Podium Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Development of an Intervention Program based on Grit and Psychological Well-Being to Alleviate Acculturative Stress among Foreign Students (#54)

Felisse Marianne Z. San Juan 1
  1. University of Santo Tomas, Manila, NCR, Philippines


Studying in higher educational institutions can be particularly stressful, even more so if conducted in a foreign country away from familiar people and environment. The types of stress could be academic, financial or acculturative, and could develop into psychological illnesses if left unaddressed. This study aimed at proposing a psychological intervention program founded on grit and psychological well-being to alleviate acculturative stress among international students in the Philippines.Nineteen foreign students were selected as participants for the first phase of the studythat confirmed that grit and psychological well-being have a strong positive correlation (r=0.85). Results further showed, however, that grit and psychological well-being both have a strong negative correlation with acculturative stress at r=-0.90 and r=-0.80, respectively. Five participants from the original roster were randomly selected to join Phase 2 which involved a qualitative investigation of their experiences. The data were thematically analysed and generated the following themes:preparation, support, openness, and confidence. All these results were utilized in the development of an intervention program for foreign students.