The Relationship between International Students’ Social Skills, Social Support Networks and Adaptation in Japan

Abstract—Abstract—Previous studies have suggested that international students’ (IS) social support networks (SSN) including more different-language speakers, especially Japanese native speakers, would be helpful in decreasing their maladaptation through face-to-face (FTF) communication. This study investigates the effect of social skills on ISs’ intercultural adaptation, considering the mediations of SSNs formed through voice calls, text messages via instant messaging (IM) and traditional email, comparing to those via FTF. This study conducted a two-wave panel survey and an analysis of cross-lagged effect model based on 99 ISs’ responses. As a result, it was found that (a) female ISs’ SSNs with different-language speakers through FTF helped decrease their maladaptation, (b) both male and female ISs with lower levels of maladaptation were able to communicate with more different-language speakers through FTF interactions, and (c) female ISs’ social skills had positive effects on their SSNs with cross-gender/ different-language speakers via email. Implications were discussed based on these results.

Index Terms—Index Terms—International students in Japan, communication media, social support networks, maladaptation, panel survey.

Shaoyu Ye is with the faculty of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba, 3058550 Japan (e-mail: shaoyu@ slis.tsukuba.ac.jp).

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Cite: Shaoyu Ye, "The Relationship between International Students’ Social Skills, Social Support Networks and Adaptation in Japan," International Journal of Culture and History vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 147-156, 2017.