Social support buffering of acculturative stress: a study of mental health symptoms among Korean international students

The relationship between acculturative stress and mental health symptoms and the role of social support as a moderator of this relationship was studied among Korean international students (N=74) living in the Pittsburgh area. Findings included: (1) acculturative stress was strongly correlated with mental health symptoms: (2) social support moderated and buffered the effect of stress on symptoms. Students with high levels of social support were significantly less likely to report symptoms with increasing levels of acculturative stress, compared to students reporting low levels of social support: and (3) the buffering effect of support was mainly or exclusively present when there was a high level of acculturation to American language and interpersonal associations. Granting limitations imposed by the small convenience sample, the study supports the theoretical buffering role for social support in the context of acculturative processes and suggests the need for facilitating the support systems of international students. particularly as they become more acculturated. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.