The benefits of career adaptability on African international students' perception of social support and quality of life in China during the COVID-19 pandemic

Huiqi Wang; Lalit Dzifa Kodzo; Yajun Wang; Jiubo Zhao; Xueling Yang; You Wang

doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.07.004

The benefits of career adaptability on African international students' perception of social support and quality of life in China during the COVID-19 pandemic

Int J Intercult Relat. 2022 Sep:90:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.07.004. Epub 2022 Jul 13.

Authors

Huiqi Wang^{1

2}, Lalit Dzifa Kodzo^{1

3}, Yajun Wang⁴, Jiubo Zhao^{1

2}, Xueling Yang^{1

2

5}, You Wang^{1

2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
² Department of Psychiatry, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510280, China.
³ Nursing and Midwifery Training College, P. O. Box TW59, Twifo Praso, Central Region, Ghana.
⁴ School of Foreign Studies, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
⁵ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.

Abstract

With economic globalization, there has been a rapid increase in the number of sojourners in the workforce and in international education. However, little is known about the impact of career adaptability (a key psychosocial resource for managing career transitions) on international students' adaptation in cross-cultural contexts, particularly their quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on career construct theory, this study examined how career adaptability directly and indirectly enhances international students' quality of life through perceived online and offline social support, and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their adaptation in cross-cultural context. With a sample of 328 African international students in China, we found that career adaptability and perceived online/ offline social support were positively related to the quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, perceived offline social support, but not perceived online social support, was an adapting response through which career adaptability enhances international students' quality of life in cross-cultural context. The mediating effect of perceived offline social support diminished when the self-rated COVID-19 impact on international students was severe. These findings provide a basis for future psychosocial interventions to enhance international students' adaptation to cross-cultural contexts during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 impact; Career adaptability; International students; Perceived offline social support; Perceived online social support; Quality of life.