The Relationship between Cultural Intelligence and Psychological Well-Being with the Moderating Effects of Mindfulness and Social Support: A study of Taiwanese students studying abroad

Abstract

noneGlobalization and the development of technology fostered the international interaction in education field. The number of Taiwanese students applying to study abroad gradually increased. Most of students put plenty of time, cost and efforts to learn what they desired from the international experience. However, whether the learning outcomes were positive or negative was associated with their current psychologicalcondition and therefore it was crucial for the international students. When it came to international students, getting adaptive to a new cultural environment was what they had to mainly deal with. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between the cultural intelligence and psychological well-being first. Besides, whether mindfulness and social support could serve as an individuals’ help internally and externally to strengthen the relationship was also discussed in this study. Quantitative approach and on-line questionnaire were applied in this study. Data analyzed was from 200 Taiwanese students who were currently studying abroad for at least six months. Then, IBM SPSS Statistics 23, was used to do the descriptive, correlation and hierarchical regression analysis. Results showed that cultural intelligence was positively and significantly with psychological well-being. And social support strengthened the relationship between cultural intelligence and one sub-dimension of psychological well-being, autonomy. Based on the results, school and organizations could prepare culture-related training before students or employees departed for learning. It was also important for them to maintain and develop a good social support network with family, friends and significant other in order to have a positive learning experience.