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The present study integrated acculturation theory and the J‐curve model of cross‐cultural adjustment to explore the relationships among culture shock, loneliness, and life satisfaction among Chinese university students enrolled in Mandarin‐medium programs (MMPs) in Thailand. A total of 449 valid questionnaire responses were collected. Structural equation modeling confirmed that loneliness mediated the relationship between culture shock and life satisfaction. Furthermore, a multigroup analysis of length of residence in Thailand revealed that loneliness had partial and full mediating effects on the relationship between culture shock and life satisfaction for students who had been living in Thailand for 0–6 and 7–18 months, respectively. This cross‐sectional comparison revealed a direct correlation between culture shock and life satisfaction in the shorter residence group and an indirect correlation—through loneliness—in both length‐of‐residence groups. Overall, the results suggest that Thai educational administrators should implement targeted strategies to assist Chinese students in MMPs in managing culture shock.
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Yang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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