DigitalCommons@Linfield

Reverse Culture Shock: A Phenomenological Study Exploring How College Students Communicate about Their Cross-Cultural Transition

Jereld R. Nicholson Library

This study explores common themes and generalizations about how students communicate their difficulties with reverse culture shock and readjusting to their daily lives back in the United States. College students spend time studying abroad and bring home their memories of experiences, people, and practical knowledge that will stay with them throughout their lives. They come home with changed identities and world views, so they have a difficult time reentering back into the United States. This phenomenological study aimed to discover the meaning of the lived experience after college students retuned back to the United States after study abroad. Three students participated in a phenomenological interview, which allowed them to talk about their lived experience. An analysis of the extensive interviews with students revealed the nature of the embodied experiences of the participants. The three general themes that emerged were: 1) feeling confined upon reentry, 2) frustrations over perception gap, and 3) disclosure as a function of relational intimacy and expressed interest. The findings confirm and add depth to previous research that has been done on this topic because they offer first-hand accounts of those who recently experienced reentry. Implications are also discussed.