재한 중국인 유학생의 문화적응에 따른 스트레스와 식생활에 관한 연구

Abstract

This study examined the dietary behavior and stress according to the acculturation level among Chinese students. A total of 257 Chinese students were recruited and a questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The data were analyzed using SPSS (ver.21.0). The students were classified into two groups based on the cultural adaptation score: low acculturation group (LA, n=186) and high acculturation group (HA, n=71). The mean length of residence was 19.0 months for Chinese students, and most of them immigrated to Korea to obtain their academic degrees (66.9%). The Korean speaking ability of the HA group was higher than that of the LA group (p<0.001). Both groups recorded the highest stress on ‘class preparation in Korean’ (p<0.001). ‘Not having a diverse menu in university cafeterias’ and ‘missing family and friends in their hometown’ were high stress factors in both groups. In dietary behavior, 46.7% of Chinese students skipped a meal, and the main reason for skipping a meal was ‘not having enough time’. In the food frequency questionnaire, the HA group consumed more potato (p<0.05), radish (p<0.01), chili (p<0.01) and grape (p<0.05) than the LA group. This study shows that the low acculturation group was under more stress. This stress affected the eating habits. Therefore, a nutrition education program and a guide to reasonable dietary behaviors are needed. These result can to be used to develop educational materials of desirable eating behaviors for foreign students, and improve their quality of life by identifying the stress of Chinese students.