With an increasing number of students studying abroad, difficulties in transitioning to the host culture contributes to serious and widely-spread culture shock. As culture shock often limits students’ social and academic success, education institutions are aware that training students’ ability to release culture shock is important. Institutions usually offer material support to students studying abroad, but overlook their internal feelings. However, an effective training program can be accessible only when the causes of culture shock are understood clearly. This paper explores how important internal components are in causing culture shock. An online questionnaire correlates 163 participants with various backgrounds. Findings indicate that the majority of participants would attribute culture shock to internal causes, such as homesick problems or lack of pressure management ability. These results lead to suggestions and recommendations on how to develop the ability to release culture shock and adjust to new culture.

Shi Jingfan, Qian Yumo, Tang Mingzhu. To What Extent are Internal Components the Main Causes of Culture Shock. International Journal of New Developments in Engineering and Society (2019) Vol.3, Issue 2: 236-251. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJNDES.19232.

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