International Journal of Psychology
International Journal of Psychology, 2018
DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12526
Acculturation of Erasmus students: Using the
multidimensional individual difference acculturation model
framework
Rita Berger
1
, Saba Safdar
2
, Erika Spieß
3
, Magdalena Bekk
4
, and Antoni Font
5
1
Faculty of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology,
Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
2
Psychology Department, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research, University of Guelph, Guelph,
Ontario, Canada
3
Department of Psychology, Economic and Organisational Psychology, University Ludwig
Maxilimian of Munich, Munich, Germany
4
Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Marketing and Brand
Marketing, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
5
Faculty of Psychology. Department of Basic, Developmental and Educational Psychology,
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
T
he present self-report survey study examines the psychophysical (how they feel) and sociocultural (how they do)
adjustment of Erasmus students (N = 223) in Spain and Germany. We adopted the comprehensive multidimensional
individual difference acculturation framework to examine the acculturation process of Erasmus students. Using structural
equation modeling, we tested specifc hypotheses drawn from the framework, χ
2
(15) = 18.50, p = .24; χ
2
/df = 1.23,
CFI = .99; and RMSEA = .03. In particular, we expected and found that students who reported high cultural and linguistic
skills, high resilience, and a strong sense of identity had successful adaption in the host country. These students also
reported high intercultural contact and low levels of psychophysical symptoms. Our fndings highlight the relevance of
core psychosocial factors in the adjustment of Erasmus students. The results have implications for universities accepting
foreign students as we found successful adjustment will be hampered even for resilient students if they receive little social
support from their university or limited mentoring to acquire appropriate skills.
Keywords: Acculturation; Social axioms; International Students; Psychological well-being.
Acculturation is defned as “those phenomena which
result when groups of individuals having different cul-
tures come into continuous frst-hand contact, with sub-
sequent changes in the original patterns of either or
both groups” (Redfeld, Linton, & Herskovits, 1936,
p. 149). Researchers have developed several models of
acculturation that examine key factors in the psychosocial
Correspondence should be addressed to Rita Berger, Facultat de Psicologia, departament de Psicologia Social i de Psicologia Quantitativa, Universitat
de Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron, 171, E-08035 Barcelona, Spain. (E-mail: ritaberger@ub.edu).
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. J. Rees Lewis for his review of drafts of the manuscript. His feedback and comments are
much appreciated. Rita Berger contributed to conception or design; collection and interpretation of data; drafting the article and revising it critically for
important intellectual content. Saba Safdar did analysis and interpretation of data; drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual
content. Erika Spieß contributed to conception or design; collection of data; drafting the article for important intellectual content. Magdalena Bekk
contributed to design; collection and interpretation of data; drafting the article for important intellectual content. Antonio Font contributed to conception
or design; collection of data; and revising it critically for important intellectual content.
adaptation of people to a new society and culture (e.g.,
Ward & Kennedy, 1994).
The current study examines the Multidimensional
Individual Difference Acculturation (MIDA) model (Saf-
dar, Calvez, & Lewis, 2012; Safdar, Lay, & Struthers,
2003; Safdar, Struthers, & van Oudenhoven, 2009) with
the aim of establishing it as a useful acculturation model
© 2018 International Union of Psychological Science