Date of Award

January 2015

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Ayse Ciftci

Committee Member 1

Eric Deemer

Committee Member 2

Susan L Prieto-Welch

Committee Member 3

JoAnn Phillion

Abstract

Due to increasing number of immigrant and international students, examining factors that contribute to this population’s well-being is of outmost importance. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of bicultural self-efficacy in the relationship between cognitive-affective factors of emotional intelligence (EI) and ambiguity tolerance (AT) and psychological well-being. Immigrant and international students (N = 176) completed measures of Bicultural Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES; David, Okazaki, & Saw, 2009), Trait-Meta Mood Scale (TMMS; Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995), Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance Scale-II (MSTAT-II; McLain, 2009), and Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS; Ryff, 1989). The following hypotheses were tested: (a) EI, AT, and bicultural self-efficacy will uniquely and positively contribute to psychological well-being; (b) the association between EI, AT, and psychological well-being will be moderated by bicultural self-efficacy. The results revealed that bicultural self-efficacy and cognitive-affective factors were uniquely and positively associated with psychological well-being. Furthermore, bicultural self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between cognitive-affective factors and psychological well-being. Implications for practice regarding working with immigrant and international college student populations are presented. Limitations of the study along with future directions for research are also highlighted.

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