Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the possible relationships between stressors, resources, and coping response variables within new cultural and social contexts on the adjustment of non-native English speaking international students studying in the U.S. Adjustment was measured by self-esteem. The variables that may impact adjustment included daily hassles, length of stay in the U.S., English language confidence, social support, acculturation modes, and frequency and quality of contact. Questionnaires were administered through convenience sampling and 91 participants were included in the final analysis. The majority of participants were from China (23.1%) and reported their ethnic identification as Asian (64.8%). The majority of participants were female (59.3%), graduate students (76.9%) with a mean age of 26.12. Results indicated that students with assimilative and integrative acculturation modes, greater frequency of contact with members of the host members, and high English language confidence had higher self-esteem. The relationship between daily hassles and self-esteem was positively correlated, in that the higher the self-esteem the higher the perceived daily hassles score. The assimilation acculturation mode and longer length of residence in the host country contributed to students' English language confidence. However, the variance accounted by these variables was low indicating that other factors not accounted for in this study contributed to international students' self-esteem and English language confidence.