Abstract
Identity gaps are an important theoretical construct for understanding the relationship between identity and health outcomes. Personal-enacted identity gaps, defined as the difference between an individual’s self-view and the self that one expresses in communication, affects the depression levels of international students living in the United States. This research aimed to examine the relationship between personal-enacted identity gaps formed through communication with Americans and depression, and to extend the findings by understanding the role of acculturative stress, and self-construals in this relationship. A sample of 173 undergraduate and graduate international students studying in the US (114 females and 59 males, Age: M= 22.26 years, SD= 3.8) was recruited to participate in the online study consisting of self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that higher levels of personal-enacted identity gaps predicted depressive symptoms, and that acculturative stress partially mediated this relationship as hypothesized in the moderated mediation model. However, the independent self-construal did not moderate the relationship between these variables. Further analysis showed that the personal-enacted identity gap did not predict depressive symptoms in the East-Asian sub-group in our sample. These results suggest that personal-enacted identity gaps work through acculturative stress and adversely affect the emotional experiences of the international students, specifically the non-East Asian sub-group. It may be beneficial to provide support to the international students on communicating with members of the host culture before their interaction, and to identify students who are at risk for depression through measuring personal-enacted identity gaps and acculturative stress levels.