scholarly journals Psychological Adjustment of Chinese PhD Students: A Narrative Study

10.28945/4649 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 595-614
Author(s):  
Chun Yan Yang ◽  
Li Bai
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies ◽  
International Doctoral Students ◽  
Chinese Doctoral Students

Aim/Purpose: International PhD students suffer a lot of stress. However, many studies about international students focus on identifying the stressors these students experience rather than the stress-coping strategies, and those that explore international students’ coping behaviour often report maladjustments. Background: This study intended to fill the research gap by examining the strategies that Chinese students employed to psychologically adjust to their PhD study. Methodology: Narrative inquiry method was employed to give voice to the research participants. Six Chinese doctoral students in social sciences in Australian universities were purposefully sampled and interviewed three times during their candidature in order to gain an in-depth understanding of their lived experiences of stress-coping. Contribution: This paper provides positive stress-coping strategies used by six Chinese doctoral students, which can be used by international doctoral students or those who work with doctoral students from abroad to improve their psychological well-beings. Findings: These Chinese PhD students adopted positive stress-coping strategies of regulating their emotions and retaining their motivation. They adopted illusory and interpretive forms of secondary control by reframing realities to obtain psychological peace when faced with stress. The ways that Chinese PhD students handled stress suggest that the Chinese moral education and the characteristic motivation for learning attributed them with positive personal characteristics to battle the adverse conditions. Recommendations for Practitioners: Institutions/departments can initiate support groups for PhD students from the same disciplines where students can express their stress, seek assistance from senior doctoral students and exchange their strategies. Institutions/departments can also support international doctoral candidates by taking a more flexible approach to policies and procedures concerning doctoral students taking leave both in terms of when it is taken and the duration. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can focus on international doctoral students’ positive stress-coping experiences as well as negative experiences to present a balanced picture of the doctoral journey. Impact on Society: The findings from this research on doctoral students’ stress-coping can equip doctoral students with strategies to handle their psychological challenges, which in turn may enhance their overseas doctoral experiences, reduce the dropout rates, and raise awareness of supervisors and institutions about doctoral students’ psychological well-beings. Future Research: Future research can examine the stress-coping experiences of other international doctoral students, focusing not only from the individual psychological angle but from the academic and social perspectives.

Stress coping and psychological adaptation in the international students

Open Medicine ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sapranaviciute ◽  
Aidas Perminas ◽  
Neringa Pauziene
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Psychological Adaptation ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Domestic Students ◽  
Language Problems ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies ◽  
Academic Demands

AbstractInternational students all over the world meet a lot of stressful situations due to different academic demands, cultural context, language problems and other adaptation difficulties. There is little evidence to explain what stress coping strategies are used by international students to cope with stressful situations and how they are connected to psychological adaptation. So the purpose of this study was to assess associations between psychological adaptation and stress coping strategies in international and domestic students. The study recruited 356 students: 258 host and 98 international students. Stress coping strategies were measured by Coping Orientation of Problem Experience questionnaire. Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was used to measure depressive symptoms. Stress related health complaints were measured using a scale devised by the authors of this study. The study ascertained that in stressful situations international students used different stress coping strategies when compared to domestic students. Moreover, stress coping strategies used by international and domestic students were differently connected to health outcomes. The study pointed out that by researchers and counselors’ special attention should be given to international students.

scholarly journals Experiences of Chinese International Doctoral Students in Canada Who Withdrew: A Narrative Inquiry

10.28945/4240 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 259-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Gao
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
International Doctoral Students

Aim/Purpose: For the purpose of better understanding the reasons of their withdrawal and experiences, this study seeks to elicit the voices of Chinese international students who have withdrawn from doctoral studies in Canada. Background: This study used Tinto’s institutional departure model as a framework. His model illustrates that the experience of individuals in that institution modifies their initial intentions and commitments. The scholarly literature on degree completion of graduate students and existing studies on experiences of international students in the North American context also guided the inquiry of this study. Methodology: This is a qualitative study with narrative inquiry as a means for investigation and exploration. Four participants were recruited by purposive sampling, and in-depth interview was used as the approach to collect data. Data were collected in Mandarin and were transcribed into texts. Two rounds of analysis were applied and then the findings were translated into English. Contribution: This study added information to the literature on international doctoral students’ experiences and explained how socio-cultural factors could impact doctoral students’ decision-making. Findings: The themes included: experiences with doctoral supervisors; partnership and the perception of gender roles; family of origin and the importance of education; and educational differences between China and Canada. Recommendations for Practitioners: At a practice level, universities could consider delivering series of workshops to help international graduate students start their journey. Departmental administrative bodies could consider building community for doctoral students and tracking their study paths to better assist students. Given the increased number of international students on campuses, it is time for university staff and faculties to become more aware of what a more diverse student population means. Professional development workshops would help to develop professors’ cultural awareness. Recommendation for Researchers: My research is an example of addressing translation issues in cross-language and cross-cultural settings. Qualitative research is considered valid when the distance between the meanings as experienced by the participants and the meanings as interpreted in the findings is as close as possible. Therefore, I would recommend in the condition that if the researcher and the participant(s) share the same language, the best practice would be to transcribe and analyze data in the original language to shorten the distance from the meanings that are made by participants and the meanings that are interpreted by the researcher(s). Language meanings do lose during the translation process; as researchers, we should try our best to present our participants as truly as possible. Impact on Society: The number of international students who choose to conduct doctoral studies is increasing every year. They are making contributions to the host countries in various ways such as contribution to the enrichment of higher education, the development of research, the promotion of global understanding etc. However, their study status and overall well-being may not be getting enough attention from both the scholarly research and in real practice. Thus, the experiences shared by my research participants who used to be doctoral students and left their studies halfway could add value and knowledge to the understanding of this group of students and to better assist the internationalization of higher education institutions. Future Research: Future studies could probe more on other ethnicities and cultures. Also, numerous studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between doctoral students and their supervisors; however, the incompatibility between doctoral students and their supervisors and coping strategies in that situation is still an area that needs more investigation.

scholarly journals The Stress Coping Strategies and Depressive Symptoms in International Students

2013 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
pp. 827-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sapranaviciute ◽  
Zilvinas Padaiga ◽  
Neringa Pauzienė
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
International Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies

Stress; Coping Strategies Among Saudi and Bahraini College Students

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Jafar Jamalallail
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies

scholarly journals Occupation and correlation between perceived quality of work life, emotional intelligence and coping strategies in university graduates

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-427
Author(s):  
Martha Luz Páez-Cala ◽  
José Jaime Castaño-Castrillón
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Quality Of Work Life ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies

Introduction: Emotional intelligence is a decisive factor for adaptation to the work environment.Objective: To inquire into the employment location and the correlation between perceived quality of work life, emotional intelligence and stress coping strategies in graduates of a university from Manizales.Materials and methods: Analytical cross-sectional design. From a population of 1 245 graduates, 149 were asked about their working conditions using the CVP35 questionnaire on quality of work life, the TMMS-24 questionnaire on emotional intelligence, and the CRI-Y questionnaire on stress coping strategies.Results: 88.6% of the respondents work; 51.7% of them have a full-time job. In the CVP35, 53% of the participants were classified in the “quite a lot” category for the workload domain, 63.1% for the intrinsic motivation domain, 51.7% for the managerial support domain, and 4% for the perceived quality of life domain. Regarding the TMMS-24 questionnaire, 59.1% should improve their perception, 48.3% have an adequate level of comprehension, and 51% have adequate regulation. The level of emotional intelligence positively influences both the perception of quality of work life (QWL) and the type of stress coping strategies that are used.Conclusions: Emotional intelligence has a significant influence on young professionals’ perception of QWL, and thus on their work performance; therefore, their comprehensive training requires the inclusion of emotional competences in the different curricula in order to counteract the negative effects of work stress to improve their perception of QWL, so that, this way, they have a better work performance and a higher productivity when they enter the labor market.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document