ATTENUATION OF INTERGROUP ANXIETY THROUGH INTERGROUP CONTACT AND INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY: INSIGHTS FROM ASIAN INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS STUDYING IN HUNGARY

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 181 - 203, 30.04.2025

Werede Gebregergis , Csilla Csukonyi

Abstract

International students are particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, often at rates significantly higher than those of their domestic counterparts. In light of these pressing mental health concerns, this study primarily sought to investigate whether positive intergroup contact and intercultural sensitivity could serve as effective strategies to attenuate intergroup anxiety among Asian international students studying in Hungary. The study further examined the students’ levels of intergroup contact, intercultural sensitivity, and intergroup anxiety. Participants were selected through convenience sampling from the general student population (N = 237) and completed self-report questionnaires assessing these variables. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, including frequency distribution, Pearson product-moment correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. The results indicate that while international students experience low to moderate intergroup contact with local individuals, they exhibit higher levels of intercultural sensitivity. Additionally, moderate levels of intergroup anxiety were reported during intercultural interactions. Importantly, the findings reveal that intergroup contact and intercultural sensitivity emerge as essential resources for reducing intergroup anxiety. These results underscore the need for higher education institutions to proactively foster intergroup contact and enhance intercultural sensitivity among their international student populations. The study also discusses implications, limitations, and future research directions.

Keywords

Intergroup contact, Intercultural sensitivity, Intergroup anxiety, Asian international students, Hungary

Ethical Statement

This study involving human participants has completed and fulfilled the ethical guidelines requirements. The participants provided written informed consent before taking part in the study and were informed about its objectives

References

• Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice: A comprehensive and penetrating study of the origin and nature of prejudice. Doubleday.
• Arde, B. O. Jr. (2018). Intercultural sensitivity of international students in a state university of the North. UNP Research Journal, 27, 1–17.
• Aydın, O. (2019). Local and international students’ experiences at a Turkish university: Social interaction between students. Journal of International Students, 10(2), 383–400. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i2.1067
• Bandura, Albert (1977). Social Learning Theory. Prentice Hall.
• Bentsen, B. M. A. (2022). Intergroup contact and negative attitudes towards immigrants among youth in Sweden: Individual and contextual factors. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 23(1), 243–266. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s12134.021.00837-x
• Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697–712. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013
• Britt, T., Boniecki, K., Vescio, T., Biernat, M., & Brown, L. (1996). Intergroup anxiety: A person × situation approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 1177–1188.
• Brown, L. (2007). A consideration of the challenges involved in supervising international students. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31(3), 239–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/030.987.70701424967
• Butz, D., & Plant, A. (2007). Perceiving outgroup members as unresponsive: Implications for approach-related emotions, intentions, and behaviour. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(6), 1066–1079. https:// doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.6.1066
• Castiglione, C., Licciardello, O., Rampullo, A., & Campione, C. (2013). Intergroup anxiety, empathy and cross-group friendship: Effects on attitudes towards gay men. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 969–973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.09.312
• Chen, G.-M., & Starosta, W. (1997). A review of the concept of intercultural sensitivity. Human Communication, 1, 1–16.
• Chen, G.-M., & Starosta, W. (2000). The development and validation of the intercultural sensitivity scale. Human Communication, 3(1), 1–15.
• Chen, H., & Hu, B. (2023). On the intercultural sensitivity of university students in multicultural regions: A case study in Macao. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1090775. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.109.0775
• Cruickshank, K., Chen, H., & Warren, S. (2012). Increasing international and domestic student interaction through group work: A case study from the humanities. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(6), 797–810. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294.360.2012.669748
• Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). SAGE.
• Forbes-Mewett, H., & Sawyer, A.-M. (2016). International students and mental health. Journal of International Students, 6(3), 661–677. https://doi. org/10.32674/jis.v6i3.348
• Gao, X., Takai, J., & Hu, X. (2024). Intergroup contact in Japan: An exploration of direct, e-contact, and mass-mediated modalities among Japanese and international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 98, Article 101920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101920
• Gebregergis, W. T., Huang, F., & Hong, J. (2020). The impact of emotional intelligence on depression among international students studying in China: The mediating effect of acculturative stress. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 79, 82–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.08.008
• Gebregergis, W. T., Kovacs, K. E., & Csukonyi, C. (2024). Exploring the levels of cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence among Asian international students. Eurasian Research Journal, 6(2), 29–60. https://dergipark. org.tr/tr/pub/erj/issue/84472/1476925
• Glass, C., Gómez, E., & Urzua, A. (2014). Recreation, intercultural friendship, and international students’ adaptation to college by region of origin. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 42, 104–117. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2014.05.007
• Gravetter, F., & Wallnau, L. (2014). Essentials of statistics for the behavioural sciences (8th ed.). Wadsworth.
• Gudykunst, W., & Nishida, T. (2001). Anxiety, uncertainty, and perceived effectiveness of communication across relationships and cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25(1), 55–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0147-1767(00)00042-0
• Hamdzah, N., Syed, S. N., & Hassan, R. (2020). Examining the level of emotional intelligence among semester one students in Universiti Teknologi Mara Pahang. Journal of Human Capital Development, 9(1), 33–46.
• Hammer, M., Bennett, M., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(4), 421–443.
• Harwood, J. (2017). Indirect and mediated intergroup contact. In Y. Y. Kim (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of intercultural communication. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• He, J., Song, X., Wang, C., & Zhang, R. (2023). Intercultural sensitivity as a mediator in the relationship between implicit intercultural identification and emotional disturbance: An exploratory study of international high school students. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, Article 1098671. https://doi. org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.109.8671
• Hendrickson, B. (2018). Intercultural connectors: Explaining the influence of extra-curricular activities and tutor programs on international student friendship network development. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 63, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2017.11.002
• Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviours, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.).
• Islam, M. R., & Hewstone, M. (1993). Dimensions of contact as predictors of intergroup anxiety, perceived out-group variability, and out-group attitude: An integrative model. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 700–710.
• Karyanta, N., Suryanto, S., & Matulessy, A. (2024). Psychometric characteristics of the intergroup anxiety scale among international students in Indonesia. Eduvest Journal of Universal Studies, 4(5), 3824–3837. https://doi. org/10.59188/eduvest.v4i5.1258
• Khuhlaev, O., Novikova, I., & Chernaya, A. (2022). Interpersonal mindfulness, intergroup anxiety, and intercultural communication effectiveness among international students studying in Russia. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 841361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.841361
• Kim, H. R., & Kim, E. J. (2021). Factors associated with mental health among international students during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), Article 11381. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111381
• Magsanay, M., Diamante, J., & Carriedo, J. K. (2024). Cultural values and intercultural sensitivity among college of teacher education students. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 50(3), 132–143. https://doi. org/10.9734/AJESS/2024/v50i31288
• Maharaj, R., Ndwiga, D., & Chutiyami, M. (2024). Mental health and wellbeing of international students in Australia: A systematic review. Journal of Mental Health, 16, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638.237.2024.23903 93
• Mak, A., Brown, P., & Wadey, D. (2014). Contact and attitudes toward international students in Australia: Intergroup anxiety and intercultural communication emotions as mediators. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(3), 491–504. https://doi.org/10.1177/002.202.2113509883
• McKeown, S., & Psaltis, C. (2017). Intergroup contact and the mediating role of intergroup trust on outgroup evaluation and future contact intentions in Cyprus and Northern Ireland. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 23(4), 392–404.
• Ng, S.-m., Lu, S., Wang, A., Lo, K., Chung, F., Hung, K., Xie, W., & Li, H. Y. (2023). Enhancing intergroup relationship between local and mainland college students in Hong Kong: An intensive contact-based intervention. Current Psychology, 42(36), 32076–32096. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s12144.022.04194-5
• Oduwaye, O., Kiraz, A., & Sorakin, Y. (2023). A trend analysis of the challenges of international students over 21 years. SAGE Open, 13(4), Article 215.824.40231210387. https://doi.org/10.1177/215.824.40231210387
• Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (7th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/978.100.3117452
• Pettigrew, T., Christ, O., Wagner, U., & Stellmacher, J. (2007). Direct and indirect intergroup contact effects on prejudice: A normative interpretation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 31(4), 411–425.
• Pettigrew, T., & Tropp, L. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–783. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.751
• Ramasubramanian, S., & Costantini, R. (2020). Intergroup contact. In Y. Y. Kim (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of media psychology (pp. 1–5). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/978.111.9011071.iemp0204
• Rienties, B., & Nolan, E.-M. (2014). Understanding friendship and learning networks of international and host students using longitudinal social network analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 41, 165–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.12.003
• Rodríguez-Izquierdo, R. M. (2022). International experiences and the development of intercultural sensitivity among university students. Educación XX1, 25(1), 93–117. https://doi.org/10.5944/educXX1.30143
• Sari, A., & Yalcinkaya-Alkar, O. (2022). Mediator role of intergroup anxiety in relationship between social contact, intercultural sensitivity and attitudes towards Syrians among Turkish local society. International Migration, 61(4), 257–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13097
• Segura-Robles, A., & Parra-González, M. E. (2019). Analysis of teachers’ intercultural sensitivity levels in multicultural contexts. Sustainability, 11(11), Article 3137. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113137
• Stephan, C. W., & Stephan, W. (1992). Reducing intercultural anxiety through intercultural contact. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 16(1), 89–106.
• Stephan, W. (2014). Intergroup anxiety: Theory, research, and practice. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18(3), 1–17. https://doi. org/10.1177/108.886.8314530518
• Stephan, W., & Stephan, C. W. (1985). Intergroup anxiety. Journal of Social Issues, 41, 157–175.
• Tang, L., & Zhang, C. (2023). Global research on international students’ intercultural adaptation in a foreign context: A visualized bibliometric analysis of the scientific landscape. SAGE Open, 13(4), Article 215.824.40231218849. https://doi.org/10.1177/215.824.40231218849
• Telaku, M. (2021). Intergroup contact, intergroup anxiety, and attitudes towards the opposing group in divided society. Psihologijske Teme, 30(3), 397– 420. https://doi.org/10.31820/pt.30.3.1
• Turner, R., Dhont, K., Hewstone, M., Prestwich, A., & Vonofakou, C. (2014). The role of personality factors in the reduction of intergroup anxiety and amelioration of outgroup attitudes via intergroup contact. European Journal of Personality, 28(2), 180–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.1927
• Vincze, S., & Bács, Z. (2020). International students in Hungarian higher education. Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, 14(3–4), 113–132. https://doi.org/10.19041/APSTRACT/2020/2-3/13
• Visintin, E. P., Brylka, A., Green, E., Mähönen, T. A., & Jasinskaja-Lahti, I. (2016). The dynamics of interminority extended contact: The role of affective and cognitive mediators. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22(4), 467–478.
• Wang, W., & Zhou, M. (2016). Validation of the short form of the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS-15). International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 55, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2016.08.002
• Wang, Y., Wang, X., Wang, X., Guo, X., Yuan, L., Gao, Y., & Pan, B. (2023). Stressors in university life and anxiety symptoms among international students: A sequential mediation model. BMC Psychiatry, 23(1), Article 556. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888.023.05046-7
• Wilczewski, M., & Alon, I. (2023). Language and communication in international students’ adaptation: Bibliometric and content analysis review. Higher Education, 85(6), 1235–1256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734.022.00888- 8
• Wu, J., & Rudnák, I. (2021). Exploring the impact of studying abroad in Hungary on entrepreneurial intention among international students. Sustainability, 13(18), Article 9545. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179545
• Xiao, M. (2024). Chinese international graduate students at Canadian universities: Language barriers, cultural identities and perceived problems of engagement. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(5), 491–508. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603.116.2021.1941318
• Ye, J.-H. M., Zhang, X. Y., & Wang, M. (2023). The relation between intergroup contact and subjective well-being among college students at Minzu universities: The moderating role of social support. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20, 1–13. https://doi. org/10.3390/ijerph20043408
• Yikealo, D., Gebregergis, W. T., & Karvinen, I. (2018). The level of stress among college students: A case in the College of Education, Eritrea Institute of Technology. Open Science Journal of Education, 3(4), 1–18.