Acculturation Stress of Americans Overseas

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have travelled to foreign lands in search of adventure and financial gain. These people have worked for the U.S. military, the U.S. Foreign Service, the oil companies, and various other multinational corporations. Many have left the United States believing that adjustment would be no problem, and that the rewards far outweighed the risks. Some were led to this thinking by incomplete or incorrect orientation by their sponsoring organizations; others deceived themselves and their family members into thinking all would be just as in the United States; and still others had no choice since unemployment in the United States was the alternative to a job in Baghdad.