Mexican Exchange Students and Their Impression Management Strategies in a New Context

Acculturation has been defined as the cultural contact that implies psychological and social adaptations in members of different cultural backgrounds. Culture has a clear influence in human behavior and varies depending on the culture of origin; in addition, cultural distance alludes to how similar or different two groups are on cultural dimensions, such as language and values. As part of the adaptation process, individuals intentionally modify the way they present themselves in order to create a positive image on others; this is called Impression management (IM). For the purpose of this study, several variables where analyzed to better understand the adaptation processes experienced by exchange students living abroad in order to accomplish a better adjustment to the new culture and life satisfaction. A sample of 112 Mexican exchange students who lived from three months up to two years abroad, answered a survey to analyze the relation between cultural distance with language, length of stay with life satisfaction, and country of destination with IM. The outcomes of the study reflect how the length of stay has a positive association with life satisfaction; on the other hand, differences in language increase the cultural distance perceived by non-native speakers in the host country. Lastly, IM does not vary depending on the country of destination. These results show how the length of stay and the improvement of language skills lead to a better and healthier cultural adaptation process, reflected on a higher life satisfaction of exchange students.