Psychological Aspects of Studying Abroad

The topic of this thesis is study abroad. The theoretical part presents knowledge about the process of adaptation in a new country and its culture; then it deals with acculturative and coping strategies, culture shock and its determinants and also reverse culture shock, which takes place after arrival home form a foreign country. It also introduces the age group of participants on study abroad (21 {--} 26 years old) from the developmental psychology point of view. Then it describes the already known correlation relationships between personality characteristics and some aspects of long term stays abroad. Finally, it outlines a personality profile of the ideal person for a long term study abroad. The research part informs the reader about knowledge we have found out from 3 research questionnaires that were completed by students before, during and after the experience of study abroad, and also knowledge we have gained thanks to interviews with the students. The main research areas are the following: the personality profile, changes of chosen characteristics that have taken place due to the experience of the study abroad, motivation, expectations and their fulfillment, process of culture shock and reverse culture shock