Social Cognitive and Self-Construal Predictors of Academic Satisfaction among African Students Attending U.S. Universities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine select sociocognitive, environmental, and cultural factors that may relate to African students' academic satisfaction. The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) satisfaction model (Lent, 2004) was used as a framework to test the predictive utility of these factors with students of African descent. The study also examined self-construal as a predictor of academic satisfaction. Self-construal is the way one's thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are guided by one's relationship to self and others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). The present study revealed that the factors of the satisfaction model accounted for 59% of the variance in academic satisfaction in the African sample. The findings also suggested that self-construal does not influence academic satisfaction directly but rather operates through mediated pathways. Research and practical implications of the findings are discussed.