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ABSTRACT
The perception of being ostracized in a foreign country is a great obstacle that may lead to international students' strain. The present study aimed to understand ostracism from the perspective of adult attachment. We proposed a moderated mediation model in which attachment anxiety was hypothesized as an antecedent of ostracism and as a moderator of the ostracism - strain links. Participants were 119 international students enrolled at a large public university in U.S. Results largely supported the model, which showed that the attachment anxiety exaggerate the harmful effects of perceived ostracism on depression and physical symptoms. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.
Keywords: attachment anxiety, moderated mediation, ostracism
International students have the difficult task of adjusting to life in a different country, while adapting to a new academic system. In addition, they may also encounter perceived and/or actual ostracism from others. Individuals feeling isolated or ostracized may experience negative outcomes that can affect them mentally and physically (O'Reilly, Robinson, Berdahl, & Banki, 2014; Williams, 2002). People's perception of being ostracized and their reactions after perceived ostracism vary and may be partially explained by personality traits, such as the Big Five, narcissism, and trait self-esteem (Kong, 2016; Wu, Wei, & Hui, 2011; Xu, 2012). Since ostracism threatens international students' need to belong, we argue that attachment theory may play an important role in understanding social interaction threats. To our knowledge, attachment style as an antecedent of ostracism has not yet been empirically tested, and evidence for attachment as a moderator of the ostracism process has been inconsistent (Shaver & Mikulincer, 2010). As empirical research linking the two literatures has only been tested in the lab (Hermann, Skulborstad, & Wirth, 2014; Waldrip, 2007; Yaakobi & Williams, 2016), we undertook this research to test the relationship in the field.
The study contributes to the ostracism literature by investigating attachment style as an antecedent, as well as moderator, of the ostracism consequence. Our research also contributes to the expanding of the study of attachment style from its major focus on dyadic relationships to broader group relationships. Finally, our study investigates ostracism in a more realistic setting by using a sample of international students who may experience ostracism.
OSTRACISM
Ostracism is typically defined as being ignored and excluded,...