Sociocultural Adaptation of U.S. Education Abroad Students in Greece: The Effects of Program Duration and Intervention

Abstract

When students who participate in education abroad (EA) programs are first exposed to a foreign culture, they undergo several psychological, behavioral, and cognitive adjustments. Upon arrival to the host country, they are confronted with a variety of problems as they adjust to the new surroundings. These could range from language barriers and homesickness to an inability to participate in social interactions and depression. Research on sociocultural adaptation and adjustment has produced several theories, but for the purpose of this study, the sociocultural adaptation theory, as it has been proposed by Ward and Kennedy (1999), will be used. This article presents a study, which attempts to address the issue of what actually constitutes a sojourner adaptation by developing the construct of sociocultural adaptation.