Chinese and Taiwanese International College Students' Participation in Social Organizations: Implications for College Counseling Professionals

This qualitative focus group study explored the meaning of Chinese and Taiwanese international students' lived experiences in social organizations. Participants were 9 Chinese and Taiwanese international college students in a midwestern U.S. university. The analyses uncovered 7 themes: social support, recreation, emotional support, practical benefits, contributions to the organizations, commitment toward organizations, and stressors associated with participation. Implications of the findings for college counseling professionals are discussed. ********** From 1980 to 2006, the number of international students studying in U.S. colleges and universities increased from 311,880 to 564,766, and 58% of international students are from Asian countries (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). Because of cultural differences and their sojourner status, Asian international students face a number of stressors associated with adjusting to life in the United States (Wang, Lin, Pang, & Shen, 2007). Living in a foreign country limits access to familiar support systems, such as family and friends, which can create a sense of loss, homesickness, and isolation (Johnson & Sandhu, 2007; Pedersen, 1991). In addition, Asian international students may have difficulties adjusting to unfamiliar American educational systems and learning styles (Mori, 2000; Wong, 2004) as well as struggle with language barriers (Constantine, Kindaichi, Okazaki, Gainor, & Baden, 2005) and culturally different communication styles (Poyrazli & Grahame, 2007). For example, Yeh and Inose (2003) found that international students who had lower levels of English fluency were more likely to experience acculturative stress. Among Asian international students who belong to the dominant racial or ethnic group in their home country, becoming a racial and ethnic minority in the United States can also be a challenging experience (Yoon & Portman, 2004). They may experience conflicts between their culture of origin and the dominant European American culture (Constantine et al., 2005). As a minority group, Asian international students may encounter stereotypes, prejudice, and racism (Johnson & Sandhu, 2007). For instance, Asian international students may be mistaken for members of another Asian nationality, encounter individuals who have stereotypical perceptions of their culture, and become victims of the model minority stereotype (e.g., the perception that all Asians are good at math; Bonazzo & Wong, 2007; Constantine et al., 2005). Collectively, these experiences may devalue the national or ethnic identities of Asian international students. Not surprisingly, Yeh and Inose (2003) found that Asian international students tend to experience higher levels of acculturative stress compared with European international students. Counseling might be an appropriate forum to address many of the stressors that Asian international students face. However, international students have been shown to underutilize college counseling services compared with other U.S. racial/ethnic minority groups, such as Asian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans (Nilsson, Berkel, Flores, & Lucas, 2004). Moreover, when they seek counseling, Asian international students attend fewer counseling sessions compared with European international students (Mitchell, Greenwood, & Guglielmi, 2007). There are several possible reasons that international students underutilize counseling. First, Asian international students may encounter language barriers in counseling. Although interpreters can help address language barriers, a study by Yoon and Jepsen (2008) revealed that more than half of Asian international students were reluctant to have interpreters in counseling. Second, counselors may lack cultural sensitivity or expertise in counseling Asian international students (Pedersen, 1991), because graduate counseling training programs rarely prepare their students to counsel international students. …