Chinese students studying in the United States face great challenges when adapting to cultural, linguistic, and pedagogical differences. Although discouraged in the literature, self-segregation is a practice common among some international students and is especially prevalent in the Chinese community. This qualitative study explored the motivation and frequency of this practice vis-à-vis social support, and its effect on the participants’ sense of belonging. Insider status was employed to conduct focus groups of mainland Chinese students currently enrolled in graduate programs at a Mid-Atlantic University in the United States. Findings from the study explore how administrators, educators, and the students themselves view the practice of self-segregation and its consequences.
Objective: The objectives of the study were twofold: i) to assess whether depression independently predicts four quality of life (QOL) domains in CVD patients; and ii) whether depression interacts with self-efficacy and perceived social support to predict QOL domains among cardiovascular diseases (CVD) patients. Methods: Participants were 174 CVD patients taken from three major government sector hospitals of Lahore who were assessed on self-report measures of depression, self-efficacy, social support and QOL. Results: It was found that depression was a significant negative predictor of all four QOL domains among CVD patients. Furthermore, results from regression analysis demonstrated that depression significantly interacted with self-efficacy to predict physical and environmental QOL. Additionally, depression interacted with social support to physical and social QOL. Specially, depression was a stronger negative predictor of QOL domains at lower levels of self-efficacy and social support while it was a poor predictor at higher levels of self-efficacy and support. Conclusion: It was concluded that social support and self-efficacy act as buffering factors against devastating effects of depression on QOL among CVD patients.
Abstract
BackgroundUnderstanding motivational determinants of physical activity (PA) is essential to guide the implementation of PA at individual and population level. Knowledge about the cross-cultural generalizability of these determinants is lacking and they have mostly been studied as separate factors. This study compares a motivational process model across samples from diverse populations with, or at risk of diabetes. MethodsMeasurement invariance of barrier identified regulation, barrier self-efficacy and social support was assessed in a rural Ugandan sample (n=712) and disadvantaged samples with high proportions of immigrants in urban South Africa (n=566) and Sweden (n=147). These motivational determinants were then compared through multigroup structural equation modeling.ResultsThe studied motivational constructs showed scalar invariance. Latent mean levels of perceived social support and barrier self-efficacy were lower in South Africa and Sweden. Structural models (for different PA outcomes) were not consistent across settings except for the association between perceived social support and identified regulation. Identified regulation was only associated with vigorous PA in Uganda and with moderate PA in South Africa. The association between social support and PA outcomes ranged from weak to not significant and the association between self-efficacy and PA was not significant. Self-reported PA was highest in Uganda and lowest in Sweden. Self-reported vigorous PA was significantly related to lower hemoglobin A1c levels, while moderate PA was not.ConclusionsFindings suggest that: 1) it is feasible to compare a motivational process model across diverse settings; 2) there is lower perceived social support and self-efficacy in the urban, migrant samples; 3) identified regulation is a more promising determinant of PA than self-efficacy or social support in these populations; 4) associations between motivational determinants and PA depend on the perceived type and/or intensity of PA; 5) perceived relatedness functions as a basic psychological need across diverse settings; and 6) people’s perception of the PA they perform depends on their perceived level of intensity of PA which would have major implications for health promotion.
Self-segregation, sense of belonging, and social support: An inquiry into the practices and perceptions of Chinese graduate students at an American Mid-Atlantic University
