Living Life in Two Worlds

Acculturative Stress among Asian International Graduate Student Parents and Spouses

Bibliographic Data

ID2949929
AuthorsJudith A Myers-Walls (Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 1200 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2055 U.S.A.), Judith A Myers‐Walls (State Street (United States)), Larissa V Frias (Western Michigan University), Larissa Frias (Western Michigan University), Kyong-Ah Kwon (0000-0002-1906-8481, Georgia State University, 30 Pryor Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 U.S.A.), Kyong‐Ah Kwon (0000-0002-7771-4752, Georgia State University), Mei-Ju Meryl Ko (Texas Tech University), Ting Lu (0000-0001-5050-5152, Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 101 Gates Road, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2020 U.S.A.)
Year2011
Volume42
Issue4
Pages455-478
Publication date2011-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Comparative Family Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2328 • E-ISSN: 1929-9850
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/jcfs.42.4.455
OpenAlexW2600578272
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited27

This qualitative study examined the experiences of Asian international graduate students and spouses with children at a university in the U.S. Participants (n=31) from China, Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan were interviewed regarding their stressors. Some stressors were identified in the answers of the group as a whole: (a) adjustment to a new culture; (b) feeling overwhelmed; (c) language difficulty; (d) feelings of isolation; (e) financial stress; and (f) marital stress. Stressors found only in the answers of the students were: (a) balancing multiple roles; (b) adjusting to the academic culture; (c) finding child care; and, among male students, d) worrying about the non-student spouse. Stressors unique to nonstudent spouses included: (a) loss of roles and status; (b) power imbalance in the couple relationships; and (c) feeling inadequate. Implications for research and practice with international graduate student parents/spouses are provided

Acculturation · China · Developmental psychology · Feeling · Graduate students · Immigration · Sociology · Spouse · Stressor · Clinical Psychology · Early Childhood Education and Development · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges

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