Academic Achievement and Socioemotional Adjustment among Chinese University Students.
Chinese Americans have been considered as high achievers and excellent students. In this study, the academic performance, majors, study habits, and socioemotional adjustment of 177 Chinese university students were examined. Data were collected through official university records, questionnaires, and inventories. Students were divided into three groups, depending on place of birth and length of residency in the United States. Results indicated that the image of the high achieving, well-adjusted Chinese student is tempered when examining criteria other than grade point average. Although grades received by the three groups of Chinese exceeded the university average, recent immigrants apparently used certain strategies to compensate for limited English proficiency by taking reduced courseloads, studying more hours, and limiting career majors. There also was evidence that the recent immigrants were less socio-emotionally adjusted than were other Chinese students. Implications for counseling and research are discussed.