CROSS CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF STUDENTS OF FOREIGNERS IN THE UKRAINIAN-SPEAKING ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

In the article the results of the study of the level and type of crosscultural adaptation of foreign students in the Ukrain. Theoretical approaches to the study of this type of adaptation in foreign and domestic literature are presented. The authors of the article have an attempt to investigate and explain the concept of cross-cultural adaptations and the factors that determine the process of adaptation of foreign students to another cultural environment. The main socio-psychological features of socio-cultural adaptation are highlighted; studies of the dynamics of this process are presented. The concept of «cross-cultural adaptation» is clarified, the factors that determine the process of adaptation of foreign students to another cultural environment are analyzed, and studies of the dynamics of this process are presented. In the article the results of the survey of foreign students studying at the Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University and Odessa National Medical University are represented. The sample consisted of 216 foreign students aged 19 to 30 years, citizens of India, China and the EU. The results of the study were collected by administering a questionnaire for research on the types of cross-cultural adaptation (L. V. Yankovsky) and questionnaire «SF-36 Health status survey». The result of quantitative and qualitative analysis of empirical study indicate that foreign students studying in universities of Odessa have mostly medium (35.2%) and high (35%) levels of adaptation. Students with a low level of adaptation are characterized by the lowest indicators of physical and mental well-being, physical activity, experiencing exhaustion and fatigue, deterioration of social activity due to low emotional state. The foreign students with an average level of adaptation have a better perception and a positive assessment of their health, as well as a positive mood and good mental health. The foreign students with the highest level of adaptation is characterized by the highest level of physical and psychological components of health, the limited state of physical activity, and also the lowest level of indicators on the scale «pain intensity».