An exploration of the relationship between religion and spirituality and acculturation stress among international students in the western Massachusetts

This quantitative study examined the relationship between religion and spirituality and acculturative stress among international students (n=38) in two colleges in Western Massachusetts. This study utilized three well-validated tools to measure acculturative stress for international students, religion and spirituality, and intrinsic religious motivation to test the hypothesis that religion and spirituality can help international students lessen their acculturative stress. The findings suggested no significant correlation between the variables, possibly due to a small sample size. The results showed that over 55% of students had some type of religious affiliation, and over 63% indicated they either attended churches or practiced meditation and prayers. The results also indicated a high level of acculturative stress from the participants in the study, suggesting over 45% of the students may be in need of counseling and psychological intervention. This study makes recommendations for attending to the mental health needs and acculturative stress of international students