Family Support in Managing Student and Spousal Roles

An Autoethnography of Married International Students

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Married international students frequently negotiate competing academic and family responsibilities while living apart from their spouses and children. This analytic auto-ethnography explores how transnational family support shaped the experiences of a Rwandan doctoral student in China living apart from his wife and children. Analyzing reflexive journals and field notes from 2023 to 2026, the study identifies four key themes: the benefits of emotional and practical support, the limits of digitally mediated support, and the fragility of remote support during crises, and institutional constraints on role management. Crucially, the study introduces the concept of presence-based strain—the unique distress caused by a physical inability to fulfill family responsibilities despite ongoing digital communication. This extends Role Strain Theory by showing that physical absence creates a distinct type of strain independent of time or energy constraints. Ultimately, the findings conceptualize family support as a dynamic, fragile relational process rather than a static resource. The study calls for more family-responsive institutional policies to support the unique role-management needs of geographically separated international students.