When Managing Expatriate Adjustment, Don't Forget the Spouse

This article discusses research examining reasons for poor adjustment of an expatriate's spouse who relocates with them. The adjustment of spouses is measured by how well the spouse builds relationships with host-country nationals, how well the spouse adjusts to local customs and the culture in general, and the extent to which the spouse feels at home in the foreign country. Foreign language skill was found to be the factor that most influenced the ability to rebuild a personal sense of identity and achieve greater adjustment.