This study aims to analyze the influence of everyday discrimination experiences, including linguistic discrimination, non-verbal discrimination, and social exclusion, on the academic adaptation and social adaptation of Vietnamese international student...
This study aims to analyze the influence of everyday discrimination experiences, including linguistic discrimination, non-verbal discrimination, and social exclusion, on the academic adaptation and social adaptation of Vietnamese international students in South Korea, while also examining the moderating role of social support in these relationships.
The study was conducted with 373 Vietnamese international students studing at universities in Gyeongsan city, Gyeongsangbuk-do province. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and SmartPLS 4.1.1.4, employing the PLS-SEM method to assess both the measurement model and the structural model.
The findings reveal that all three forms of discrimination negatively affect both academic and social adaptation among Vietnamese international students. Among these, non-verbal discrimination is found to have the strongest negative impact, increasing psychological anxiety and reducing students' sense of belonging within the university environment. Linguistic discrimination negatively affects students' confidence in academic communication and social interaction, while social exclusion progressively diminish social connectedness and participation in academic and social activities over time.
Regarding the moderating role, social support is found to partially buffer the negative effects of linguistic discrimination on both academic and social adaptation, and also significantly moderates the relationship between social exclusion and social adaptation. However, social support does not show a significant moderating effect in the relationship between non-verbal discrimination and university life adaptation, suggesting that subtle and indirect forms of discrimination may require more structural and long-term interventions rather than relying solely on individual-level support.
This study contributes to expanding theoretical understanding of international students' adaptation to university life by examining the multidimensional effects of everyday discrimination experiences and the selective moderating role of social support. Furthermore, the findings provide important practical implications for universities in creating more inclusive and supportive learning and social environments for international students in the context of growing educational internationalization.