Research Information System
Thesis Type: Postgraduate
Institution Of The Thesis: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, Turkey
Approval Date: 2014
Student: BUKET ALKIŞ
Supervisor: NURAY SAKALLI UĞURLU
Abstract:This study aims to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence, optimism, self-monitoring, and acculturative stress among international students who are studying in England and Turkey. Specifically, the impact of emotional intelligence, optimism, and self-monitoring levels of students on their perceived acculturative stress is investigated. Confronting the challenges and environmental demands require oneself to be emotionally strong. Thus, emotional intelligence is expected to be a significant predictor of acculturative stress among international students. Also, it is hypothesized that optimism levels of students will be a significant predictor of acculturative stress among international students. Finally, students in an environment that is so different from their own culture will most probably try to monitor themselves and will behave with accordance to social cues in their current context. Accordingly, high self-monitoring will lead students’ acculturative stress levels to decrease. Thus, it is hypothesized that self-monitoring degree will have a significant impact on the level of acculturative stress. 98 students from England and 149 students from Turkey aged between 17 and 39 (M = 23.74, SD = 3.88) participated to the study. The survey is composed of demographic information sheet, the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (Wong & Law, 2002),the Revised Self-monitoring Scale (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984), the Positive Future Expectation Scale (Imamoglu, 2001) and Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994). The results of the hierarchical regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence on England sample, and optimism on Turkey sample was found to be a significant predictor of acculturative stress among international students. Additionally, among demographic variables, the significant effect of residence time, and English proficiency was demonstrated. No significant predictor power of self-monitoring was determined on both samples.