Title | Academic Satisfaction Among East-Asian International Students in the United States: An Examination Based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory |
| Author(s) | - Xinling Liu, Staff Psychologist, University of Michigan, United States
- Patrick Rottinghaus, Associate Professor, University of Missouri, United States
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| Publication Name | Asia Pacific Career Development Journal, Vol 7, No 1 |
| Publication Date | March, 2024 |
| Download | Full text (PDF) |
| Abstract | With the Asian hate outbreak during the COVID-19 pandemic, East-Asian international students in the United States experienced more overt racial discrimination and attacks while seeking education far from home. This study used the well-being model of the social cognitive career theory to examine the factors contributing to academic satisfaction considering 325 East-Asian international students as the study subjects (Mage = 22.30, SDage = 4.82; nmale = 162, nfemale = 155). Perceived discrimination was used as an environmental barrier in the model. Multigroup measurement invariance and multigroup structural equation modeling were employed to examine the gender differences in measurement constructs and predicted pathways. The results revealed that the two gender groups were equivalent at the scalar level, and the proposed model presented a good fit with the data across both sample groups. Perceived discrimination contributed to academic satisfaction through academic self-efficacy and goal progress. In addition to the above findings, this paper discusses the study’s implications, limitations, and future research directions. |
