Being in acculturation, it is understandable that international students may encountered with various life changes. These changes have the potential to become stressors, if an individual takes the process of assimilating the changes as a challenge (Smith & Khawaja, 2011).
Acculturative stress is describes as a reaction of stress in response to life changes that are generated in the experience of acculturation, the psychological challenges of adaption to a new culture and psychosocial stressors appeared from unfamiliarity with new customs and social norms. (Wei, Heppner, Mallen, Ku, Liao & Wu, 2007). Emotional self-control is a property that Asian culture often values, Asian international students hold the belief that their inner resources, such as willpower, to overcome the stresses from …show more content…
Symbolic interactionism believes that individuals come to response to themselves in a manner consistent with the ways of those around him. It also explains that Chinese international students who suffered from perceived discrimination may also experience low self-esteem. There some recent theories of self-esteem have strengthened the norms and values of the cultures and societies where individuals are raised (Heatherton, et al, 2003). Asian cultures are typically collectivistic, Chinese international students experience collective self-esteem because they are particularly likely to base their self-esteem on their social identities as belonging to certain