The Impact of Cultural Intelligence and Psychological Hardiness on Homesickness among Study Abroad Students

Over the last decade the number of students studying abroad has increased 150 % to more than a quarter of a million (Open Doors, 2008). The programs in which these students participate are no longer seen as simply a campus extension of academic exercise, but as an overall educational experience that develops holistic life skills in the participants (Berg, 2003). Through their sojourns, students develop, among other traits, global competency, defined as a tolerance for ambiguity, intellectual flexibility, and an ease of conducting affairs in multicultural contexts (Proceedings, 2007). Because of the growth and impact of study abroad experiences, it is important to identify and evaluate factors contributing to students ’ success. Unfortunately, a survey of leading U.S. study abroad institutions found that 96 % of assessment instruments only gauged students ’ satisfaction as the single measurement of success (Berg, 2003). In contrast, the literature on international job assignments identifies psychological adjustment as a vital construct underlying the success of expatriate employee experiences (Selmer & Leung, 2003). Furthermore, personality characteristics or stable personal traits are considered among the most important factors affecting the psychological adjustment of expatriate employees, and thus their success (Huang, Chi & Lawler, 2005; Jassawalla, Truglia, & Garvey, 2004). Two of these traits that are especially appropriate in the study of successful cross-cultural adjustment are cultural intelligence and psychological hardiness. Below we introduce these constructs and present a rationale for predictions about their impact on successful psychological adjustment for study abroad participants. This paper makes three important contributions to the literature. First, we examine the construct of cultural intelligence in the study abroad context. This construct has been defined and introduced in the business literatur