A recent study in the Asian American Journal of Psychology, authored by members of the Arcadia community, finds more psychological preparation–in addition to linguistic training–is essential in helping “parachute kids,” minors studying in the United States unaccompanied by their parents, prepare for their journeys abroad.

“The study is a culmination of 20 years of research and clinical work,” Dr. Cathy Lee, associate professor of Counseling and lead author, said. “I identify as a parachute kid myself, and have been working with this population in research and clinical work for the last two decades. My goal has always been to raise awareness on issues affecting immigrants in general, and parachute kids in particular.”

Tia Stauffer ’25M, a soon-to-be graduate of Arcadia’s Counseling program and Lindsay Murray ’24M, a recent graduate, joined Lee on the research team. They interviewed seven young former Taiwanese international students and nine supporting adults, including parents, teachers, a counselor, and student affairs staff. The researchers wanted to understand how to better prepare parachute kids prior to studying abroad and what factors helped or were barriers to their adjustment in the U.S. 

Psychological preparation includes teaching minors how to effectively reach out for support, providing them with accurate information about the new environment, and fostering a sense of open-mindedness. The study also highlights the importance of assessing the minors’ sense of agency, mental health issues, relationship problems, and their levels of cultural competence, as these are important indicators of their readiness for studying abroad.

“Our study illuminates the necessity of qualitative research in this field, and the practical applications and impact it can have on improving quality of life,” Stauffer explained. “There are layers of intersectionality within this demographic and access to resources is just one piece of the larger puzzle.”

With this new knowledge, the researchers have helped fill in some gaps in the literature on parachute kids. According to the team, the majority of literature until this point focused on the short-term impact of studying abroad unaccompanied by parents at a young age, and is based solely on the perspectives of the minors.

Stauffer and Murray see their careers benefiting from being part of this research team as well.

“I envision myself working at a college campus after I become fully licensed,” Murray said. “I can envision myself utilizing the knowledge I have gained from this research even more working in this environment, especially when working with any students who will be studying abroad to help prepare them, or any international students.”

“This study gave me a unique perspective of the role temperament and social behaviors can have in different transitional phases of our lives as well as greater insight into potential barriers my clients may face and the importance of establishing community,” Stauffer added.

For Dr. Lee, working on this project with Stauffer and Murray made the whole thing much more enjoyable.

“It was such a delight to work with Tia and Lindsay on this project,” she said. “They are both so thoughtful and diligent. Because it was a qualitative study, we spent a lot of time together collecting and analyzing data, challenging each other’s biases, and putting together the manuscript. Through this project, we really got to know each other’s educational and personal journey, and how those experiences affect us as researchers.”