scholarly journals Behavioral Health Risk and Resilience among International Students in the United States: A Study of Socio-demographic Differences

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 282-305
Author(s):  
Youn Kyoung Kim ◽  
Arati Maleku ◽  
Catherine M Lemieux ◽  
Xi Du ◽  
Zibei Chen

Using a resilience framework, the current cross-sectional study examined indicators of behavioral health risk and resilience among U.S. international students (N=322) across key socio-demographic characteristics. A multimethod approach was used to collect data with both an online platform and paper-based survey instrument. Results showed that higher levels of acculturative stress were reported by older students, females, undergraduates, students who lived with their families, and those who had resided in the US longer than 2 years. Findings underscore the importance of culturally-relevant screening and prevention strategies that target resilience and other protective factors to reduce health risk and encourage well-being and academic success among international students.

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardaye R. Hansen ◽  
Yuliya Shneyderman ◽  
Gloria S. McNamara ◽  
Lisa Grace

Research shows that international college students experience high levels of acculturative stress, which can adversely impact their health and college success. The levels of immersion in one’s native culture and the culture of the U.S. may impact levels of acculturative stress in international students. This cross-sectional study examined community college international students (n = 243). Immersion in a student’s native culture was positively associated with acculturative stress, while immersion in the U.S. culture was negatively associated with acculturative stress. Students who spoke English as their first language and whose families moved to the United States experienced lower levels of acculturative stress. The results of the study imply that some international students may require more support in order to succeed in their college environment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwoo Song ◽  
Haejun Park ◽  
Changhoon Bang ◽  
Sohee Kim ◽  
Jaehong Kim

Upgrading firefighters’ life satisfaction can enhance their job skills, and contribute to their safety and that of the public. This study’s purpose was to identify general life satisfaction levels and national characteristics, including firefighters’ occupational issues in Korea and the US. The final sample sizes in this cross-sectional study were 1,523 for South Korea and 229 for the US. The findings were based on firefighters’ physical/mental health and satisfaction with occupational problems. To measure their life satisfaction, six dimensions were examined: social, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical, and occupational. The average satisfaction score of firefighters was 3.50 in Korea and 4.00 in the US. The US showed high satisfaction in most subitems. However, US firefighters showed low satisfaction in the physical context and Korean firefighters in the occupational context. Multiple regression analysis of the variables affecting firefighters’ life satisfaction showed that the occupational dimension was significant in both Korea and the US, and a similar analysis of demographic characteristics as independent variables showed that differences in satisfaction by gender were important in both countries. For Korea, the key variables were in the working hours section; for the US, in the specialty section. The results of this study should make it easier to identify and focus on the relevant areas of firefighters’ working lives in Korea and the US, thereby improving their life satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwoo Song ◽  
Haejun Park ◽  
Changhoon Bang ◽  
Sohee Kim ◽  
Jaehong Kim

Upgrading firefighters’ life satisfaction can enhance their job skills, and contribute to their safety and that of the public. This study’s purpose was to identify general life satisfaction levels and national characteristics, including firefighters’ occupational issues in Korea and the US. The final sample sizes in this cross-sectional study were 1,523 for South Korea and 229 for the US. The findings were based on firefighters’ physical/mental health and satisfaction with occupational problems. To measure their life satisfaction, six dimensions were examined: social, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical, and occupational. The average satisfaction score of firefighters was 3.50 in Korea and 4.00 in the US. The US showed high satisfaction in most subitems. However, US firefighters showed low satisfaction in the physical context and Korean firefighters in the occupational context. Multiple regression analysis of the variables affecting firefighters’ life satisfaction showed that the occupational dimension was significant in both Korea and the US, and a similar analysis of demographic characteristics as independent variables showed that differences in satisfaction by gender were important in both countries. For Korea, the key variables were in the working hours section; for the US, in the specialty section. The results of this study should make it easier to identify and focus on the relevant areas of firefighters’ working lives in Korea and the US, thereby improving their life satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-204
Author(s):  
Sheeba Joseph

Objectives: The current research focussed to explore the association of daily spiritual experience on the mental well- being of international students hails from Africa and pursuing studies in various higher education institutions in India. The research also tried to explore whether age and gender plays a significant role in the mental well- being of the respondents. Design: The study is an exploratory cross-sectional in nature. The research tool comprised of the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) along with the demographic details. Post reliability and validity tests, established scales are used to study the variable in the research. The data was analysed using Smart PLS SEM 3.3.2. Setting: The respondents comprise of international students hails from Africa and pursuing various under graduate, post graduate and PhD courses from various institutions at Bhopal, Delhi, Mumbai and Rajasthan in India.  The respondents include a cohort of 102 respondents who gave consent to be part of the study during first week of July to first week of August 2021 and were selected through purposive sampling technique. Main outcome measures: The research measures the association of daily spiritual experience and mental well-being during pandemic and also the coping strategies used by the respondents. Findings: The research report shows an insignificant relation of gender to the mental well-being whereas age reported a significant association. A significant association is reported between daily spiritual experience and the mental wellbeing of the respondents amidst pandemic situation. Conclusion: Pandemic outbreaks influences the mental well-being of individuals specially when they are away from the social support system. Hence counselling services and other interventions to cater to the needs of students requires a serious deliberation at the policy level.


2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 1086-1091
Author(s):  
Max Rubinstein ◽  
Stephanie Ruest ◽  
Siraj Amanullah ◽  
Annie Gjelsvik

We examined the association between having a regular primary care physician (PCP) and measures of flourishing and academic success in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We performed a cross-sectional study using data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health. Children aged 6 to 17 years with a diagnosis of ADHD were included in the study (n = 8173). The exposure was whether the guardian identified a regular PCP for their child. The outcomes were parental-reported measures of child well-being and academic performance. Among the study population, 8.9% reported no regular PCP. These children were found to be significantly less likely to finish assigned tasks (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.35-0.79), care about school (adjusted OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.38-0.92), and finish homework (adjusted OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.36-0.88). There were no differences in other examined outcomes. Enhancing longitudinal care for this population may optimize their academic performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Li Yue Qi ◽  
Samsilah Roslan ◽  
Zeinab Zaremohzzabieh

Abstract: International students are a significant resource for many host countries because they increase cultural diversity within the community, offer talent and innovation to universities, and make notable economic contributions. Many studies, however, have shown that international students have lower psychological well-being. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the associations between psychological well-being as a dependent variable and perceived social support as an independent variable, and test the mediating roles of resiliency and spirituality in the link between perceived social support and psychological well-being. This is a cross-sectional study with a random sampling method. A total of 300 Chinese international students in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) participated in this study and completed four questionnaires, namely the Perceived Social Support scale, Psychological Well-being scale, the Spiritual Values scale, and Connor-Davidson Resilience scale. The results from PLS-SEM showed that greater levels of social support are associated with greater levels of psychological well-being. Resiliency and spirituality partially mediated the relationship between social support and psychological well-being. The findings of this study not only revealed an association between perceived social support and psychological well-being among Chinese international students in Malaysia but also expanded our knowledge of the mediating roles of resilience and spirituality in the relationship.   Keywords: International students, Perceived social support, Psychological well-being, Resiliency, Spirituality.


2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Atri ◽  
Manoj Sharma

Migration predisposes international students to problems related to mental health. Students from Asia experience a totally different culture when they move to the United States. Within Asia there are several heterogeneous subgroups and one such group is that of South Asians or the students from the Indian Subcontinent that share somewhat similar culture. Often due to achievement of academic success this group is considered a “model minority” group but that is not the case when we see mental health issues. Hence, the purpose of this study was to identify predictors of mental health and psychological well being in the migrant student populations from South Asia and design recommendations for a health education intervention for this population. An extensive search of CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, and Google scholar was done. It was found that predictors have been classified into three main research domains: personal growth, subjective well being, and those related to stress resistant personality. A more pragmatic classification was done that classified the factors into easily modifiable and non modifiable groups with a further break down into individual and environmental factors. For designing health education interventions modifiable individual level modifiable constructs such as acculturation, competence, coping, English proficiency, life satisfaction, religiosity, self esteem, social efficacy, and social support, must be targeted one at a time. Efforts must be made to build skills as opposed to mere cognitive development and the health education interventions must be culturally competent.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan

Background: Educational attainment is one of the strongest determinants of subjective health and well-being. Minorities’ Diminished Returns, however, suggests that such an effect may be smaller for the members of racial/ethnic minorities such as Blacks and Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic Whites. Only one study has previously shown that minorities’ diminished returns may also apply to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals; however, that study has focused on other outcomes (i.e., obesity). Aims: To compare LGB and non-LGB American adults for the effects of educational attainment on subjective health and well-being. Methods: This cross-sectional study used baseline data of 31,480 adults in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH, 2013), a nationally representative study in the United States. The independent variable was educational attainment. The dependent variable was subjective health and well-being, measured using four items. Race, ethnicity, age, gender, poverty status, and employment were the covariates. LGB status was the moderator. Results: Overall, individuals with higher educational attainment had better subjective health and well-being. We found a significant interaction between LGB status and educational attainment which was suggestive of that the boosting effect of high educational attainment on better subjective health and well-being was systemically smaller for LGB than non-LGB individuals. Conclusions: In the United States, highly educated LGB adults experience poor subjective health and well-being, a status that is disproportionate to their educational attainment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-305
Author(s):  
Oluwasola Stephen Ayosanmi ◽  
Lorette Oden ◽  
Titilope Ayosanmi ◽  
Babatunde Y. Alli ◽  
Mei Wen ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: HIV transmission from persons unaware of their HIV status occurs more commonly than those who are aware of their status. Knowledge of one’s HIV status may encourage preventive behaviors. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many international students may be willing to accept HIV screening, but empirical evidence to support this claim is lacking. We sought to determine the willingness of international students in the United States (US) to accept HIV screening, if offered. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using an online survey of international students at Western Illinois University, USA. The independent variable was the sociodemographic data of our participants; the dependent variable was the acceptance of HIV screening. The covariates were knowledge about HIV and the factors associated with the acceptance of the screening. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were conducted. Results: A total of 185 respondents out of 491 students participated in the online survey. Of these, 107 (57.8%) were males, and 78 (42.8%) were females. Most of the respondents were from Asian countries (64.9%) and African countries (24.9%). The prevalence of acceptance of HIV screening was 74%. Among participants willing to accept screening, if offered, 90% perceived screening would be beneficial to their health. Meanwhile, 83% of those who would refuse the screening were not sexually active. Conclusion and Global Health Implications: Many international students may be interested in getting HIV screening if offered. Awareness of the benefits of HIV screening may influence the decision to screen. Findings may inform further studies that will lead to policy formulations for the health of international students in the US. Key words: • HIV Screening • HIV Acceptability • International Students • College Students   Copyright © 2020 Ayosanmi et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unre-stricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.


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