The relationship between acculturative stress and acculturation: mediation by hope and moderation by cultural intelligence

The current study aimed to develop and examine a moderated mediation model between acculturative stress and acculturation, with cultural intelligence as a moderator, and hope as a mediator. A sample of 362 ethnic minority college students from 4 universities in Beijing, China completed a self-report battery that included measures of acculturative stress, cultural intelligence, hope, and acculturation. Findings indicated that (1) Acculturative stress had a direct effect on acculturation; (2) Hope partially mediated the association between acculturative stress and acculturation; and (3) Cultural intelligence buffered the negative effect of acculturative stress, and such that the indirect effect between acculturative stress and acculturation via hope was stronger for low cultural intelligence. The findings further improve the mechanism theory of acculturation and provide a basis for the application of stress regulation.