Foreign Literature About Stress
The incidence of study-related stress in international students in the initial stage of the international sojourn
1Abstract
This paper explores the incidence of stress in international students in relation to the requirements of an international Masters Programme. The data presented here were taken from a doctoral ethnographic study of the adaptation of international postgraduate students to life in the UK, involving individual interviews with thirteen students over the academic year 2003/4 as well as participant observation of the entire cohort of 150 Masters students. It is suggested that article stress related to the academic task
2is caused by academic cultural differences particularly in regard to critical evaluation and participation in discussion in class, and by language ability. This study shows that stress is intense at the beginning of the academic programme and declines gradually as a function of a reduction in the academic workload, rather than as a function of time.
31. Introduction
It is widely agreed that at the start of their stay, most sojourners
1
will experience some degree of culture shock (e.g. Kim 1988; Gudykunst 1998; Hofstede 2001). Culture shock is defined as anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse, which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness (Oberg 1958), and their substitution by other cues that are strange
(Hall 1959). Among the many symptoms of culture shock are physical illness, low self-esteem, low morale, social isolation, dissatisfaction with life, bitterness, homesickness, disorientation, anxiety, depression, role strain, identity confusion, stress, loneliness, self-doubt, hostility, distress, personality disintegration helplessness, irritability, fear, and self-deprecation (e.g. Adler 1975; Alexander et al.
1976; David 1976; Detweiler, 1980; Jacobson-Widding, 1983; Furnham and Alibhai, 1985; Adelegan and Parks 1985; Kim 1988; Storti 1990;
1Abstract
This paper explores the incidence of stress in international students in relation to the requirements of an international Masters Programme. The data presented here were taken from a doctoral ethnographic study of the adaptation of international postgraduate students to life in the UK, involving individual interviews with thirteen students over the academic year 2003/4 as well as participant observation of the entire cohort of 150 Masters students. It is suggested that article stress related to the academic task
2is caused by academic cultural differences particularly in regard to critical evaluation and participation in discussion in class, and by language ability. This study shows that stress is intense at the beginning of the academic programme and declines gradually as a function of a reduction in the academic workload, rather than as a function of time.
31. Introduction
It is widely agreed that at the start of their stay, most sojourners
1
will experience some degree of culture shock (e.g. Kim 1988; Gudykunst 1998; Hofstede 2001). Culture shock is defined as anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse, which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness (Oberg 1958), and their substitution by other cues that are strange
(Hall 1959). Among the many symptoms of culture shock are physical illness, low self-esteem, low morale, social isolation, dissatisfaction with life, bitterness, homesickness, disorientation, anxiety, depression, role strain, identity confusion, stress, loneliness, self-doubt, hostility, distress, personality disintegration helplessness, irritability, fear, and self-deprecation (e.g. Adler 1975; Alexander et al.
1976; David 1976; Detweiler, 1980; Jacobson-Widding, 1983; Furnham and Alibhai, 1985; Adelegan and Parks 1985; Kim 1988; Storti 1990;