CONQUERING ACCULTURATIVE STRESS IN FIRST-YEAR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: CONCEPTUAL REVIEW

Abstrak

During the first-year stage, students often encounter stressful process stemming from the difficulty of adaptation. The transition into a university environment has reflected numerous cultural incompatibilities has reflected high stressful conditions and unsuccessful adaptation. This life-events could express acculturative stress which interferes adaptation of the first-year student in an academic environment. This study reviews the attempt of conquering acculturative stress condition toward strengthening adaptability of first-year students. By integrating the extant literature in three major topics (ex: acculturative stress, coping strategy, and student adaptation), this study evaluates a conceptual model that shows how acculturative stress can response and manage changes within first-year stage capacity to adapt in academic and surrounded cultures. Based on the literature review process, coping strategy play as mediating factors between acculturative stress and adaptation. There are at least six moderating variables (emotional intelligent, spiritual intelligent, motivation, demographic, social support and personality) may differentiate the first-year student in managing acculturative stress toward adaptation The resulting variable is the most comprehensive of its kind to date. The research propositions pave the way for empirical testing.
Keywords: acculturative stress, coping strategy, adaptation, first-year students, change management