Life satisfaction and acculturation of European students in the Chinese context

The study investigates how European students perceive their life satisfaction during acculturation in China and identifies the factors shaping that satisfaction. International students are a key sojourning group whose subjective well-being, including life satisfaction, is affected by adaptation stressors in host countries. Although European students form a substantial share of international students in China, prior work has largely been theoretical or has subsumed Europeans within broader samples, leaving limited empirical evidence specific to this group. Addressing this gap, the authors undertake qualitative interviews to provide nuanced insights into European students’ lived experiences, focusing on the importance of life satisfaction as a component of psychological well-being and its relevance for international education policy and support in China.

Acculturation is defined as cultural and psychological changes arising from sustained intercultural contact (Redfield et al., 1936; Berry, 2003; Graves, 1967). Within psychology, research emphasizes individual-level changes and subjective well-being indicators—psychological distress, emotion, acceptance, and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is a global assessment of quality of life based on personal standards (Shin & Johnson, 1978; Diener et al., 1985) and is commonly measured via validated scales or single global questions. Studies on international students show that higher life satisfaction supports psychological acculturation and is influenced by social support, academic performance, lifestyle, language proficiency, interpersonal communication, and health. Qualitative work has also highlighted teaching quality, campus experience, services, discrimination, and employment guidance as determinants. In China, prior research has touched on factors such as language barriers, education difficulties, loneliness, discrimination, practical challenges, Chinese food, transportation, and pricing, but European students were often a smaller subgroup and some factors (e.g., social activity, academic performance, consumption, safety) were not comprehensively covered. The present study extends this literature by focusing empirically on European students in China.

Design and setting: Qualitative study with three rounds of semi-structured interviews over 10 months in 2021 (February–December) in China. Purposive sampling targeted four cities with substantial and diverse international student populations: Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wuhan. Recruitment occurred through university international affairs offices, key staff, and student international communication associations across six universities. Participants: Twenty-seven European students (codes Y01–Y27), 16 males and 11 females, aged 22–27, from eight countries: Germany (n=6), UK (n=4), France (n=4), Ukraine (n=3), Spain (n=3), Netherlands (n=3), Russia (n=2), Belgium (n=2). Residence: Wuhan (n=10), Shanghai (n=8), Beijing (n=5), Hangzhou (n=4). Length of stay: 6 months to 3 years (majority >1 year). Degree programs: Bachelor (n=6), Master (n=16), Ph.D. (n=5). Majors included Corporate Management (n=17), Information and Communication Engineering (n=6), Chinese Language and Literature (n=5), Clinical Medicine (n=5), and Law (n=4). Procedures: Ethical approval obtained; participation voluntary with confidentiality assured. Three interview rounds: Round 1 in Feb 2021 (initial acculturation experiences and overall life satisfaction), Round 2 in Jun 2021 (recent acculturation difficulties and changes in satisfaction), Round 3 in Dec 2021 (evolution of satisfaction and future plans). Interviews were face-to-face in Wuhan and online (WeChat/Zoom) elsewhere, conducted in English. Round 1 lasted ~40–50 min; Rounds 2–3 averaged ~30 min. Audio was recorded and transcribed; total corpus 129,203 English words (~4,785 words per transcript on average). Interview prompts were informed by Appleton & Song (2008); Diener et al. (1985); Ehrhardt et al. (2000). Data analysis: Two strands using NVivo 12. (1) Sentiment analysis via Auto Code Wizard to classify references into four nodes: very positive, moderately positive, moderately negative, very negative; manual review to remove irrelevant references. (2) Grounded theory coding (data-driven): open coding generated 438 free nodes consolidated to 14 open codes; axial coding grouped them into four parent-nodes: Social activity and perceived school-related social support (153 references), Academic performance and language proficiency (114), Diet and consumption (90), Transportation and safety (81). Selective coding identified the core category: “The factors affecting European students’ life satisfaction in acculturation to China.”

Sentiment analysis: Moderately positive sentiments comprised 40% of total references; very positive 23%; moderately negative 21%; very negative 16%. Overall, positive sentiments totaled 63%, negative 37%, indicating generally high life satisfaction among European students during acculturation to China. Factors influencing life satisfaction (coding analysis): - Social activity and perceived school-related social support (153 refs): Positive influences included involvement in social interaction, good relationships with people, participation in cultural and physical activities, and strong perceived support from universities (coordination, supervisor guidance, and COVID-19 support such as PPE deliveries and welfare checks). Negative influences included “particular treatment” (e.g., being asked for photos) and dissatisfaction with accommodation (e.g., difficulty moving from double to single rooms). • Perceive support from universities: 42 references (27 files). • Participate in cultural/physical activities: 36 references (21 files). • Have a good relationship with people: 30 references (21 files). • Be involved in social interaction: 30 references (15 files). • Experience particular treatment: 15 references (12 files). - Academic performance and language proficiency (114 refs): Achieving set goals and having good marks/high GPA (each 39 references, 24 files) strongly boosted satisfaction. Improving Chinese (18 references, 15 files) enhanced daily communication and learning efficiency. Academic pressure (18 references, 15 files), especially among MA/PhD students, and the reduced effectiveness of remote learning during COVID-19 negatively affected satisfaction. - Diet and consumption (90 refs): Strong satisfaction with convenient mobile payments (WeChat Pay/Alipay; 51 references, 27 files). Food experiences were mixed, with many praising variety and taste (30 references, 24 files) and some feeling unaccustomed to certain flavors (9 references, 9 files). - Transportation and safety (81 refs): High satisfaction with safety (39 references, 24 files) and public transportation services (42 references, 27 files). COVID-related identification requirements impeded some ride-hailing app use for passport holders. Contextualization: Findings align with prior observations that European students adapt relatively well in China and may perceive lower discrimination than some other groups, while highlighting concrete institutional and contextual factors shaping satisfaction.

The findings directly address the research aim by showing that European students generally report positive life satisfaction during acculturation in China, with 63% positive sentiment. The analysis elucidates how specific domains—university social support and activities, academic performance and language proficiency, consumption conveniences (mobile payments), diet, transportation, and safety—contribute to this satisfaction. Conversely, academic pressure, particular treatment (e.g., unsolicited photo requests), accommodation frustrations, language barriers, and pandemic-related platform identification constraints undermine satisfaction. This nuanced mapping explains the balance of positive and negative experiences in everyday academic and social life. The results reinforce existing literature on the importance of social support and academic success for international students’ well-being and add China-specific contextual factors (e.g., mobile payments, public transport, perceived safety), offering actionable insights for institutions aiming to improve acculturation experiences. Moreover, the patterns help reconcile prior mixed evidence on international students’ emotional states in China by focusing specifically on European students’ experiences and supports.

Using sentiment and grounded-theory coding analyses of interviews with 27 European students in China, the study finds overall high perceived life satisfaction during acculturation and identifies key determinants: social activity and school-related support, academic performance, language proficiency, consumption and diet, transportation, and safety. The work contributes empirically to a literature that has often been theoretical or has aggregated European students into broader samples, providing China-specific, factor-level insights. Practical implications include strengthening university support (especially around accommodation and academic pressure), expanding cultural events to foster interaction, and initiatives to reduce instances of particular treatment and discrimination. Future research should test these factors quantitatively (e.g., transportation and safety) and adopt longitudinal or narrative designs to capture changes in acculturation and life satisfaction over time.

The study lacks a comprehensive longitudinal perspective on acculturation experiences over time, relying on three interview waves within one year. The authors also suggest the need for quantitative validation of certain factors (e.g., transportation and safety) in future research. Data are qualitative and not publicly available due to privacy/ethical restrictions.