The Presence of Social Support among International Students in Malaysia: A Systematic Literature Review

The number of international students’ enrolment at Malaysian Public Universities constantly increasing in the last 10 to 15 years. This is aligned with government aspiration which is expecting to receive about 250,000 international students (IS) in the year 2025. Despite a hopeful increase in international student numbers, some international students reported experiencing adjustment problems and issues, especially in academic, psychological, and sociocultural aspects. However, it is believed that social support is one of the potential coping mechanisms that can help IS during their adjustment phase. By using a qualitative literature analysis, this paper report the research findings of Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to explore the role of social support in helping international student’s adjustment problems and issues especially during their adjustment period to home country. This search put social support in general as it can be from any sources such as family, peers, academic instructor, special person and society. The findings reveal that the presence of social support can give positive impact to IS especially in emotional, psychological and IS’s resilience in campus. It is no doubt that the presence of social support will enhance IS’s experience and quality of stay in host country. In a nutshell, social support networks are an essential strategy that can be used by public universities in Malaysia especially during the adjustment phase of IS.