Cross-Cultural Integration through the Lens of Loneliness: a Study of Chinese Direct Entry Students in the United Kingdom

This study explores cross-cultural integration of Chinese top-up students in a UK university from the perspective of loneliness. Existing research on integration has underplayed loneliness. This study used semi-structured interviews to collect data at three key transition points during the top-up year. The findings suggest that students experienced loneliness both within and beyond their group, notwithstanding a number of reasons why they might be expected to be less lonely than other international students. Loneliness seemed to have a significant impact on cross-cultural integration, and participants were also unable to form strong bonds within their cohort of Chinese top-up students, and unable to experience healthy solitude. There are implications for the pre-departure preparation of such students, for the institutions hosting such students, and for responses to the social and emotional challenges they experience.