Effects of cultural identity identifications in the relationship between social media use motivations and psychological adaptation of Chinese students in Malaysia

Social media has been deeply integrated into the lives of international students, serving as a powerful tool for their adaptation in the host country. However, the use of social media also has negative effects, particularly on psychological well-being. As the world becomes increasingly globalized and communication and transportation systems rapidly develop, the number of international students is growing remarkably. Consequently, the influence of social media on the psychological adaptation of international students has become a matter of concern. However, the relationship between social media use and psychological adaptation remains inconclusive. Moreover, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the influence of social media use motivations on the psychological adaptation of international students. Additionally, previous research has evidenced that the relationship is indirect, but limited studies have identified psychological mechanisms such as cultural identity identification. Chinese students have become the largest group of international students in Malaysia. Yet, there is a dearth of research examining social media use motivations, cultural identity identification, and psychological adaptation of this group in Malaysia. Therefore, based on the uses and gratifications theory and acculturation theory, the general objective of this study is to identify the mediating effect of cultural identity identification in the relationship between social media use motivations (information seeking motivations, social motivations, entertainment motivations, and acculturation motivations) and the psychological adaptation of Chinese students in Malaysia. An online survey was conducted using a multi-stage sampling method, and data were collected from Chinese international students at eight universities in Malaysia. A total of 438 self-administered questionnaires were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software and AMOS software. The results demonstrated that four types of social media use motivations can help Chinese international students improve their psychological adaptation in Malaysia. Moreover, acculturation motivations contributed the most. Likewise, two types of cultural identity identification also benefited psychological adaptation, with Malaysian cultural identity identification having a stronger contribution. Furthermore, this study reported an indirect mechanism whereby information seeking motivations and social motivations influenced psychological adaptation through Malaysian and Chinese cultural identity identification. Malaysian cultural identity identification can also explain how acculturation motivations influence psychological adaptation. Thus, cultural identity identification is an important mechanism when examining the relationship between social media use motivations and psychological adaptation. In view of the theoretical contribution, this study demonstrates the mediating role of cultural identity identification in the relationship between social media use motivations and psychological adaptation of Chinese students in Malaysia based on uses and gratifications theory and acculturation theory framework. The findings suggested that Chinese students can use social media purposefully to obtain a better psychological adaptation in Malaysia. Relevant departments and educators in Malaysia should appreciate the role of social media in helping international students have a better experience and enhance Malaysia’s competitiveness in the international education market.

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