A model of psychological well-being among international students^*

* This paper is not being considered concurrently for publication elsewhere nor has it been published in any language before. All the authors have contributed significantly and are in agreement with the content of the manuscript.

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the relationship between acculturation attitude (i.e. adjustment and attachment attitudes) and individuals’ psychological adaptation (i.e. life satisfaction, depression and self-esteem). Additionally, the relationship between the dimensions of psychological adaptation with psychological well-being and their mediation effect are examined. Data were collected from 974 randomly selected international students pursuing their Master or Doctoral level studies in six Malaysian public universities using a structured questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was applied to examine the relationships in the research model. The results revealed that both adjustment and attachment attitudes are significantly related to life satisfaction and self-esteem while only adjustment attitude associates with depression. All the three dimensions of psychological adaptation are significantly related to psychological well-being. Moreover, the mediation effect of life satisfaction, self-esteem and depression are supported for the relationship between adjustment attitude and psychological well-being. Study implications and contributions are presented.

Keywords:

• Acculturation attitude
• adjustment attitude
• attachment attitude
• psychological adaptation
• psychological well-being

Notes

* This paper is not being considered concurrently for publication elsewhere nor has it been published in any language before. All the authors have contributed significantly and are in agreement with the content of the manuscript.