Meaning of life as a protective factor of positive affect in acculturation: A resilience framework and a cross-cultural comparison

Jiayan Pan*, Daniel Fu Keung Wong, Cecilia Lai Wan Chan, Lynette Joubert

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

67 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Although research has demonstrated a strong linkage between meaning of life and positive emotion, few studies have examined this association in the context of acculturation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive effects of meaning of life and acculturative stressor on positive affect in a sample of Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong, and to compare these effects between the two groups. Four hundred mainland Chinese postgraduate students at six universities in Hong Kong and 227 Chinese international students at the University of Melbourne in Australia completed a questionnaire that included measures of acculturative stressor, meaning of life, positive affect, and demographic information. The analyses revealed that (1) meaning of life had a strong positive contribution to predict positive affect in acculturation, and acculturative stress had a negative impact on positive affect within both samples; (2) social interaction had a significant negative predictive effect on positive affect in both samples, and academic work served as a significant negative predictor of positive affect in the Hong Kong sample; and (3) meaning of life was found to mediate the relationship between acculturative stress and positive affect in both samples. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)505-514
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Intercultural Relations
Volume32
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2008

User-Defined Keywords

  • Acculturation
  • Positive affect
  • Meaning of life
  • Chinese international student

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