July 2011
The Expatriate Spouse: A Study of Their Adjustment to Expatriate Life
Despite the contributory role that the expatriate spouse plays in the expatriate’s adjustment process, investigation into the unique adjustment of the spouse themselves has, to date, received little attention. This thesis sought to further bridge this conceptual gap by examining two key areas relating to expatriate spouse adjustment, namely the unique relationship between the spouses’ adjustment and (a) their perceived availability of social support, and (b) their subjective well-being. Seventy seven expatriate spouses successfully completed an online questionnaire which asked them to think about their available social support, their adjustment to their host country, their life satisfaction, and their recent feelings and emotions. Data was also collected around what spouses found to constitute stressful and satisfying aspects of expatriate life.
The results of this study indicated that spouses’ perceived availability of socio-emotional and instrumental support was important for their general adjustment outcomes, irrespective of the influence of personality and socio-demographic variables. This elaborated on existing literature by confirming the relevance of social support in the face of these individual difference variables.
This research also went beyond current literature by investigating spouses’ adjustment in relation to their subjective well-being, with results indicating that adjustment is an important determinant of spouses’ effective mood regulation, even after accounting for the influence of support and personality variables. In light of the value placed upon successful life outcomes and general quality of life, this positive relationship reconfirms the need to ensure that factors important to the positive adjustment of the spouse are more clearly understood.
Given it’s relevance as a predictor of both spouses’ adjustment and their subjective well-being, it would appear that social support should continue to feature as a key consideration in expatriate management. Findings from the content analysis also further revealed the need for more research into additional areas which appear to be central to the spousal adjustment process including, but not limited to, obtaining employment, career maintenance, language competency, maintaining ties with significant others in home country, and the general processes surrounding relocation and resettlement.
In today’s global industrial and commercial marketplace, a workforce of expatriates is frequently cited as a competitive necessity. Failure of expatriates to successfully adjust sees international organisations potentially facing a number of direct and indirect costs. Because adjusted spouses are important resources in international assignments, understanding, acknowledging, and managing this potential asset, will no doubt assist organisations in their resolve to enhance expatriate assignment success, and compete more effectively in an ever competitive and demanding global marketplace.
To all the participants who took the time out to complete my questionnaire- without you, this study would not have been possible, so thank you!
Kind regards,
Clare Wilson
Email: clarewilson_nz@hotmail.com
