Cultural Distance, Host Acculturation Orientation, and Psychological Adaptation among African International Students at Portuguese Universities

International students represent a significant sojourner group. Increasing international student numbers makes it ever more relevant to understand the determinants of their psychological adaptation. This research investigates the question of how perceived cultural distance (PCD) impacts acculturation variables (social contact with host nationals and host national identity) and outcomes such as saudade and life satisfaction among African international students. The sample comprised 422 college students (195 from Angola and 227 from Cape Verde) who attended higher education in Portugal. Participants completed scales measuring perceived cultural distance, social contact with host nationals, host national identity, saudade, and life satisfaction. We conducted path analysis to test the hypothesized models. Perceived cultural distance was significantly and positively linked to saudade and significantly and negatively related to life satisfaction. In addition, social contact with host nationals and host national identity fully mediated the relationship of PCD with both indicators of psychological adaptation. Our findings indicate that taking practical steps to help IS enhance contacts with domestic students and host national identity may be effective strategies to support international students’ psychological adaptation. Suggestions for future investigation are presented.