Studying abroad and identity exploration: A comparative analysis between international and Dutch students on the basis of identity content

Meer, Manon, ter (2023) Studying abroad and identity exploration: A comparative analysis between international and Dutch students on the basis of identity content. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Identity exploration during identity development has been linked to several aspects of mental health. The experience of studying abroad may be related to an increase in identity exploration among international students. However, how identity exploration and studying abroad may be linked has not been researched extensively, while this may be valuable information in terms of international students’ mental health. This study aims to examine how studying abroad might be related to identity exploration, in line with the hypotheses that (1) international students would show a tendency towards exploration in breadth while (2) Dutch students would show a tendency towards exploration in depth. First-year psychology students from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen were asked to describe themselves in 3 minutes, after which their self-descriptions were coded according to the IMICA manual. The self-descriptions of 10 international and 10 Dutch students were compared in terms of identity claims and identity domains. The analysis suggested that within the context of this research, international students may have shown a tendency towards exploration in breadth, while Dutch students may have shown a tendency towards exploration in breadth. However, no statistical analyses were conducted due to the small sample size, so no conclusive evidence could be found. It remains unclear how identity exploration and studying abroad are related, and further research is needed to explore this.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Gmelin, J.H.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	18 Jan 2023 12:22
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 12:22
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1558

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