Busch, Ulrika (2022) The Influence of Social Capital and Language Proficiency on the Sense of Belonging for International Students in Dutch Society and Their Feelings of Loneliness. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Acculturating as an international student is a growing challenge for students choosing to study abroad, which requires further investigation of which factors influence an international student’s sense of belonging to a new culture. Our study seeks to explore the influence of social capital (bonds and bridges) and language proficiency on the sense of belonging of international students to Dutch culture. It extends previous research by focusing on international students in the Netherlands, which introduces research on Dutch-speaking acculturation instead of only common English-speaking acculturation. We conducted a cross- sectional, online questionnaire measuring perceived quality and quantity of support of 134 international students by Dutch people (bridging), co-nationals (bonding), and other internationals (bonding). Furthermore, we measured the participants’ Dutch language proficiency. Additionally, we measured their feelings of loneliness to investigate the relationship between sense of belonging and loneliness. In line with our hypothesis, the quality and quantity of support of Dutch people and Dutch language proficiency correlated with feelings of belonging. In contrast to our expectation, the quality and quantity of support of co-nationals and other internationals did not correlate with feelings of belonging. Feelings of loneliness also correlate with sense of belonging and loneliness furthermore can be significantly predicted by sense of belonging. Only support from Dutch people turns out to be a significant predictor of sense of belonging. More research is needed to further understand the underlying mechanisms of belonging of international students.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Kuschel, A. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Jul 2022 14:01 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Jul 2022 14:01 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1083 |
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