The Relationship Between Intercultural Contact And Intercultural Adaptation: The Mediating Role Of Intercultural Sensitivity

Influenced by global economic integration,war,study abroad,immigration,to name but a few,an increasing number of people leave their own hometown to struggle for a better life.However,as the number of cross-culture groups is increasing gradually,there is a common adaptation problem among cross-culture groups(Guo Jiajia,2013).The participants were 120 overseas students in China and 103 Tibetan college students in northwest area in China.From the perspective of cross-culture adaption,this study aims to discuss the interrelationship among cross-culture sensitivity,cross-culture contact,as well as cross-culture adaption,and further explore the internal mechanism of cross-culture contact's effect on cross-culture adaptation,namely,cross-culture sensitivity's intermediating role,further providing basis for overseas students and Chinese minority students to settle their adaption problem.Study 1 of 60 foreign students from the International Cultural Exchange Institute of a normal university in Northwest China,and the foreign students from the International Cultural Exchange Institute of a university in Lanzhou as the research object.The cross cultural contact scale,cross cultural sensitivity scale,social cultural adaptation scale and self rating Depression Scale were investigated.The results show that:(1)the quality of the contact dimension of intercultural contact and intercultural sensitivity dimensions(communicative focus,communication pleasure and confidence level,differences in communicative identity,communicative participation)was significantly correlated with the cross cultural adaptation between them.(2)using structural equation modeling(AMOS)and Bootstrap test,we can conclude that cross cultural sensitivity plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between the quality of cross-cultural contact and cross-cultural adaptation.Study 2,to study the Tibetan University Students from Tibetan culture area to Lanzhou in Northwest China as the research object of the study,130.The cross cultural contact scale,cross cultural sensitivity scale,social cultural adaptation scale and self rating Depression Scale were investigated.The results showed that:(1)the number of contact dimensions of intercultural contact and intercultural sensitivity communication participation,communication,communication pleasure confidencelevel are positively correlated with cross cultural adaptation is negatively correlated;contact quality,dimensions of intercultural sensitivity dimensions(communicative focus and communicative pleasure,communicative confidence level,difference identity,communication and participation)were significantly related to cross cultural adaptation between them.(2)using structural equation modeling(AMOS)and Bootstrap test,we can conclude that cross cultural sensitivity plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between the quality of cross-cultural contact and cross-cultural adaptation.Based on the results,some effective suggestions can be provided for the issue of cross-culture groups' adaption.Cross-culture groups' adaption should be enhanced by steering them to regular communication with main-stream culture groups such as communicative activities for the purpose of culture exchange.In this way,they were motivated to recognize and understand cultural difference,further respond deliberately to all kinds of cultural difference in the process of cross-culture,understand and savor cultural difference,and their own psychological endurance can also be enhanced.At the same time,their cross-culture sensitivity should be strengthened by cultivating their recognition degree,participation degree,pleasure degree,concentration degree and confidence level,and they also should be led to positive attitude toward cross-cultural difference,further to change their ways of thinking,action mode to form multicultural mentality.Eventually,their cross-cultural adaption capacity can be improved and they can adapt themselves to the life of destination(country).