Development of a Scale to Measure Reverse Culture Shock in Fresh Foreign Degree Holders

The study was carried out to develop a scale for the assessment of reverse culture shock among foreign degree holders in Pakistan. For this purpose the study was divided into two phases. In first phase, on the basis of existing literature of reverse culture shock, five semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted with both men and women from different academic fields. As a result various themes were generated including work related problems, attachment with the host culture, social withdrawal, feelings of alienation, feelings of insecurity, attachment with home culture, positive regard and welcoming attitude of family and friends. Item pool was generated and sent for the experts' review. After receiving their feedback 70 items were finalized. In second phase, psychometric properties were determined by applying the Reverse Culture Shock Scale (RCSS) on 194 fresh foreign degree holders. Factor analysis revealed a unifactor solution for this scale. Content and construct validity, as well as split-half reliability were established. In addition, demographic differences were also explored. Participants who were single scored significantly high on reverse culture shock than married participants, while non significant gender differences were found. Age inversely correlated with reverse culture shock.