The review frames culture shock (following Oberg's classic 1960 definition) as a normative, transient disorientation that most newcomers overcome, and argues that adjustment is driven mainly by communication competence, willingness to learn the host language, mutual trust, and personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, low neuroticism) .
The paper is purely theoretical: no primary subjects, no new data, and 20 references dominated by pre-2010 work (Oberg 1960; Kim 1988/2001; Black et al. 1991). The authors acknowledge a shift from the traditional "overcome culture shock" model toward preparation and community engagement, but do not test this empirically . By contrast, more recent quantitative work shows cultural intelligence dimensions differentially predict sociocultural (R²=0.388) versus psychological (R²=0.151) adjustment in 426 Thai-hosted expatriates—granularity this review does not engage with .
The paper's most concrete quantitative claim—large cross-national trust differences, cited from Zak & Knack (2001)—is itself decades old; trust-growth claims (Fukuyama-style) face established endogeneity critiques the review does not address .
Bottom line: a readable undergraduate-level synthesis; claims are directionally consistent with the broader literature but lack falsifiable, contemporary empirical grounding. It would be strengthened by preregistered tests of whether language proficiency causally accelerates adjustment, and by integrating CQ-based SEM evidence .
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