A Qualitative Approach: The Experiences of GCC Students in Ireland with Homesickness

Alothman, Ebraheem (2020) A Qualitative Approach: The Experiences of GCC Students in Ireland with Homesickness. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

This study investigates the experiences of students from countries in the GCC with homesickness studying in Ireland and explores the experiences of these students with homesickness that are unique to students with these cultural backgrounds. Participants in this study (N=12) were recruited via snowball sampling, and included participants from all GCC countries with the exception of Kuwait and Qatar. A thematic analysis of the Semi-structured interviews informs the discussion of this paper.
Experiences of participants with homesickness, such as symptoms, triggers, and developments it lead to, supports previous findings on homesickness in student populations. This study did however find increased feelings of cultural identity to persist following their experience with homesickness. Experiences of homesickness and living abroad unique to students from GCC countries were also found. These experiences included higher levels of responsibility stemming from the ease of life in their home countries, increased feelings of isolation due to the collectivist structure of their home societies, and religious factors that hindered opportunities to socialize with their western peers. This study helps to fill the gap in homesickness research on this particular cohort of the population and may better inform students and their governments on the importance of this issue.
Keywords: homesickness, university students, GCC, cultural influences

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology > Emotions
Divisions:	School of Business > BA (Honours) in Psychology
Depositing User:	Mr Kevin Loughran
Date Deposited:	24 May 2021 11:17
Last Modified:	24 May 2021 11:17
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/4833

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