International students in the US feel lonely

International students in the US feel lonely

As the number of international students on American campuses grows, new research shows that many students who have come to the US from abroad have only a small circle of close friends in America. Students from China and other parts of East Asia report a high level of dissatisfaction with the quality of their personal relationships.

According to the new study, more than one in three international students says they have no close friends in America, and many say they would like to have more meaningful relationships with Americans.

Students from China and other parts of East Asia report fewer friendships and a greater degree of dissatisfaction than other international students.

The findings of the research into interpersonal relationships among more than 450 students at 10 different public universities in the South and Northeast of the United States confirm assumptions previously put forward by educators: many international students (especially those from China) struggle to integrate, to fit into American classes, and to find common ground with the students who live in the dorms. According to officials at these institutions, this is difficult both for the international students themselves and for their American classmates.

"Where else but in college can people meet, spend time together, and make new friends from other countries?" says Elisabeth Gareis, an associate professor of communication studies at Baruch College, which is part of the City University of New York, and the author of the study.

An article on the research was published in the journal of the National Communication Association's intercultural communication division.

To conduct the study among the students, Elisabeth, who, incidentally, once came to the United States from Germany herself, turned to international affairs offices in search of volunteers to fill out online questionnaires. The participants, undergraduates and graduates who were divided by gender, were asked to indicate the number of their close friends among Americans.

Although 27% of all participants indicated that they had 3 or more close friends among Americans, 38% stated that they had no close friendships with Americans at all. 17% had one friend, 18% had two.

Gareis found important differences in the number of American friends depending on the region the student came from. Participants from English-speaking countries indicated that they had 3 or more close friends in America, whereas more than half of all students who came from East Asia answered that they had no American friends (because of the scope of the study, Gareis analyzed the responses by relying more on region than on each country individually. About 30% of the respondents were from East Asia.)

Perhaps it is not surprising that students from English-speaking countries and from Northern and Central Europe were for the most part satisfied with the number of their friends and with the quality of those friendships; students from East Asian countries, however, expressed less satisfaction with their friendships with Americans. Half of the students from East Asian countries who took part in the survey said they were not happy with the number of American friends they had, and 30 percent of the participants even criticized the quality of such friendships.

Moreover, 38% of the international students who took part in the survey were not satisfied with the number of American friends in their circle, and 27% stated that they were unhappy with the quality of such relationships.

Most of the students surveyed had been living in the United States for 1 to 3 years.

The location of the universities also made a significant difference to the data Gareis obtained: these were New York, the outlying states of the Northeast, and the South of the country. Students who attended colleges in the Northeastern states were less satisfied with the number of American friends and the quality of their friendships with them than students at Southern universities. Similarly, students at universities located in large cities and suburbs were less satisfied with their friendships with Americans than students at colleges located in small towns.

The regional difference may be due to Southern hospitality, explains Gareis, who earned her master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Georgia. It may also be due to the fact that international students have fewer connections with people (both on campus and beyond it) from their own country or region, and so there is a greater likelihood that they will make American friends, the researcher said.

Gareis asked the respondents who expressed dissatisfaction to explain why they had had such difficulty building friendships. 46% pointed to certain internal factors, such as shyness or poor ability to communicate in English, while 54% of those surveyed stated that American students were responsible for the situation that had developed.

"I wish they (Americans) were more open and sensitive to other cultures", one student wrote about his American classmates.

Another said: "I didn't expect it to be so hard to make friends with Americans. As a rule, I don't know what to say to them, and I think they don't know either".

"More research needs to be done to better understand why some students struggle to make friends," says Elisabeth. However, the researcher suggests that cultural differences may be part of the source. "For example, the United States is a country of vivid individualism, whereas in other societies, especially in Asian countries, enormous attention is paid to ties within the community and to social relationships. Students from such countries may be a little shocked by the independence of Americans and their more casual attitude toward friendship."

By contrast, students from European and English-speaking countries may share more similar cultural values with Americans and may therefore find it easier to make contact, the researcher believes.

In addition, certain patterns of behavior may have positive feedback, Gareis suggested. Students from cultures that value deep, strong relationships may consider American friendship superficial and may be more likely to befriend fellow students from their own country. Students with poor language skills are probably less able to grow close to their American classmates, and vice versa. Even a simple skill such as the ability to make small talk can hinder students from forming any relationships.

The number of international students on American campuses is increasing (especially many students come from China, and this is particularly true of upperclassmen), and such a divide leaves many educators at a loss. At Kansas State University, for example, tension in relations between students from different countries reached a climax this year when, in the student newspaper, students from China were called "enemies." It was also suggested that they (the Chinese students) and other students from countries whose foreign policy is unfriendly toward the United States should not be allowed to receive an education at the country's public universities.

In response to these statements, the university reviewed its cultural programs in order to find ways to achieve contact between American and international students, said Marcelo Sabates (the university's acting provost for international programs). And yet there was some benefit from what happened, Mr. Sabates said, since it brought these two groups into a dialogue that had not existed before.

At Michigan State University, the increase in the number of students arriving from China alone was "staggering", said Peter F. Briggs, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars. "Last fall there were about 800 students from China in the lower-level courses." This year, Mr. Briggs believes, that number will rise to 1,000.

The university is doing its best to find ways to build relationships between students from China and American students, motivating dorm resident directors to work with international students, building a system of Chinese-American relations on a partnership basis; moreover, video materials about intercultural differences are being created.

However, Mr. Briggs believes, "there is still quite a large divide on certain issues."