Post-migration Growth Scale for Chinese International Students: Development and Validation

Jiayan Pan*, Daniel Fu Keung Wong, Shengquan Ye

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There has been a significant paradigm shift in recent acculturation research from a psychopathological perspective to a resilience framework. However, one indicator of positive adaptation outcomes in acculturation-measurement of personal growth in migration-is lacking. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Post-migration Growth Scale (PMGS) for Chinese international students. A 14-item scale was developed through in-depth interviews, item analysis and factor analysis. The scale was initially validated in a sample of 400 mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis suggested two factors (interpersonal growth and intrapersonal growth), which were cross-validated in an independent sample of Chinese international students in Australia from mainland China (n = 154) by confirmatory factor analysis. The PMGS showed satisfactory internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity. The PMGS can thus be a reliable and valid instrument to measure Chinese international students' personal growth from overseas study experiences. Limitations were discussed and implications were suggested.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1639-1655
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Happiness Studies
Volume14
Issue number6
Early online date22 Nov 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2013

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

User-Defined Keywords

  • Chinese
  • International students
  • Post-migration growth
  • Resilience
  • Scale development
  • Scale validation

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