Page 16 - Never Too Far Away? The Roles of Social Network Sites in Sojourners’ Adjustment

Hofhuis, Hanke, & Rutten, 2019; Kim, 2017; Rui & Wang, 2015; Sleeman, Lang, & Lemon, 2016). A systematic investigation of these various social interactions (i.e., face-to-face and SNS) that could aid adjustment for sojourners is warranted. Thus, in answering the research question, it is important to investigate the interplay of SNS, and face-to-face social interactions, and their relative impacts on sojourners’ adjustment. Relationships, online and offline, are dynamic processes that develop over time. Consequently, it is important to examine why, how, and for whom SNS and face-to-face social interactions relate to adjustment. Corollary to the research question therefore are issues on possible intervening factors, directionality of association, and temporal precedence. Thus, this dissertation also aims to investigate the long-term and short-term effects of the relations of social interactions and adjustment using a model that accounts for intervening processes. Specifically, I will investigate the intervening roles of perceived social support and homesickness in the relation of social interactions and adjustment. Perceived social support and homesickness are two of the factors that are considered highly relevant in sojourners’ experiences (Adelman, 1988; Berry, 2006; Smith & Khawaja; 2011; Stroebe, Schut, & Nauta, 2015a; Thurber & Walton, 2012; Ward et al., 200; Van Tilburg, 2005).
To address the research question and the related issues, I present four empirical chapters that clarify the relevance of SNS use among international sojourners both in a broad relational context (Chapters 2 & 3: Family and friends), as well as in a more specific, intimate relational context (Chapters 4 & 5: Romantic relationships). In the first two empirical chapters, I tackle the issue of directionality and demonstrate the long-term and short-term differential impacts of three types of social interactions (i.e., SNS interactions with the home-country network, SNS interactions with the host-country network, and face-to-face interactions with the host-country network) on adjustment via perceived social support (Chapter 2) and homesickness (Chapter 3). In the last two empirical chapters, I compare the use of SNS for relationship maintenance in long-distance (LDRR) and geographically- close romantic relationships (GCRR, Chapter 4), and its implications for romantic relationship quality, via access to network relationship support (Chapter 5).
In the remainder of this chapter, I will clarify the main concepts, discuss relevant frameworks and theories on international sojourners’ adjustment from various disciplines, present the rationale behind a focus on SNSs, discuss the roles of SNSs in intervening variables such as: perceived social support, homesickness, relationship maintenance, romantic relationship network support; and provide a
14 Chapter 1