Change in Personalities of International Students after Studying in North American Schools - Essay Example

?Running head: PERSONALITY CHANGES Change in Personalities of International after Studying in North American Schools 21st, March, 2012 Change in Personalities of International Students after Studying in North American Schools Introduction Every year individuals from different countries of the world migrate to North America for various reasons such as seeking new opportunities, advanced studies, or better life styles. Migration of students comprises individuals with different aspirations. Some seek job prospects while most of the adolescents and children come to pursue their studies to enhance their skills and understanding in all aspects of life in order to keep abreast with pace of the globalization and procure better opportunities and connections. With the advent of globalization, English has become an international language of communication in every career option. The motive to have education in English-speaking nations is to acquire knowledge, develop understanding for latest technologies, as well as obtain experience for future advancement. As a consequence, high schools have a vast impact on adolescents’ development. As young migrants start high school, they face several life-changing experiences. These experiences vary depending on the school as well as domestic environment. In this essay, I would like to investigate why personalities of students change after joining and studying in North American schools as compared to their personalities they had when they were studying in their own nations by addressing problems the students may have during the school years and the strategies they use to cope with the problems. Effects of Cultural Shock Several problems may occur when one lives in a foreign land. One of them is cultural shock. This is a phase where the majority of people face an emotional turmoil. They may experience anxiety, frustration, alienation, and anger, which are accredited to numerous stressors when a person is exposed to a new culture (Winkelman, 1994). The students would want to blend into the new society and the easiest way to gain this knowledge is through the media in that country. Without the proper guidance from adults, they are more susceptible to the influence of Western media. Furthermore, they may not be able to separate the proper behaviors versus the destructive ones as they try to be accepted in the high school life. They may take what is shown in the television shows or magazines as desired and acceptable behaviors. This can lead to destructive behaviors such as eating disorders or binge drinking as they try to imitate body shapes and lifestyles of media celebrities. Their attitudes and values may also change to accommodate the Western culture if they do not already have strongly established beliefs. Their life-long goals and perspectives of the world may change as they experience cultural and lifestyle differences from what they are used to. This change of self may produce both positive and negative consequences. The positive side is that they are able to survive socially as they are able to adapt quickly into the Western society and adopt the appropriate attitudes. However, the students’ social perspectives may diverge from those of their families and friends in their countries, which in turn can cause cultural conflict when such students go back to their native countries. Therefore, affected students are likely to experience alienation and rejection by the family members as well as the society once they return to their country. Notably, students may lose the emotional support especially when they are new in a foreign land. On the other hand, the parents, especially from collective culture may feel cheated since their children start living for themselves instead of living for the parents as past generations have done. Social Identity Conflict With the need to adapt in order to survive in the high school settings, these teenagers try all possible means to blend to the new society. They may hold to the saying, “when in Rome, do as Romans do.” They may join sports, clubs, and wear outfits of similar style and fashion as the inhabitants in order to intermingle with their peers (Stodolska & Jouyeon, 2003). Without parental influence, they become more candid, honest, outspoken and more responsible as they have to be self-reliant. They also have to amplify their awareness about the surroundings to safeguard themselves, as they are in foreign land and probably no one would help them if they get into problems. This act of caution may result in pessimism and selfishness. In fact, these traits may prevent other students from approaching them. High school is a double-edge sword to international students. It may ignite survival instincts from the individuals so that they become more confident and mature. Even if they try their best to cope with the situation, discrimination persists. Exceedingly, self-monitoring individuals may develop depression and low self-esteem. These individuals tend to experience homesick. Most likely, they leave their course without finishing and go back to their own country to fulfill their education dreams. Physiological and Cognitive Impacts Adolescence period is critical to physical and emotional changes in children as they hit puberty. All these transformations are attributed to the hormones secreted from their reproductive organs. The hormone fluctuations in their system may affect their decision-making and emotion intelligence as they start to change in physical appearance as well as cognitive and mental developments. Apart from these changes, children may have more stress attribute to trying to adjust as well as to cope with unfamiliar environments such as new school, new housing, and new friends. Their expectations may change and impression they apprehended before coming to a foreign land may not come true. When they have a problem, the situation may become exaggerated as their emotion become quite unstable with the hormonal changes and the existing pressure to conform to the new environment. With the lack of support from familiar people like friends and family in their country, they may feel lonely and depressed. They may not know how to cope with difficult situations or solve problems. These may lead students to relieve their stresses inappropriately, which will cause more problems such as drug addiction. Seeking Identity through Books and Social Media Living in different culture may require international students to force themselves to behave contrary to their desire, which causes them pressure and stress. In order to mitigate from the stress, they may engage in addictive behaviors such as reading fictional materials, playing video games, drinking alcohol, and drug abuse. According to Djikic, Oatley, Zoeterman, & Peterson (2009), books can transform one’s personality. Readers who read relatively more narrative fiction than non-fiction have greater social abilities. Therefore, international students who read American fictions may have an advantage in learning how to behave appropriately and be able to integrate into the new community. However, considering how closely related narrative fiction and real world appear to be, the engagement with fictional narratives can result in changes of belief and attitude, much different from those produced by experiences in the real world (Green & Brock, 2000). Reading fictions can become an object of addiction when the students experience with overwhelming stresses. They may indulge themselves in an ideal world with desired fictional characters they aspire to have in the real world. Instead of solving the problems they have in the real world, they live in the fantasy world. Their situations may become worse, but they may adopt self-deception attribute where they convince themselves that they are doing the right thing even when they are not. Similarly, playing video games can easily become addictive as a way to relieve pain as computers and internet connections become more assessable in the today’s world of increasingly advanced technology. First, playing games may start because the international students are isolated from their peers and they feel alienated. They look forward to meeting friends in the games and feeling accomplished by overcoming challenges designed by the games. Apparently, these feelings of satisfaction are not met in the students’ real lives. However, apart from psychological condition, there is a physiological element to addictive game playing. It was found that dopamine levels in players' brains doubled while they were playing. Dopamine is a mood-regulating hormone associated with feelings of pleasure. Moreover, Han, Hwang, & Renshaw (2010) reported that the patient group showed increased activity in dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, nucleus accumbens, and caudate nucleus in response to game stimuli. Once started, the addictive cycle becomes very difficult to break. Their behavior will become impulsive and they will also have attention problems (Gentile, Swing, Lim, & Khoo, 2012). Consequently, the video game players will isolate themselves from social contact, which ironically induced them to play the games in the first place. Wrong Peer Influence Since international students are interested in making new friends, they may grab the first opportunity they have once someone approaches them. Lacking experience in the foreign countries, they may interact with the wrong people, which may put them in further awful situations. Once international students become part of the group, they will be afraid to be isolated again. Therefore, they may try to do the same activities as their certainly destructive thereby affecting their studies and personal lives. Other students may not approach the international students because they have already grouped them with the bad company. Moreover, alcohol and hard drugs are addictive. The students may use these methods to relieve themselves from traumas they may experience especially pressures from the school requirements since some of them may have serious problem with English language. If the school authorities or the police catch them while using drugs, their parents become so disappointed because they spent a lot of money and effort to send their children aboard in the hope of increasing their children’s chances for future success. This will create the conflict between parents and children, which can increase the children’s stress. This becomes a vicious cycle, which is difficult to break. Declining Self-regulation Addictive behavior may not occur if the students have strong will or goal in mind. If the individuals are being persistent about making friends and being optimistic about the issues, they will eventually be able to open up the people they find in host country. Nevertheless, if the students have strong purpose of growing academically, not making any friends may not affect their sense of identity. Ideally, self-regulation is a resource that can be depleted when used for a long time (Muraven, & Baumeister, 2000). If the students cannot make any friends nor improve academic studies over some period, depending on each individual, their cognitive resource becomes empty and they may not be able to restrain themselves from harmful activities that give tremendous pleasure. If it becomes a habit, it can become very dangerously addictive. This can affect their goals and their expectations in life. Therefore, they may have lower self-esteem about themselves and do not see the potential self they could have become. Exercise can keep the student’s minds occupied while dealing with all sorts of problems they may have. A growing number of studies support the idea that physical exercise is a lifestyle factor that might lead to increased physical and mental health throughout life. Indeed, exercise not only helps to improve physical health, but also improve academic performance in school-age children (Hillman, Erickson, & Kramer, 2008). Researches have shown that while doing aerobic exercise, the brain will release Serotonin, Dopamine, and Endorphin. All of the chemicals serve to elevate mood and prevent the rise in stress as well as anxiety. This is why the students should join school sport teams if given an opportunity to do so. Doing sports not only prevent stress, it also help the other students get to know the international students better, thus increasing the chance of making friends. Apart from joining sport teams, the students should also join any club or volunteer groups. Other than doing something they like, they will be able to meet other students who have the same interest as they do. That way, it will be easier to make friends with similar people. Seeing the same group of people frequently, the individual and other students will eventually know each other better. It will no longer be awkward to talk to each other. Religious Influence Religion can play significant role in helping the international students maintain their sanity against pressure and stress in the foreign country. Even in stressful situations, religious person still believe in the support from Supreme Being. This knowledge gives them courage and strength to continue fighting to achieve their goals and overcome challenges. Even though there may not be any human support, there is still spiritual support. In contrast, non-religious individuals may not feel this sense of unconditional love when family or friends do not surround them. When non-religious individuals experience challenges, they may easily break down. Meditation Another way to strengthen the mind against stressful situations is through meditation. Many researches have proved that meditation can increase attention as well as improve concentration on the required tasks by preventing one from distracting thoughts (Keune & Forintos, 2010; Kristelle, 2007). Mindfulness practice in activities of everyday life showed enhanced emotional adjustment (Keune & Forintos, 2010). An act of mindfulness meditation can also increase one’s will power. With mindfulness practice, one can detach oneself from pain and suffering and then come to acceptance (Kristelle, 2007). In this way, the individuals will not shy away from challenges. Although mindfulness intervention may prove to be difficult in the case of the addicts, it is not impossible for the students struggling with stress, the lack of life purpose, or loss of motivation to turn around to use this method in order to improve their well-being. Therefore, it is advisable for them to practice mindfulness meditation to find their purpose in life again. Other Coping Mechanisms Having supportive school and domestic environments do save the troubles of mentioning other stress-coping methods because the comfortable surroundings will prevent any stress the students may experience. The students usually spend most of their time at school. If they are boarders, they will spend everyday at school. Therefore, school environment is extremely important. The international students are away from their parents, hence they need love and care from people at school. Even if they do have some stress from being in different environment, pressure from different school requirement, or anxiety from the overall new experience, these stress and anxiety will not accumulate and become a problem for them as long as they have support. Academic challenges will not create too much stress if the teachers are willing to help the students when they need. If most students are friendly and open-minded to new students, at least the international students will not feel the need to conform and become the persons they are not. Supports provided to the students enable them to develop many enviable characteristics, which boost their personality development (Berry, 1990). According to Oppedal, Roysamb, & Sam (2004), teachers' support, influences and correlates considerably with modifications in mental health. Enhanced social support from the class, family, and friends in ethnic and host culture competence were related to increased self-esteem and diminution of distress symptoms. As long as they are not isolated or feel alienated from other people, they will be able to cope with daily problems. Conclusion Each individual may have different experience during their time studying and each of them may require different coping strategies. People who have strong sense of self-efficacy and a solid purpose in their lives will not be swayed by social influence (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996). Even if they do have stress or loss of self-identity, it is important to use effective coping strategies. However, no matter what type of school international students attend across the continent of North America, everyone develops a sense of responsibility and independence. New experiences in foreign countries may be very fascinating. Nevertheless, the adolescents will miss their home. They will probably have more appreciation for their parents and their home country than they had earlier. These experiences whether good or bad will become a part of their personalities, in which they will continue to develop throughout their lives. References Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., Pastorelli, C. (1996). Multifaceted impact of self-efficacy beliefs on academic functioning. 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