A COMPARISON OF THE ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS OF FOUR GROUPS OF IRANIAN STUDENTS AFTER THE 1978 REVOLUTION (COUNSELING)

The purpose of this study was to compare the adjustment problems of four groups of Iranian students attending an American university following the 1978 revolution in Iran. A basic premise was Iranian students are not homogeneous in either their backgrounds or needs; consequently, their problems of adjustment would vary according to their political orientation. A questionnaire developed by the researcher was administered through interviews and by mail to forty American University graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in Spring 1983 and Fall 1983 terms. All respondents were volunteers who were on F1 visas. The sample was evenly divided into four politically-oriented groups: Islamists, who adhere to the practices of the Muslim religion and are loyal to Khomeni and his government; Mujaheddin, who are pro-Islamic and neither support the Khomeni regime nor strictly adhere to the Islamic religion; Leftists, who have adopted Marxist or communist ideologies and view the Revolution as having failed them; Others, who are monarchists and pro-Shah, strongly anti-Khomeni, and oppose the present Islamic republic. The research approach was both a descriptive comparison and a case study method. The dependent variables were arranged in three categories: social adjustment, economic adjustment, and psychological (stress-related) adjustment. The basic findings showed there were varying degrees of social, emotional and psychological problems following the revolution among the four student groups, and adjustment was related to the students' political orientation. The Islamist were the most well adjusted of the four groups while those classified as Other were least well adjusted. The other two groups, Mujaheddin and Leftist, displayed adjustment patterns between these two extremes.