tended to experience less racism and discrimination than their counterparts (Chen, Mallinckrodt, & Mobley, 2002). It should be noted that the benefits and protective effects of co - national friendships might be short - term, es pecially in the - cultural transitions (Kim, 2001; Wang et al., 2012). In the long term, excessive interaction with co - national friends might isolate international students from mingling with domestic students, which , in turn, hinder the development of host culture communication competence, an ability to properly and effectively understand and respond to conversations with people in the host society (Kim, 2001). Empirical findings also suggest that merely interac ting with co - na tionals might result in self - segregation, such that some Chinese students refused to interact with different groups of peers (Yan & Berliner, 2011a, 2011b). Moreover, excessive contact with co - nationals might be detrimental to international student adaptat ion at the later stage of acculturation, which might lead to greater perceived stress and lower levels of cultural adjustment (Geeraert, Demoulin, & Demes, 2014). A higher proportion of co - nationals in friendship networks was also found to b e associated wi th lower levels of life satisfaction and social connectedness among international students (Hendrickson et al., 2011) . The host - national group. Host - nationals usually refer to domestic students who grew up in the host society. Theoretically , the host - nati onal group was considered as important resources and host culture communication competence (Kim, 2001). Prior research indicates that Asian intern ational student s with more frequent social contact with host - nationals tended to acquire more social skills to adapt to the host culture than their counterparts (Li & Gasser, 2005). 38 Interestingly, while both face - to - face and online contact with host - nation als were associ ated with more social support perceived by Chinese international students, only face - to - face contact ability to acculturate to the host culture (Cao, Meng, & Shang, 2018). Moreover, friendships with host - nat ionals were ass ociated with better psychological adaptation of international students , such that i nternational students who maintained social contact with domestic students were more likely to report lower levels of depressi ve symptoms and anxiety than their peers who re ported less interaction with host - nationals (Hechanova - Alampay et al., 2002). I nternational students with a higher ratio of host - national friends in their social networks tended to have better psychological adaptation, a construct that was measured using s ocial connectedness, (absence of) homesickness, contentment, and life satisfaction (Hendrickson et al., 2011). Notably, previous research report s some conflicting findings regarding the effects of social interaction with host - nationals on international stu - cultural adaptation. For example , although social and emotional support perceived from domestic students reduced Asian sfaction (Yan & Berliner, 2011a), so me qualitative findings suggest that Asian international students with more frequent contact with host - national friends tended to report higher levels of psychological stress, possibly because maintaining long - term relat ionships with host - nationals might b e a stressful experience for some students (Swagler & Ellis, 2003). The multi - national group. In the present study, multi - nationals refer to all other international students except for those from China. The influence of friendships with multi - national s on student adaptation is less clear , due to limited prior studies examining this topic. Early research indicate s that the multi - national peer group provided limited support for 39 international students, mostly in recreationa l and entertaining companionship ( Bo chner et al. , 1977) . This group was also the least nominated by international students regarding their friendship networks in the host society (Furnham & Alibhai, 1985). F riendships with multi - nationals also improve d int cross - cultural understanding and intercultural competence, which , in turn, facilitate d their adaptation to a multicultural society (Rose - Redwood & Rose - Redwood, 2013). Although the influence of friendship networks on international - cultural adaptation is w ell documented , most previous studies have focused on the national/ethnic backgrounds of nominated friends (Hechanova - Alampay et al., 2002 ; Rienties & Nolan, 2014 ) and neglected to examine the effects o f other aspects of peer relationships, specifically th e quantity of contact and the quality of relationships , on international student adaptation. The quantity of contact refers to how frequently individuals interact with nominated friends (Ward et al., 20 01), whereas the quality of relationships is often mea sured using intimacy (such as self - disclosure; see Buote et al., 2007) or satisfaction with peer relations (Leong & Ward, 2000). Some empirical findings suggest that the quality of relationships, rather than the quantity of contact, contributed to psycholo gical adaptation of international students (Ward & Rana - Deuba, 2000). Nonetheless, how these two aspects influence the sociocultural adaptation of international students is less clear. Further, previous studies have examined the direct effects of friendshi p networks on the cross - cultural adaptation of international students ( Geeraert et al., 2014; Hendrickson et al., 2011). Little is known about the psychological mechanism that underpins the associations between peer relationships and international student adaptation. The present study extends prior findings by investigating social connectedness, a fundamental component of social relationships ( Lee & Robbins, 1998 ) , as a potential mediator of the relationships between 40 friendship networks and Chinese internat adaptation. Social Connectedness as a Mediator (Lee & Robbins, 1998, p. 338), social connectedness is positively asso ciated with psyc hological well - being, such as greater satisfaction with life (Yoon, Hacker, Hewitt, Abrams, & Cleary, 2012), more self - esteem (Lee & Robins, 1998 ), less social anxiety (Fatima, Niazi, & Ghayas, 2017), and lower levels of psychological distr ess (Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001). Social support theory posits that maintaining close relationships could promote a sense of connectedness (Sarason, Sarason, & She arin, 1986). For international students, having more contact with host - nationals improved their social connectedness (Cao et al., 2018). I nternational students with higher levels of social connectedness tended to report greater life satisfaction (Hendricks on et al., 2011) and less acculturative stress (Yeh & Inose, 2003). Given that prior studies ha ve identified the role of social connectedness in mediating the effects of interpersonal and sociocultural factors (for example, levels of acculturation to the h ost culture) on the psychosocial well - being of college students (Lee, Dean, & Jung, 2008; Yoon et al., 2012), in th is study , I propose that social connectedness mediates the associations between peer relationships and cross - cultural adaptation of Chinese i nternational students. The Present Study Guided by social capital theory (Lin, 1999) and accult uration process framework (Ward et al., 2001), the present study examines: (1) how friendship networks , specifically the national backgrounds of nominated friends , the f requency of contact, and the intimacy of relations , are associated with the psychological and socio cultural adaptation among Chinese international 41 undergraduates; and (2) the role of social connectedness as a potential mediator of the associations between frie ndship networks and student adaptation. First , it was hypothesized that friendships with co - nat psychological adaptation (i.e., lower psychological stress and greater life satisfaction). No hypothesis is provided about the association between co - national friendships and sociocultural adapta tion, since previous research report s both benefits and detrimental effects of co - national Chen et al., 2002; Geeraert et al., 2014). Second, it was hypothesized that friendships with host - nationals would be as sociated with lower levels of psychological stress, greater life satisfaction, and less cultural adaptation challenges among Chinese stud ents , given that interaction with host - nationals was found to be beneficial to al and sociocultural adjustment ( Hendrickson et al., 2011 ; Li & Gasser, 2005 ). Third, it was hypothesized that friendships with multi - nat ionals would recreational and entertaining companionship for international students (Bochner et al., 1977). No hypothesis is provided with regards to the effects o f the two aspects of friendship networks, i.e., the frequency of contact and the intimacy of relationships , due to limi ted prior research on th ese topic s . Lastly , it was hypothesized that the associations between friendship networks and psychological and s ociocultural adaptation of Chinese undergraduates would be mediated by social connectedness. Methods Participants Data used in the present study were collected as part of a longitudinal, mixed - methods study assessing academic performance and psychosocial adaptation of Chinese international 42 students. Participants consisted of 273 Chinese undergraduates (196 freshmen and 77 sophomores) studying at a large public Midwestern university, which was ranked among the top 10 U.S. higher education institutions in en rolling international students. Of the 273 participants ( M age = 19.18, SD = .84) who completed a survey assessing their peer relations and adjustment experiences, 163 of them were females (59.7%). With regards to friendship networks, over 60% of them only nominated co - national friends; the remainder either nominated at least one host - national (18.3%) or multi - national frie nd (11%), or listed friends of all three national groups (4.8%). Demographic characteristics of the sample are presented in Table 3.1. Procedure The present study used a convenient sampling approach for participant recruitment. After obtaining the universi ty Institutional Review Board approval , the research team sent out an e - mail invitation with a link for the study survey to all first - year Chinese students enrolled in spring 2015, and 196 Chinese freshmen completed the surveys. In spring 2016, the researc h team conducted another wave of surveys to second - year Chinese students, and 77 Chinese soph omores participated in the study. The response rates of both waves of survey data collection ranged from 20% to 30%. The online surveys were administered through t he Qualtrics software (Version 4.18; Qualtrics, 2018), a web - based survey tool. Participants were asked to sign an informed consent before they started the survey. To encourage more Chinese students to complete the survey, multiple reminders were sent via e - mails one and two weeks after the initial invitation. Incentives provided to survey partici pants included $10 for students who completed at least 80% of the survey questions and the chance to participate in a lottery for two Apple Watches. 43 Measures T he survey questions cover the following aspects: ( 1) demographic characteristics ; ( 2) family and peer relations ; ( 3) psychosocial adaptation such as perceived stress and life satisfaction ; ( ; and ( 5) instit utional support. Responses included Likert - type scale and open - ended questions. The survey st udy was expression of their thoughts and feelings. In th is study , I predominately responses to questions about their friendship networks, ps ychological stress, life satisfaction, cultural adaptation challenges , and social connectedness . Friendship network. A peer network grid (Appendix F) was used to m friendship networks. Given that close contact with three to five friends was believed to be adequate for measuring the influence of interpersonal relations (Dunbar & Spoor, 1995), the participants were asked to list up to six closest frien ds they had met on campus. The participants identified t he national background of each nominated friend (1 = co - national , 2 = host - national , and 3 = multi - national ) . The frequency of interaction was rated on a 5 - point Likert scale ranging fro m 1 ( almost ev ery semester ) to 5 ( almost every day ) with higher scores reflecting more frequent interaction . The p articipants were also asked about self - disclosure in friendships, i.e., if they share d personal concerns with their nominated friends (1 = no , 2 = yes ), whi ch was considered as the proxy for intimacy of friendships . Psychological stress. including perceived stress, homesickness, fear, and stress due to change. Perceived stress was measured using th e Perceived Stress Scale (PSS - 14 ; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), a 14 - item measure assessing to what extent participants perceived their life situ ations as stressful 44 in the past two weeks. Items were rated on a 5 - point Likert scale ranging from 0 ( n ever ) to 4 ( very often ). Possible scores ranged from 0 to 56 with higher scores reflecting more perceived alpha was estimated to be .80 for this scale. T he Accultur ative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS ; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994) was used to measure h omesickness, fear, and stress due to change . ASSIS is a 36 - item - cultural transitions and c ultural adaptation challenges they encountered in the host society . Items were rated on a 5 - point Likert scale ranging from 1 ( strongly disagree ) to 5 ( strongly agree ). The homesickness subscale includes 4 items , from my country from 4 to 20 with higher scores reflecting higher levels of homesickness. The fear subscale includes 4 items , m 4 to 20 with higher scores reflecting a stronger sense of fear about studying in the host society. The stress due to change subscale includes 3 items , 15 wi th higher scores reflecting greater stress resulting from cross - cultural transitions. The Cronbach alpha coefficients were estimated to be .69, . 77, and .69 for the homesickness, fear, and stress due to change subscale, respectively. Life satisfaction. Li fe satisfaction was measured using a 9 - item scale adapted from the Overall Satisfaction with College Life (Sum, McCaskey, & Kyeyune, 2010), which assesses , including their co llege learning and living experiences in the local community (such as housing, shopping and entertainment, healthcare facilities). Items were rated on a 5 - point Likert scale ranging from 1 45 ( very dissatisfied ) to 5 ( very satisfied ). Possible scores ranged f rom 9 to 45 with higher scores indicating greater life satisfaction. The present study uses a mean score 3 as the cut - off score, such that stu dents with mean scores larger than 3 tend to be satisfied with their lives. The Cronbach alpha was estimated to be .82 for this scale. Cultural adaptation challenges. C ultural adaptation challenge was measured using and hate perceived from the host society. Both perceived discrimination and hate experiences were assessed using t he subscales of the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS ; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994). The perceived discrimination subsc ale includes 8 items , Possible scores ranged from 8 to 40 with higher scores reflecting more perceived discrimination experiences . The perceived hate subscale incl udes 5 items , their from 5 to 20 wi th higher scores reflecting more hat red perceived from people in the host society. The Cronbach alpha coefficients were estimated to be .90 an d .85 for the perceived discrimination and perceived hate subscale, respectively. Social Connectedness. sense of connectedness was measured using the Social Connectedness Scale - Revised (SCS - R ; Lee et al., 2001), a 20 - item measure assessing parti - point Likert scale ranging from 1 ( st rongly disagree ) to 6 ( strongly agree ). Possible scores ranged from 20 to 120 with higher scores reflecting a stronger sense of connectedness. Previous research suggest s us ing a mean score 3.5 as the cut - off score to judge the level of social connectedness , such that participants with mean scores larger than 3.5 are more likely to feel socially connected (Lee et 46 al., 2001). Sample scale. Analytic Strategy First, to investigate the associations between friendship networks and psychological and sociocultural adaptation, I fit a series of SEMs using maximum likelihood estimation via Mplus (Mplus version 8 . 3 , Muthén & Muthén, 1998 201 9 ) . SEM allows a simultaneous examination of multiple dependent variables, including both observed variables and latent factors (Kline, 2015). Three SEMs were fit to examine: (1) the associations between the frequency of contact in friends hips and student adaptat ion; (2) the associations between the intimacy of friendships and student adaptation; and (3) the associations between frequent and intimate interaction and student adaptation. The predictors of the three SEMs consisted of the overa ll interaction with the three peer groups, specifically co - nationals, host - nationals, and multi - nationals . For example, f or a Chinese student who nominate s four co - national friends , the overall contact with co - nationals is the sum of contact with all four nominated co - nationals ( ) , and the overall intimacy with co - nationals is the sum of intimacy with all four nominated co - nationals ( ) , and the overall frequent and intimate interaction is the sum of in teraction (Contact*Intimacy) with all four nominated co - nationals ( ). The outcome variables consisted of psychological stress (a la tent variable including four indicators describi ng the negative aspects of psychological adaptation, i.e., perceived stress, homesickness, fear, and stress due to change), life satisfaction (an indicator of positive psychological adaptation), and cultural adaptation challenges (a latent variable includi ng two indicators of discriminatory experiences: perceived discrimination and perceived hate). 47 Next, I fit a SEM to examine the indirect effects of frequent and intimate interaction with nominated friends on student adaptation t hrough social connectedness using the bias - corrected bootstrap method (MacKinnon, Lockwood, & Williams, 2004). I used 1,000 resamples to construct bootstrap 95% confidence intervals (CI) to determine the significance of the mediation e ffects, with zero not included within 95% CI reflecting the indirect effects significantly different from zero at the .05 level (Cheung & Lau, 2008). (1 = male, 0 = female) and year of college (1 = freshman, 0 = sophomore) were includ ed as covariates in a ll analysis. Missing data were handled using full information maximum likelihood estimation. Multiple indices were used to evaluate model fit: 2 index (Bollen, 1989), the comparative fit index (CFI ; Bentler, 1990), the Tucker - Lewi s index (TLI), and th e root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA ; Hu & Bentler, 1999). Acceptable model fit is reflected by a non - 2 index, CFI and TLI above the cut - off score .90, and a RMSEA below .08. Results Preliminary Analyses Descri ptive statistics, sam ple size, and correlations among study variables are displayed in Table 3.2 . Descriptive results indicated that interaction with co - national friends (including the frequency of contact, the intimacy of friendship s, and overall interact ion) was significantl y negatively correlated with interaction with both host - nationals and multi - nationals, indicating that Chinese students with more interaction with co - national friends were less likely to mingle with host - nationals or multi - nationals. N o significant associa tion s w ere found between interaction with host - nationals and interaction with multi - nationals. Moreover, interaction with co - nationals was positively correlated with homesickness, stress due to change, and social 48 connectedness , such th at the more interacti on with co - national friends, the higher levels of homesickness, more stress due to change, and stronger sense of social connectedness Chinese students experience d . I nteraction with host - nationals was positively associated with life sat isfaction and negativ ely correlated with fear, homesickness, stress due to change, perceived discrimination, and perceived hate. That is, Chinese students having more interaction with host - nationals tended to report lower levels of psychological stress, gr eater life satisfacti on, and perceived less discrimination and hate from the host society. No significant associations were found between multi - national friendships and student adaptation outcomes. Lastly , social connectedness was positively correlated to life satisfaction and negatively associated with all indicators of psychological stress and cultural adaptation challenges. SEMs for Testing the Associations Between Friendship Networks and Student Adaption I fit three SEMs to examine the associations bet ween friendship networks (specifically the frequency of contact, the intimacy of friendships, and overall f requent and intimate interaction ) and Chinese student adaptation. Path coefficient estimates (unstandardized) and standard errors from the three SEMs are presented in Table 3. 3. The f requency of contact. The model examining the associations between the frequency of contact with nominated friends and student adaptation reflected 2 (38) = 90.51, p < .001, RMSEA = .07, CFI = .95, TLI = . 92 . Results indicate d that contact with host - national friends was negatively associated with psychological stress and positively associated with life satisfaction, indicating that Chinese students who had more frequent contact with host - nationals tended to re port less psychological stress and greater life satisfaction. The associations between contact with co - nationals and both psychological and sociocultural adaptation were not 49 significant. The associations between contact with multi - nationals and both psy cho logical and sociocultural adaptation were also not significant. The i ntimacy of friendships. The model examining the associations between the intimacy of friendships with nominated friends and student adaptation reflected good model fit : 2 (38) = 84.10 , p < .001, RMSEA = .07, CFI = .95, TLI = .93. Similar to the findings of the model above, results of this model indicated that intimate friendships with host - nationals were negatively associated with psychological stress and positively associated with lif e s atisfaction. The associations between intimate friendships with co - nationals and both psychological and sociocultural adaptation were not significant. The associations between intimate friendships with multi - nationals and both psychological and sociocul tur al adaptation were also not significant. Frequent and intimate i nteraction. The model examining the associations between overall frequent and intimate interaction with nominated friends and student adaptation reflected good model fit: 2 (38) = 87.32, p < .001, RMSEA = .07, CFI = .95, TLI = .92. Consistent with the first hypothesis, results of this model indicated that interaction with co - national friends was positively associated with life satisfaction, indicating that Chinese students w ith more frequen t contact and intimate friendships with co - nationals tended to be more satisfied with their lives in the host institution . It should be noted that such association was not found in the models examining the effects of the frequency of contac t and intimacy o f friendships, suggesting that Chinese students might be more likely to benefit from high - quality interaction with co - national peers (i.e., friendships with more frequent contact and greater intimacy). The association between interaction wi th co - national f riends significant, as expected. 50 With regards to friendships with host - nationals, consistent with the second hypothesis, results of this model indicated that frequent and intimate intera ction with host - nationals was negatively associated with psychological stress and positively associated with life satisfaction. Moreover, frequent and intimate interaction with host - nationals was negatively associated with cultural adaptation challenges, i ndicating that C hinese students with more frequent contact and intimate interaction with host - nationals tended to experience less cultural adaptation challenges, such as perceived less discrimination and hate from the host society. Finally , in contrast to the third hypoth esis, frequent and intimate interaction with multi - nationals was not significantly between frequent and intimate interaction with multi - ural adaptation challenges was not significant, as expected. The SEM for Testing Mediation The SEM (Figure 3.1) examining the indirect effects of frequent and intimate interaction with nominated friends on student adaptation through social connectedness r eflected good mo del fit: 2 ( 42 ) = 102.66 , p < .001, RMSEA = .07, CFI = .9 4 , TLI = .9 1 . The indirect and direct effects of the model are presented in Table 3.4 . Results indicated that as hypothesized, social connectedness mediated the associations between friendship netwo rks and student adaptation, such that (1) social connectedness mediated the association between frequent and intimate interaction with co - nationa connectedness mediated the associations between interaction with host - nationals and Chinese Interestingl y, contrast to the study hypothesis, the effects of interaction with co - nationals on student adaptation became more salient after including social connectedness as a mediator. 51 The situation in which the inclusion of the third variable strengthens the assoc iation between a predictor and an outcome variable is defined as suppression ( Tzelgov & Henik, 1991 ). A suppres sion effect is presented when the direct effect of a predicting variable is larger than its total effect on the outcome variable, or when the dir ect and indirect effects have opposite signs (MacKinnon, Krull, & Lockwood, 2000). Results of the present study identified suppression effects of social connectedness in the relationships between interaction with co - nationals and student adaptation, such t hat with the inclusion of social connectedness as a suppressor, interaction with co - nationals was significantly psychological stress and cultural adaptation challenges, as opposed to the non - significant associat ions found in the SEM examining the total effects of interaction with co - nationals on student adaptation. That is, Chinese students who reported more frequent and intimate interaction with their co - national friends tended to experience higher levels of psy chological stress and more cultural adaptation challenges, while controlling for the suppression effects of soc ial connectedness. Lastly, the associations between interaction with multi - psychological stress, life satisfactio n, and cultural adaptation challenges remained not statistically significant at the .05 level when including so cial connectedness as a mediator, and therefore, no interpretation is provided with regards to the indirect and direct effects of interaction wit h multi - nationals on student adaptation. Overall, approximately 17.3% of the variance in social connectedness w as explained by the variables included in the model; the variance explained was 42.7%, 17.4%, and 22.8% for psychological stress, life satisfacti on, and cultural adaptation challenges, respectively. 52 Discussion Prior studies have investigated the influence of friendship networks on international - cultural adaptation ( Hendrickson et al., 2011 ; Kim, 2001). However, the extant literatur e has largely focused on the national/ethnic backgrounds of nominated friends ( Hechanova - Alampay et al., 2002 ; Rienties & Nolan, 2014 ) and neglected to examine the contributing effects of other aspects of friendship networks in shaping student adaptation. Moreover, prior work has not yet elucidated the underlying mechanism of the associations between friendship net works and international student adaptation. Guided by social capital theory (Lin, 1999) and a cculturation process framework (Ward et al., 2001) , the present study extends previous findings by examining: (1) how friendship networks, specifically the nationa l backgrounds of nominated friends, the frequency of contact, and the intimacy of friendships , are associated with the psychological and sociocultural adaptation among Chinese undergraduates in U.S. higher education; and (2) the mediating role of social co nnectedness in such associations. The results yield four main findings. First, in line with previous research ( Hendrickson et al., 2011 ; Li & Gasser, 2005 ), results of this study identified positive associations between friendships with host - nationals and Specifically, Chinese und ergraduates with more frequent and intimate interaction with host - nationals tended to experience less psychological stress, greater satisfaction with their lives , and p erceived less discrimination and hate from the host society . These findings confirm the importance of well - established interpersonal relationships in facilitating college student adjustment in U.S. higher education ( Buote et al ., 2007 ). Compared to domesti c students, peer relationships may matter more for international students who leave home for obtain ing academic credentials in a different society. Since most of their established social networks remain in the 53 home country, they need to build new social re lationships in the host society to gain both instrumental resources and emotional support to overcome difficulties that occur during cross - cultural transition s (Kim, 2001). Given that theories of acculturation and adaptation hinge on intergroup co ntact (Wa rd et al., 2001) and intercultural communication (Kim, 2001), this study provides important empirical support for these theories by demonstrating how interaction with host - ustment i n the host society. Second, the present study found out that high - quality peer interaction might be a key to - cultural challenges. Specifically, c ompared to superficial relationships , only high - q uality in teraction (for example, friendships involving both frequent contact and intimacy) with host - national students was significantly associated with less perceived discrimination and hate from the host society. This finding may be explained using conta ct hypoth esis theory (Amir, 1969) , which suggests that intergroup interaction at superficial level is not sufficient to change intergroup attitudes or relations hips . Given that the quality (or closeness) of friendships, rather than the amount of contact, p lays an e ssential role in promoting international student adaptation ( Ward & Rana - Deuba, 2000 ), it is important for the host institutions to develop programs and provide opportunities for international student s, including both Chinese and students from oth er countr ies and domestic students to mingle and establish sustained and close relationships . For example, it may be useful to offer Chinese students training or workshops on how to deepen and maintain long - term friendships with students of other groups, c onsiderin g that Chinese students often reported barriers to the establishment of close relationships with both host - national and multi - national students ( Bertram, Poulakis, Elsasser, & Kumar, 2014 ). Opportunities for international and domestic students to share and 54 engage in long - term activities together, such as club or group activities with a common focus or interest, also promote intergroup relations hips over time (see Chapter 2 of this dissertation) . Third, the present study contributes to t he literature by expl oring the underlying - cultural adaptation. Specifically , I examined the role of social connectedness as a mediator. Findings indicate significan t indirect effects of interaction with host - nationals on student adaptation through social connectedness, such that more frequent and intimate interaction with host - nationals was associated with greater social connectedness, which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of psychological stress, greater life satisfaction, and less cultural adaptation challenges. The significant mediating effects of social connectedness echo the importance of maintaining a sense of connectedness in the host society for pro moting international college Hendrickson et al., 2011 ; Yeh & Inose, 2003 ). Lastly, results of this study indicate possible suppression effects of social connectedness in the relationships between co - n ational friendships a nd international student adaptation . In particular, the direct effects of co - national friendships on student adaptation became larger with the inclusion of social connectedness in the model, and interaction with co - nationals turned int o a risk factor, such that more frequent and intimate interaction with co - nationals was associated with greater psychological stress and more cultural adaptation challenges. T his finding suggests the complexity of the effects of co - national friendships on ss - cultural adaptation and provided an explanation for the mixed and somewhat conflicting results found in prior research (e.g., Chen et al., 2002 ; Hendrickson et al., 2011 ). It is possible that adequate interaction with co - nationals i mproves Chinese stude 55 promoted their psychological and sociocultural adaptation in the host society ( Hendrickson et al., 2011 ). Excessive exposure to co - national friendships, by contrast, might isolate students f rom mingling with bot h host - nationals and multi - nationals (Yan & Berliner, 2011a, 2011b), and thus, it may impede the development of intercultural communication competence (Kim, 2001) and lead to lower levels of cultural adjustment among international students ( Geeraert et al. , 2014). This finding could also be interpreted in the context of the university from which the participants were recruited. The university was ranked as one of the top 10 U.S. higher education institutions in enroll ing international students, among which over 60% were from China. Almost every participant of the present study nominated at least one co - national peer in their friendship networks, and more than 60% of them only nominated co - national friends. Chinese stud ents may be less motivated to reach out to both host - nationals and multi - nationals, given the easy availability of a large group of co - national peers at this university . C o - national friendships may be less beneficial for Chinese students in this situation . The results also point to practical im plications for the host institutions, especially for those enrolling large numbers of international students like the university of the present study. Despite the intercultural perspectives international students brin g to the campus, the rapid growth of st udents from one country (China in this case) may pose new challenges to the university and students themselves. It is important for the host institutions to develop responsive programs to create social opportunities f or different student groups to mingle, and to provide training and workshops for international students on the practices of establishing close, sustained friendships with peers of other groups, given the benefits of cross - cultural friendships in facilitati psychologica l and sociocultural adaptation. 56 Limitations and Future Directions Several limitation s should be noted when interpreting the results of this study. First, the findings are limited by the nature of the sample. The part icipants were recruited from a public M idwestern university enrolling large numbers of Chinese international students, whose friendship networks consisted of predominant co - nationals. It should be cautious when trying to generalize the findings to all Chin ese students. In particular, with the l imited number of multi - national friends nominated by the participants, the present study might not be able to detect a sizable effect of multi - national friendships on student adaptation. It will be informative for future work to use samples of internati onal students recruited from universities enrolling international students of diverse backgrounds to explore the influence of interaction with co - nationals, host - nationals, and multi - nationals on student adaptation. Second, this study uses a cross - section al research design to address the research questions, and hence, the findings provide no evidence of longitudinal associations between on. Future studies utilizing a prospect ive, longitudinal design will be useful to investigate how friendship Third, although the present study extends prior findings by including both the quantity and quality of relationships in the examination of the influence of friendship networks, this study only measured one aspect of the quality of relationships using a dichotomous variable assessing - disclosure in friendships. Futu re research should continue to examine the distinctive effects of the quality of relationships by measuring multiple features of social cross - cultural adapta tion. Lastly, prior research suggests t hat international students also 57 perceived social support from family and friends in the home country (Chen et al., 2002) and from online communication with host - nationals (Cao et al., 2018), factors that lie beyond th e scope of the present study . Future wo rk should also consider the influence of other types of social relationships, such as friendships with co - nationals in the home country, to provide a more holistic understanding of the associations between friendship networks and international student adap tation. Conclusion Despite the limitations, the present study makes important contributions to the extant literature on peer relations and international student adaptation. First, by examining the influence of friendship networks, this study provides empir ical support for th eories of acculturation and adaptation by demonstrating the benefits of maintaining frequent contact and intimate relationships with host - adjustment. Second, wit h the inclusion of social connectedness as a mediator in the examination of the effects of friendship networks, the present study elucidates the psychological mechanism that underpins the associations between friendship networks and student adaptation. The r esults identify t he potentially detrimental effects of excessive interaction with co - nationals on international students studying at universities enrolling large numbers of fellow co - nationals. Finally, the findings have important implications for the de velopment of instit utional programs aimed at supporting (Chinese) international students, particularly those remaining self - segregated (for example, students only interacting with co - national peers), in facilitating their psychosocial and cultural adaptati on in U.S. higher e ducation. 58 CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSION Conclusion to the D issertation The importance of peer influence has been widely documented in the literature on adolescent development (Brown & Larson, 2009; Smetana, Robinson, & Rote, 2014) and college s tudent adjustment ( Buote et al., 2007). Compared to domestic college students, peer relations may matter more for international students who leave home and study in a different society. Of the influencing factors in promoting international student adaptati on, peer relations established in learning (Wang, 2017), psychological well - being (Hendrickson, Rosen, & Aune, 2011), and sociocultural adaptation (Zhang & Goodson, 2011). Drawing upo n both survey responses and in - depth interviews collected with Chinese international undergraduates at a large public Midwestern university, my dissertation extends prior findings by using a mixed - method research design to examine Chin experiences of establishing friendship networks and how their peer networks might be associated with their psychological and sociocultural adaptation in U.S. higher education. F indings of this dissertation contribute to the extant literature on socia l relations and international student adaptation. First, by exploring the longitudinal changes in friendship networks of Chinese undergraduates, this dissertation identifie s four profiles describing the changes in peer inte raction patterns an d illustrate s how factors ( such as language proficiency and previous experiences of perceived discrimination ) might contribute to the changing patterns o f peer interaction . Second, drawing on in - depth interviews, this dissertation provide s a full er understanding of elucidating 59 and how student engagement and the cultural practice of cultivating guanxi might shape their nu anced experiences o f building peer networks on campus . Third, through the examin ation of the associations between friendship networks and student adaptation, this dissertation provides empirical support for theories of acculturation and adaptation by demon strating the benefi ts of maintaining close, sustained relationships with host - nationals and potentially detrimental effects of excessive interaction with co - adaptation. Finally, the findings po int to important pr actical implications for the host institutions, especially the universities enrolling large numbers of international students, for the development of responsive programs aimed at supporting international students to engage in frequent, m eaningful interacti on with different groups of peers and to facilitate their cross - cultural adaptation in U.S. higher education. 60 APPENDICES 61 APPENDIX A: Chapter 2 Tables Table 2. 1 . Study 1 Sample Demographics ( N = 46) . Demographics (collec ted at Time 1) n (%) Gender Female 30 (65.2) Male 16 (34.8) Age 18 17 (37) 19 17 (37) 20 12 (26) Single child in family Yes 29 (63) No 17 (37) Hometown First - tier metropolises 11 (23.9) Second - tier metropolises 18 (39.1) Small ci ties 14 (30.5) Rural or other areas 3 (6.5) Completed high school In China 33 (71.7) In the United State s 13 (28.3) Time 1 Time 2 Patterns of Peer Interaction n (%) n (%) Self - segregator (co - national friends only) 27 (58.7) 34 (73.9) Mixer ( at least one host - or multi - national friend ) 19 (41.3) 7 (26.1) Profiles of Changes in Peer Interaction (T1 T2) n (%) Self - segregator self - segregator 24 (52.2) Self - segregator mixer 3 (6.5) Mixer mixer 9 (19.6) Mixer self - segr egator 10 (21.7) 62 Table 2 .2. Study 1 Demographic Characteristics of Interviewing Participants. Pseudonym Gender Age (Time 1) Completed High School Friendship Network Time 1 Time 2 Tuan Female 18 In China Mixer Mixer Xue Female 18 In China Self - se gregator Self - segregator Tian Male 18 In the U.S. Mixer Self - segregator Ling Female 18 In China Mixer Mixer Feng Male 20 In the U.S. Self - segregator Self - segregator 63 Table 2.3. Comparisons Among Three Changing Patterns of Peer Interact ion Among Chinese Undergraduates ( N = 46). Characteristics (collected at Time 1) Self - segregator Self - segregator ( n = 24) Mixer Self - segregator ( n = 10) Self - segregator/Mixer Mixer ( n = 12) n (%) a n (%) n (%) 2 df p Complete high school in 2.14 2 n.s. China 15 (45.5) 8 (24.2) 10 (30.3) United States 9 (69.2) 2 (15.4) 2 (15.4) Background of roommate 2.12 2 n.s. Co - national 20 (57.1) 6 (17.2) 9 (25.7) Host - or multi - national 4 (36.4) 4 (36.4) 3 (27.2) Speaking Eng lish outside of class 18.10 6 < .05 Never 2 (100) 0 0 Occasionally 13 (56.6) 5 (21.7) 5 (21.7) Sometimes 9 (56.2) 5 (31.3) 2 (12.5) Often 0 0 5 (100) One - way ANOVA M ( SE ) M ( SE ) M ( SE ) F df p Interaction with host - and multi - na tionals Frequency of contact 2.6 (.16) 2.72 (.13) 2.79 (.15) .39 2 n.s. Perceived comfort level 2.48 (.10) 2.52 (.11) 2.71 (.13) 1.03 2 n.s. Acculturative stress Perceived discrimination 20.17 (1.31) 16.1 (2.07) 14.27 (1.57) 3.93 2 < .05 Perce ived hate 11.79 (.80) 10.3 (1.38) 8.1 (.71) 4.04 2 < .05 Note . n.s. = no t significant. a The percentages in parentheses are row percentages, indicat ing the proportion of each peer interaction p rofile (by column) within each characteristic variable (by r ow) . 64 APPENDIX B: Chapter 3 Tables Table 3. 1 . Study 2 Sample Demographics ( N = 273) . Freshman Sample ( N = 196) Sophomore Sample ( N = 77) Demographics n (%) n (%) Gender Female 113 (57.7) 50 (64.9) Male 83 (42.3) 27 (35.1) Age 18 58 (29.6 ) 1 (1.3) 19 99 (50.5) 21 (27.3) 20 34 (17.3) 41 (53.2) 21 and above 2 (1.0) 14 (18.2) Hometown First - tier metropolises 6 7 (3 4 . 2 ) 30 (39) Second - tier metropolises 8 7 (4 4 . 4 ) 31 (40.3) Small cities or other areas 3 9 ( 19.9 ) 1 5 (1 9 . 5 ) Peer Nomination Co - national friends only 128 (65.3) 47 (61.1) Co - and multi - national friends 19 (9.7) 11 (14.3) Co - and host - national friends 36 (18.4) 14 (18.2) Co - , multi - , and host - national friends 10 (5.1) 3 (3.9) No nomination 3 (1.5) 2 (2.6) Note . N s vary due to missing data. 65 Table 3. 2 . Descriptive Statistics of Study Variables. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1. Perceived stress 2. Fear .33 ** 3. Homesickness .23 ** .53 ** 4. Stress due to change .37 ** .69 ** .58 ** 5. Discrimination .35 ** .63 ** .46 ** .58 ** 6. Perceived hate .24 ** .64 ** .42 ** .50 ** .85 ** 7. Life satisfaction .27 ** .29 ** .10 .37 ** .31 ** .34 ** 8. Connectedness .43 ** .43 ** .31 ** .42 ** .42 ** .40 ** .35 ** 9. Co - nat contact .01 .19 * .15 .21 ** .12 .12 .08 .09 10. Multi - nat contact .00 .03 .00 .01 .01 .01 .01 .03 .50 ** 11. Host - nat contact .15 * .30 ** . 25 ** .25 ** .18 * .17 * .18 * .11 .60 ** .05 12. Co - nat intimacy .01 .19 * .25 ** .22 ** .11 .10 .05 .12 .73 ** .50 ** .58 ** 13. Multi - nat intimacy .02 .06 .00 .03 .04 .03 .01 .07 .52 ** .95 ** .07 .47 ** 14. Host - nat intimacy .11 .28 ** .26 ** .23 ** .16 * .16 * .14 * .10 .58 ** .03 .95 ** .52 ** .07 15. Co - nat interact .05 .15 .18 * .21 ** .09 .08 .02 .23 ** .85 ** .45 ** .48 ** .92 ** .44 ** .45 ** 16. Multi - nat interact .01 .06 .00 .02 .04 .02 .01 .06 .48 ** .95 ** .06 .45 ** .99 ** .05 .40 ** 17. Host - nat interact .12 .28 ** .25 ** .22 ** .16 * .15 * .15 * .10 .55 ** .03 .96 ** .51 ** .06 .98 ** .43 ** .05 Valid N 269 271 270 272 268 270 270 267 170 212 216 167 212 214 165 212 214 Mean 24.37 8.8 10.55 6.57 17.99 1 0.57 3.35 4.18 20.92 .86 1.53 7.81 .3 .58 32.46 1.19 2.26 SD 7.11 3.18 3.21 2.36 6.05 3.9 .58 .8 6.42 2.71 3.55 2.61 .91 1.38 12.41 3.8 5.6 Note. Co - nat = co - national; multi - nat = multi - national; host - nat = host - national; * p < .05, ** p < .01. 66 Table 3. 3 . Path Coefficient Unstandardized Estimates from the SEMs. Model Description Frequency Intimacy Interaction Parameter Estimates SE SE SE Structural Model Co - national Psy stress .00 .06 .11 .13 .01 .02 Co - national Satisfaction . 02 .01 .03 .02 .01 * .00 Co - national Cul challenges .03 .12 .02 .25 .00 .05 Host - national Psy stress .26 ** .09 .51 * .20 .14 ** .05 Host - national Satisfaction .05 ** .02 .10 ** .04 .03 ** .01 Host - national Cul challenges .27 .16 .71 .3 7 .16 * .08 Multi - national Psy stress .01 .10 .09 .27 .00 .06 Multi - national Satisfaction .02 .02 .04 .05 .01 .01 Multi - national Cul challenges .06 .20 .13 .54 .03 .12 Covariances Co - national with Host - national 12.53 *** 1.70 1.74 *** .26 27.66 *** 5.00 Co - national with Multi - national 8.73 *** 1.32 1.08 *** .18 17.91 *** 3.44 Host - national with Multi - national .42 .66 .07 .09 .90 1.44 Psy stress with Satisfaction .52 *** .13 .55 *** .14 .55 *** .14 Psy stress with Cul challen ges 11.87 *** 2.14 11.95 *** 2.17 12.02 *** 2.18 Satisfaction with Cul challenges 1.03 *** .21 1.05 *** .22 1.05 *** .21 Factor Coefficients Psy stress Perceived stress 1.00 .00 1.00 .00 1.00 .00 Homesickness .73 *** .12 .74 *** .12 .74 *** .12 Fear .92 *** .14 .92 *** .14 .92 *** .14 Stress due to change .66 *** .10 .67 *** .10 .67 *** .10 Cul challenges Perceived discrimination 1.00 .00 1.00 .00 1.00 .00 Perceived hate .61 *** .03 .61 *** .00 .61 *** .03 Covariate Effects Ge nder Psy stress .89 * .40 .91 * .40 .90 * .40 Gender Satisfaction .11 .07 .10 .07 .10 .07 Gender Cul challenges .09 .75 .08 .75 .08 .75 Year Psy stress .75 .43 .66 .42 .65 .42 Year Satisfaction .21 ** .08 .19 * .08 .19 * .08 Yea r Cul challenges .20 .81 .13 .81 .12 .81 Note . Psy stress = psychological stress; Cul challenges = cultural adaptation challenges; * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. 67 Table 3.4. Indirect, Direct, and Covariate Effects from the SEM for Testing Media tion. Indirect Effects (Standardized) SE 95% CI Co - national Connectedness Psy stress .29 *** .07 [ .44, .18 ] Co - national Connectedness Satisfaction .16 *** .04 [ .09, .24 ] Co - national Connectedness Cul challenges .24 *** .05 [ .36, .14 ] Host - national Connecte dness Psy stress .19 ** .06 [ .31, .08 ] Host - national Connectedness Satisfaction .10 ** .03 [ .04, .17 ] Host - national Connectedness Cul challenges .15 ** .05 [ .26, .06 ] Multi - national Connectedness Psy stress .14 ** .04 [ .22, .06 ] Mult i - national Connectedness Satisfaction .07 ** .03 [ .03, .12 ] Multi - national Connectedness Cul challenges .11 ** .04 [ .18, .05 ] Direct Effects (Standardized) SE Co - national Psy stress .35 *** .09 Co - national Satisfaction .03 .10 Co - national Cul challenges .23 ** .08 Host - national Psy stress .07 .08 Host - national Satisfaction .15 .08 Host - national Cul challenges .01 .08 Multi - national Psy stress .14 .07 Multi - national Satisfaction .01 .06 Multi - national Cul challenges .09 .07 Covariate Effects (Unstandardized) SE Gender Psy stress .95 ** .35 Gender Satisfaction .10 .07 Gender Cul challenges .08 .70 Gend er Connectedness .00 .10 Year Psy stress .63 .43 Year Satisfaction .19 * .08 Year Cul challenges .03 .86 Year Connectedness .03 .11 Note . Psy stress = psychological stress; Cul challenges = cultural adaptation challenges; CI = confidence i nterval; * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. 68 APPENDIX C: Chapter 1 Figure Figure 1.1 . Model of A cculturation P rocess . Note . Model of a cculturation p rocess ( Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001 , p. 44). 69 APPENDIX D: Chapter 2 Figures Figure 2.1. Diagram of Chinese U F riendship N etworks ( Time 1 ). Note. The total nominated friends were 216 at this wave. F and I indicate the average frequency of contact (as reflected in the thickness of t he line) and the average intimacy of friendships (as refle cted in the length of the line), respectively. The size of the shape r epresents the ratio of each peer group to the total number of nominations. 70 Figure 2.2. Diagram of Chinese U F riendship N etworks ( Time 2). Note . The total nominated friend s were 240 at this wave. F and I indicate the average frequency of contact (as reflected in the thickness of the line) and the average intimacy of friendships (as reflected in the length of the line), respectively. The size of the shape represents the ratio of eac h peer group to the total number of nominations. 71 APPENDIX E: Chapter 3 Figure Figure 3.1. Simplified P ath A nalysis D iagram of the SEM Testing Mediation. Note . Simplified path analysis diagram of the SEM for testing the indirect effects of frequent and intimate interaction with nominated friends on student adaptation through social connectedness. Estimates are unstandardized. Dotted lines indicate non - significant paths. Covariate effects have been omitted from this figure for simplicity. * p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001. 72 APPENDIX F: Supplementary Questionnaire Supplementary Questionnaire : Peer Network Grid. National Background Frequency of Contact Sharing personal concerns? Nominated Friend 1 = Co - national (Chinese peers) 2 = Host - n ational (domestic students) 3 = Multi - national (other international students) 1 = Almost every semester 2 = Almost every month 3 = Almost every other two weeks 4= Almost every week 5 = Almost everyday 1 = No 2 = Ye s Male Friend 1 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 Male Friend 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 Male Friend 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 Female Friend 1 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 Female Friend 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 Female Friend 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 73 APPENDIX G: Sup plementary Interview Protocol Supplementary Interview Protocol. Pre - Departure Experiences (Schooling) 1. Can you tell me something about your experiences in China before coming here? Where did you grow up? 2. Can you tell me something about your schooling exper iences in China? Was it a lot of pressure? What about peer relations? W as there a lot of competition? 3. Did you attend a lot of Buxiban (i.e., after - school tutoring)? 4. Where did you attend high school? Did you participate in the National Exam in China? 5. Wh y did you come to the US for schooling? 6. When did you first know that you would be going to universities abroad? How did it change your schooling experiences in China? Pre - Departure Experiences (Family Background and Relationships with Parents) 7. Can you tell me something about your family backg round? What do your parents do? 8. Tell me something about your parents. What kinds of parents are they? 9. Do you feel a lot of pressure from parents or family to be a certain way as the only child in your family ( q ues tion for single - child participants)? 10. How involved were your parents in your school? What are the ways they are involved in your school? 11. How were your relations with your parents? Did you communicate well with them? Did you have conflicts? If so, around wh at areas? 12. tions for you? Do you find it easy to meet these expectations? (After - Arrival) Academic Learning and Challenges 13. you tell me something about your own experie nces attending the school here? How is the semester going? 14. What reputation does our school have among students in China? 15. Was it hard to get into this university? What did you need to do? 16. What was it like in your first few months of school here? Was this your first time studying in the U.S.? [If no, where were you? And for how long?] 17. What were your expectations about college life here? Are things different from your expectations? How? 18. What have you learned about working with American professors? Are the y different from Chinese professors or teachers? What are similarities and what are differences? (After - Arrival) Psychological and Sociocultural Adaptation Experiences 19. What were some main areas of challenges in yo ur adjustment here? 20. How did you overcome these challenges? Anything helped you adjust to life here? 21. What do you like the most? What do you like the least about your life here? 22. What are the biggest differences between going to school in the U.S. and in China ? 74 23. What is the most challenging about be ing a student at our university? What are things that are hard to adjust to? 24. What is it like to live in the local community? Do you like it? Is it different from your expectations? 25. Are Chinese students treated wel l here in the community? Why? 26. How is the dining hall? What do you think of American food? 27. Do you eat outside a lot? 28. Have you experienced discrimination in any way? (After - Arrival) Social Relations and Perceived Social Su pport 29. What experiences have you had with domestic students? 30. have in your life here? 31. Are most of your friends from the U.S., China, or other regions? 32. What do you do w ith your friends? 33. How are thing s going in your residence hall? What are things you really like and what are 34. How are things between you and your roommate ? Do you know each other before? How has it been s haring a dorm together with him/ her? 35. Do you regularly interact w ith your Resident Assistant in your building? 36. What are your American classmates like? Do you interact with them a lot? 37. tudents. What are your experienc es? Why do you think it is this way? 38. Have your relations with your parents changed after you are here? If so, what kind of changes? 39. Do you have contact with your parents regularly? How do you contact your parents? What is the e asiest way? How often do you con tact them? And for how long? 40. Can your parents call you or contact you if they want to know how things are going? 41. Do you find it easy to talk to your parents about problems you may have? Do you talk to them about problems yo u experience? 42. Do you miss your parents? Have your relationship change with your parents now that you are here? (After - Arrival) Institutional Support 43. 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