Literature Review #4

Citation 

Yan, Kun. Chinese International Students’ Stressors and Coping Strategies in the United States. 1st ed. 2017., Springer Singapore, 2017, doi:10.1007/978-981-10-3347-6.

Summary

This book explores how Chinese students abroad may suffer stress and how they conceptualize and adapt to stress in the American higher education environment. The book has focused solely on understanding Chinese students' stress and coping processes in the United States. This book addresses that gap, enriching the body of literature on international students’ adaptation process in foreign countries.

 

Author(s) 

Dr. Kun Yan is an Associate Professor at Tsinghua University’s Institute of Education. Her research areas include higher education, educational psychology, as well as international and comparative education. In the past five years, Dr. Yan has published dozens of professional articles and presented at numerous professional conferences. Due to her distinguished contributions to college student development research, Dr. Yan received the Beijing Philosophy and Social Science Research Achievement Award. Dr. Yan formerly served as Chair for the American Education Research Association (AERA) Session on Stress and Coping in Education (2011), and as Chair for the AERA Session on College Student Professional Development (2013). She has also been invited as a reviewer for several SSCI journals, such as the International Journal of Intercultural Relations.

Key terms 

"Language deficiency."

"Sociocultural" - involving a combination of social and cultural factors

 "Problem-focused v. Emotion-focused strategies."

"Social Support" - having friends and other people, including family, to turn to in times of need or crisis.

Three Quotes 

"The most frustrating thing [is that] I know every word being said but do not have any clue about what the speaker meant. ...a Black guy suddenly approached me. He looked very excited and said, "Hi, buddy, give me five." I was so scared at that moment that I found five dollars and handed it to him. ...Later on, I realized there is a big difference between "give me five" and "give me five dollars." However, at that moment, although I knew each word "give," "me," and "five," I had no clue about what "give me five" meant" (66)

"immigration regulations really limit [their] opportunities in many ways, including limited hours for on-campus work" (60)

"I tell my concerns, my stress to my friends who are also from China. They understand me very well. To me, Chinese friends are sources of support because there is a shared experience and common language." (85)

"There is understanding among Chinese students. It is that we have the same experience. We speak the same language. There is no need to explain. I think we can help each other. When I have a problem, I always turn to Chinese friends here" (85)

 

Value

This book gave me new insights as to how international students deal with the new environment. It has also shown me that they are just like us and that social interactions can help improve their experience. There were also a lot of direct quotes from the student along with their experiences which is helpful when evidence is needed.