Contact and attitudes toward international students in Australia : intergroup anxiety and intercultural communication emotions as mediators

The current study investigated the impact of intercultural contact between domestic and international students on attitudes toward international students, and potential mediators of this relationship. A total of 247 Australian-born domestic undergraduates enrolled at a mid-sized university in Canber...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cross-cultural psychology 2014-04, Vol.45 (3), p.491-504
Main Authors: Mak, Anita S., Brown, Patricia M., Wadey, Danielle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Attitude surveys
Attitudes
Australia
Communication
Communication barriers
Constraints
Cultural interrelationships
Domestic students
Emotions
Foreign Students
Intercultural Communication
Intercultural interaction
Intergroup anxiety
Intergroup Relations
International students
Interpersonal relationship
Overseas students
Positive thought
Postsecondary education
Social Integration
Social sciences
Student attitudes
Students
Undergraduate Students
University students
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Summary:The current study investigated the impact of intercultural contact between domestic and international students on attitudes toward international students, and potential mediators of this relationship. A total of 247 Australian-born domestic undergraduates enrolled at a mid-sized university in Canberra, Australia completed a survey of the quantity and quality of their contact with international students, levels of intergroup anxiety (IA) and intercultural communication emotions (ICE), and their attitudes toward international students. Positive quality of intercultural contact, less IA, and more positive ICE were all related to more positive attitudes toward international students. In addition, ICE mediated the relationship between positive quality of contact and attitudes, and between IA and attitudes. Quality of contact exerted both direct and indirect effects (via IA and intercultural communications emotions) on intergroup attitudes. Results highlight the importance of addressing communication barriers and the emotions associated with these when promoting positive interactions between domestic and international students. Suggestions are made for a theoretical integration of intergroup and communication-based perspectives when considering attitudes toward linguistically diverse outgroups like international students. [Author abstract, ed]
ISSN:0022-0221
1552-5422
DOI:10.1177/0022022113509883