Analyzing International Students' Social Support Through Intercollegiate Sport Team Identification

International students often experience difficulties acclimating to campus climates in the United States. While identifying oneself as a fan of college sports has been shown to assist domestic students in their social adjustment to college environments, little is known about the relationship between...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of international students 2023-01, Vol.13 (1), p.59-78
Main Authors: Kim, Kibaek, Stokowski, Sarah, Lo, Wen Juo, Han, Jinwook
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acculturation
Adjustment
Beliefs, opinions and attitudes
College Athletics
College sports
College Students
Communities of interest
Educational aspects
Foreign Students
Group identity
Identification
Identification (Psychology)
Immigrants
Intercollegiate Cooperation
Perceptions
School environment
Self image
Sense of Community
Social Adjustment
Social aspects
Social Capital
Social capital (Sociology)
Social identity
Social networks
Social participation
Social support
Social Support Groups
Spectatorship
Student Adjustment
Student Attitudes
Students
Students, Foreign
Study Abroad
Team Sports
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Summary:International students often experience difficulties acclimating to campus climates in the United States. While identifying oneself as a fan of college sports has been shown to assist domestic students in their social adjustment to college environments, little is known about the relationship between international students' college sports team identification and their social adjustment. As such, the purpose of this study is to determine the effect of team identification on international students' sense of community and social capital and the conceptual relationship between the sense of community and social capital. Analysis of the hypothesized model with a sample of international students (n = 487) revealed that international students' team identification develops their sense of community and social capital. Implications focused on how the international student office and athletic departments can utilize intercollegiate sports to support international students and assist this population in adapting to campus life in the United States.
ISSN:2162-3104
2166-3750