TY - JOUR AU - Savicki, Victor PY - 2010/11/15 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - An Analysis of Contact Types of Study Abroad Students: The Peer Cohort, the Host Culture and the Electronic Presence of the Home Culture in Relation to Readiness and Outcomes JF - Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad JA - Frontiers VL - 19 IS - 1 SE - Research Articles DO - 10.36366/frontiers.v19i1.274 UR - https://frontiersjournal.org/index.php/Frontiers/article/view/274 SP - 61-86 AB - <p>International educators have accepted the “contact hypothesis,” the premise that more student contact with a foreign culture is better.&nbsp;The current study examines this premise in more detail especially in regard to the “third culture” of American student peer cohorts, and the impact of continued electronic contact with student’s home culture.&nbsp; In general, study abroad students spend approximately twice as much time in contact with each other than they do with individuals from the host culture.&nbsp; Higher percentages of contact with other American student peers is related to lower readiness for study abroad, worse affective and behavioral outcomes, and different acculturative strategies.&nbsp;However, higher percentages of contact with the host culture is not necessarily related to better outcomes.&nbsp;Higher host culture contact is, however, related to better readiness, more functional coping strategies, and more active encounters with the host culture.&nbsp; Electronic contact with the home culture is not negatively related to study abroad outcomes, and may support a more effective appraisal of the study abroad environment.&nbsp; Higher percentages of contact with other American student peers by itself may not be the mechanism for difficulties that some students encounter; rather it may be a symptom of anxiety, negative expectations, and an imbalance of challenge over support.&nbsp; Implications for program design are discussed.</p> ER -