Psychological Resilience-Based Multifactorial Framework of Expatriate Adjustment
Lili Gao1,2, Ying Lu1, Na Zhang3
1Department of Construction and Real Estate, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Psychology Research and Behavior Management
|September 27, 2023
Summary
Expatriate adjustment is a psychological process driven by resilience. Social support buffers stressors, and the person-environment interaction is key for successful adaptation in new cultural settings.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- International Business
- Sociology
Background:
- Expatriates face significant stressors including cross-cultural adjustment challenges and global instability.
- Adapting quickly to new environments is crucial for expatriate success and well-being.
- Recent global events like the pandemic and geopolitical conflicts exacerbate expatriate challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors influencing expatriate adjustment, focusing on the role of psychological resilience.
- To propose and test a framework for expatriate adjustment grounded in psychological resilience and person-environment fit theory.
Main Methods:
- Utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis.
- Collected and analyzed data from 309 valid expatriate samples.
- Applied person-environment (p-e) fit theory to guide the framework development.
Main Results:
- Expatriate adjustment is fundamentally a psychological process contingent on resilience development.
- Social support significantly mitigates stressors arising from environmental deviations.
- The transactional process between the individual and their environment is identified as the most critical aspect of adjustment.
Conclusions:
- Expatriate adjustment progresses through four stages: shock, buffer, adjustment, and mastery, mirroring resilience development.
- Effective expatriate management strategies should consider these stages and individual resilience.
- Proposed the U-curve hypothesis for expatriate psychological resilience development for future research.
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