Prevalence and correlates of depression and anxiety among Chinese international students in US colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Previous studies showed that the COVID-19 outbreak increased the levels of depression and anxiety in heterogeneous populations. This study examines the prevalence of depression and anxiety among Chinese international students enrolled in US universities during the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies the associated factors, including habits, social and psychological support, sleep quality, and remote learning. Participants were recruited with snowball sampling through 21 Chinese international student associations in US universities. The survey consisted of demographic questions, the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and self-constructed questions on academic performance, financial concerns, use of social media, physical exercise, and psychological support. Cut-off scores of 10 were used for both PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to determine the binary outcomes of depression and anxiety, respectively. Bivariant analyses and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the associated factors. Among 1881 participants, we found a prevalence of depression at 24.5% and that of anxiety at 20.7%. Multiple correlates—including recent exposure to traumatic event(s), pandemic-related financial concerns, workload, social support, remote learning, willingness to seek professional help, and sleep quality—were identified. It is critical for future studies to further investigate this student population and for universities to provide more flexible learning options and more access to psychological services.

Identity negotiation of Chinese international students in Canada: A study on cosmopolitan post-graduation settlement

This study focuses on analyzing the acculturation of Chinese international students in Canada, emphasizing students' post-graduation settlement in China, Canada, or in other countries. Chinese international students commonly experience a multilayered acculturative adjustment when they are challenged by a new culture. In this process, they develop an identity negotiation that impacts their settlement into a new country. This study mobilizes four notions of acculturation (e.g., assimilation, integration, marginalization, and separation), to evaluate Chinese international students’ identity negotiation after university. This research uses 17 semi-structured interviews to understand how participants' identities were negotiated through their acculturative adjustment. First, the findings highlight the importance of career factors and family values in participants' settlement decisions. Second, the balance between Chinese identity and Canadian identity has some impact on student’s migration plans.

How Do International Students Study for Their University Degree Programme Using Technologically-Assisted Tools and Platforms?

Due to the current education trend, many students, including traditional-age, non-traditional, returning, evening, and adult students, move from traditional on-campus study to distance learning and online education. The current COVID-19 pandemic offers opportunities for these colleges and universities to expand their channel to international students who cannot come on-campus due to the recommendation of social distancing and the self-quarantine policy. However, it is important to capture the students' comments and opinions, particularly international students who are looking for the living experience in an overseas country. With the tools of qualitative inductive survey and interview sessions, the researcher collected 63 valid data from the Chinese international students. This study provided the blueprint for school leadership, department heads, policymakers, faculty members, and students who are interested in reforming the current curriculum and instruction.

Basic Need Satisfaction Intervention for Mainland Chinese International Students’ Adjustment to College

With an increasing number of students pursuing their tertiary studies overseas, ways to improve their adaptation into a new environment become of the utmost importance. By applying self-determination theory, the current research investigated the extent that a basic psychological need intervention can increase need-satisfying experiences and promote the adjustment of Mainland Chinese international students to college. In total, 55 participants were randomly assigned to an intervention or control condition. They completed questionnaires on basic need satisfaction and college adjustment before the start of the study, right after the completion of the intervention, and after a 5-week follow-up. Participants who received the intervention had significantly higher need satisfaction and adjustment to college than those in the control condition. The intervention effect was maintained after a 5-week delay. In addition, the results showed that the increases in psychological need satisfaction after the intervention predicted higher levels of students’ adjustment to college. Theoretical implications for the universality of basic need satisfaction to students’ well-being and practical implications for international education are discussed.

International Chinese Students in the UK: Association between Use of Green Spaces and Lower Stress Levels

The health benefits of urban green spaces have been found to vary for different populations, such as people of different socio-demographics or different cultures. Among these populations, one remains understudied although its numbers are growing: Chinese international students. Indeed, more and more Chinese students choose to go abroad for higher education but face specific challenges, often resulting in them experiencing high levels of stress and poor health. This study explores the link between Chinese international students’ use of local green spaces and the effect on their perceived stress and health. An online survey was created to collect data from 186 Chinese international students studying in Edinburgh, Scotland (UK). The data covered the participants’ reported health status and their perceived stress levels, the strategies they use when coping with stress, their awareness of the benefits of visiting green spaces as well as their self-reported use of and access to local green spaces. The findings show a significant correlation between access to and use of urban green spaces and the self-reported wellbeing indicators. Some of the barriers experienced by participants in visiting green spaces were also explored. By investigating the specific behaviors of this emerging and vulnerable population, this study expands the corpus of existing evidence for the role played by urban green spaces in supporting wellbeing. Some recommendations to support the health of this community using urban green spaces can therefore be proposed.