Table 1. Regression estimates for the 24 Sojourner Adjustment Measure (SAM) items.
Considering your entire trip abroad, please indicate how much you agree with each of the following statements. “During my time abroad I…”
| Item | Factor | Estimates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standardized/Unstandardized (SE) | |||
| 19 | Had meaningful social interactions with local people | 1 | 0.90/1.03 (0.05) |
| 18 | Had deep and meaningful conversations with local people | 1 | 0.90/1.03 (0.05) |
| 11 | Socialized a good deal with local people from my host country | 1 | 0.87/1.00 |
| 4 | Spent a good amount of time meeting and conversing with local people | 1 | 0.84/0.96 (0.06) |
|
| |||
| 8 | Gained insight into the culture of my host country | 2 | 0.91/1.00 |
| 6 | Enhanced my understanding of my host country’s culture | 2 | 0.89/0.98 (0.05) |
| 7 | Actively tried to learn more about local customs and traditions in my host country | 2 | 0.88/0.97 (0.05) |
| 10 | Developed my own perspective of my host country | 2 | 0.58/0.64 (0.06) |
|
| |||
| 22 | Learned about the local language by communicating with local people in my host country’s language (or dialect/idioms) | 3 | 0.95/1.22 (0.07) |
| 21 | Used my host country’s language (or dialect/idioms) to communicate with local people | 3 | 0.92/1.18 (0.07) |
| 14 | Increased my understanding of my host country’s language (or dialect/idioms) | 3 | 0.78/1.00 |
| 23 | Had long conversations with local people using my host country’s language (or dialect/idioms) | 3 | 0.76/0.98 (0.08) |
|
| |||
| 13 | Subscribed to the values of my host country | 4 | 0.75/1.23 (0.17) |
| 17 | Felt like once I returned home I would maintain some of the cultural-specific practices and values I learned by living in my host country | 4 | 0.63/1.05 (0.15) |
| 15 | Behaved in ways that are typical of members of my host country | 4 | 0.61/1.00 |
| 24 | Subscribed to the religious and/or political beliefs of my host country | 4 | 0.46/0.75 (0.14) |
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| 12 | Socialized a good deal with other Americans | 5 | 0.94/1.00 |
| 5 | Spent a good amount of time meeting and conversing with Americans | 5 | 0.86/0.91 (0.05) |
| 20 | Had meaningful social interactions with Americans | 5 | 0.81/0.87 (0.05) |
| 16 | Actively tried to make American acquaintances | 5 | 0.59/0.63 (0.06) |
|
| |||
| 3 | Felt sad or depressed about being far from home | 6 | 0.86/1.51 (0.19) |
| 9 | Felt anxious or nervous about being far from home | 6 | 0.67/1.17 (0.15) |
| 2 | Felt out of place in my host country | 6 | 0.59/1.03 (0.15) |
| 1 | Missed my family and friends back home | 6 | 0.57/1.00 |
Note. Factor 1 = social interaction with host nationals, Factor 2 = cultural understanding and participation, Factor 3 = language development and use, Factor 4 = host culture identification, Factor 5 = social interaction with co-nationals, Factor 6 = homesickness/feeling out of place.
Each item was rated from “1 = strongly disagree” to “7 = strongly agree.”
All z-scores for unstandardized estimates are greater than 5.54 (p < .001).