Skip to main content
Log in

Acculturative Experiences of Black-African International Students

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There has been a significant increase in the number of international students pursuing higher education in the U.S. since 2001. Upon arrival, students are often beset with feelings of isolation and alienation, which are characteristic of adjusting to a new culture. African International students, specifically Black-African international students, are no different in this regard and often experience significant adjustment concerns. Most notable of the concerns for Black-African students are the issues of prejudice and discrimination, which can lead to the experience of acculturative stress. It is, therefore, imperative that institutions find ways to help Black-African international students adjust better to life in the U.S. This paper discusses some adjustment concerns of Black-African international students and provides some suggestions for addressing their concerns.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abarbanel, J. (2009). Moving with emotional resilience between and within cultures. Intercultural Education, 20, 133–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adelegan, F. O., & Parks, D. J. (1985). Problems of transition for African students in an American university. Journal of College Student Personnel, 26, 504–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adeleke, T. (1998). Black Americans, Africa and history: a reassessment of the Pan-African and identity paradigms. Western Journal of Black Studies, 22, 182–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagley, C., & Young, L. (1988). Evaluation of color and ethnicity in young children in Jamaica, Ghana, England, and Canada. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 12, 45–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. (1994). Acculturation and psychological adaptation: An overview. In A.-M. Bouvy, F. van de Vijver, P. Boski, & P. Schmitz (Eds.), Journeys into cross cultural psychology. Amsterdam: S & Z.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Power, S., Young, M., & Bujaki, M. (1989). Acculturation attitudes in plural societies. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 38, 185–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blake, A. C. (2006). The experiences and adjustment problems of Africans at a historically Black institution. College Student Journal, 40, 808–813.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L., & Holloway, I. (2008). The Initial stage of the international sojourn: excitement or culture shock? British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 36(1), 33–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, J. L., Koyama, M., & Thiagarajan, M. (2003). A women’s support group for Asian international students. Journal of American College Health, 52, 131–134.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chapdelaine, R. F., & Alexitch, L. R. (2004). Social skills difficulty: Model of culture shock for international graduate students. Journal of College Student Development, 45(2), 167–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Constantine, M. G., Okazaki, S., & Utsey, S. O. (2004a). Self-concealment, social self-efficacy, acculturative stress, and depression in African, Asian, and Latino international college students. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 74, 230–241.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantine, M. G., Myers, L. J., Kindaichi, M., & Moore, J. L. (2004b). Exploring indigenous mental health practices: the roles of healers and helpers in promoting well-being in people of color. Counseling and Values, 48, 110–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Constantine, M. G., Anderson, G. M., Berkel, L. A., Caldwell, L. D., & Utsey, S. O. (2005). Examining the cultural adjustment experiences of African international college students: a qualitative analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(1), 57–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Culhane, S. F. (2004). An intercultural interaction model: acculturation attitudes in second language acquisition. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 1(1), 50–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dipeolu, A., Kang, J., & Cooper, C. (2007). Support group for international students: a counseling center’s experience. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 22, 63–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Essandoh, P. K. (1995). Counseling issues with African college students in U.S. colleges and universities. The Counseling Psychologist, 23, 348–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fee, J. F. (2010). Latino immigrant and guest bilingual teachers: overcoming personal, professional and academic culture shock. Urban Education, 46(3), 390–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery, P., Reise, S. P., & Yu, J. (2001). An empirical comparison of acculturation models. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, R. L., & Lin, H.-R. (1994). Coming to America: developing social support systems for international students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 22, 7–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ineson, E. M., Lyons, A., & Branston, C. (2006). Cross cultural change, adjustment and culture shock: UK to USA. Tourism, an International Interdisciplinary Journal, 54(4), 355–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inman, A. G., Ladany, N., Constantine, M. G., & Morano, C. K. (2001). Development and preliminary validation of the Cultural Values Conflict Scale for South Asian women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 17–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Institute of International Education(2011). Open doors data: fact sheets by region 2011. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Fact-Sheets-by-Region/2011.

  • Johnson, L. R., & Sandhu, D. S. (2007). Isolation, adjustment, and acculturation issues of international students: Intervention strategies for counselors. In H. D. Singarevelu & M. Pope (Eds.), A handbook for counseling international students in the Us (pp. 3–36). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J., & Opio, T. (2011). Coming to America: challenges and difficulties faced by African student athletes. Sport, Education and Society, 16(5), 629–644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. J., & Rice, C. (2007). Welcome to America? International students’ perceptions of discrimination and neo-racism. Higher Education, 53, 381–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, J. V. (2000). Black immigrant women: psychological adjustment to United States culture. Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(5-B), 2768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manyika, S. (2001). Negotiating identities: African students in British and American universities. Dissertation Abstracts International, 62(1-A), 97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and self: implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mori, S. (2000). Addressing the mental health concerns of international students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 137–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mossakowski, K. (2003). Coping with perceived discrimination: Does ethnic identity protect mental health? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44(3), 318–331.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Myrick, C. J. (2002). Facilitating African identity development: critical literacy books for African college students. Journal of Black Studies, 32, 375–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nebedum-Ezeh, G. C. (1997). An examination of the experiences and coping strategies of African students at predominantly White institutions of higher education in the United States. Dissertation Abstracts International, 58(6-A), 2106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oberg, K. (1960). Cultural shock: adjustment to new cultural environments. Practical Anthropology, 7, 177–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Okeke, B. I., Draguns, J. G., Sheku, B., & Allen, W. (1999). Culture, self, and personality in Africa. In Y.-T. Lee, C. R. McCauley, & J. G. Draguns (Eds.), Personality and person perception across cultures (pp. 139–162). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pantelidou, S., & Craig, T. K. J. (2006). Culture Shock and social support: a survey in Greek migrant students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 41, 777–781.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, P. B. (1991). Counseling international students. The Counseling Psychologist, 19, 10–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S., & Onwughalu, M. (1996). Racial identity and perception of American ideals among African American and African students in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 20, 127–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poyrazli, S., & Lopez, M. D. (2007). An exploratory study of perceived discrimination and homesickness: a comparison of International Students and American Students. The Journal of Psychology, 141(3), 263–280.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Puritt, F. J. (1978). The adaptation of African students to American society. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2, 90–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ready, A. (2012). Exploring the literate identities of Mexican international and developmental reading students in a predominantly Hispanic South Texas College. Dissertation Abstracts International, 72(8-A), 2760.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sam, D. L., & Oppedal, B. (2002). Acculturation as a developmental pathway. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds.), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 8, Chapter 6). Bellingham, Washington USA: Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu, D. S., & Asrabadi, B. R. (1994). Development of an acculturative stress scale for international students: preliminary findings. Psychological Reports, 75, 435–448.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. J. (2008). Testing Berry’s model of acculturation: a confirmatory latent class approach. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14(4), 275–285.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spears, A. (1999). Race and ideology: an introduction. In A. Spears (Ed.), Race and ideology: Language, symbolism, and popular culture (pp. 11–59). Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torres, K. (2009). ‘Culture shock’: black students account for their distinctiveness at an elite college. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32(5), 883–905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tradore, R. L. (2004). Colonisation continued: African students in an urban high school in America. Journal of Black Studies, 34, 348–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, L. A., & Conyne, R. K. (2007). Group work with international students. In H. D. Singarevelu & M. Pope (Eds.), A handbook for counseling international students in the US (pp. 3–36). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1994). Acculturation strategies, psychological adjustment, and sociocultural competence during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 18, 329–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, K. A., & Constantine, G. M. (2007). Counseling African international students. In D. H. Singaravelu & M. Pope (Eds.), A handbook for counseling international students in the United States (pp. 211–222). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, F., & Halgin, R. (2006). The “model minority”: Bane or blessing for Asian Americans? Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 34, 38–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yakunina, E., Weigold, I. K., & McCarthy, A. S. (2011). Group counseling with international students: practical, ethical, and cultural considerations. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 25, 67–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yakushko, O., Davidson, M. M., & Sanford-Maartens, T. C. (2008). Seeking help in a foreign land: International students’ use patterns for a U.S. university counseling center. Journal of College Counseling, 11, 6–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan Boafo-Arthur.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Boafo-Arthur, S. Acculturative Experiences of Black-African International Students. Int J Adv Counselling 36, 115–124 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-013-9194-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-013-9194-8

Keywords

Navigation