Hori Takafumi, Tachikawa Hirokazu, Ishii Terumi, Shimada Naoko, Takemori Tadashi, Lebowitz Adam, Asadas Takashi
Mental Health Service, Health Center, University of Tsukuba.
Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi. 2012;114(1):3-12.
With the expected increase in the number of international students coming to Japan as part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology's "300,000 Foreign Student (Global 30) Plan", the demands on university mental health facilities will also increase. However, the rate of mental disorders of recent international students has not been fully evaluated. As part of an initiative to establish effective treatment measures for the mental health of international students, we investigated the present status and recent trends of these students who visited the Mental Health Service (MHS) in the Tsukuba University Health Center. The demographic characteristics, pathway, stress, and diagnosis of international students who visited the MHS from 2005 to 2010 were investigated retrospectively based on medical records. The subjects were 59 international students (15 male, 44 female; mean age: 28.4). The consultation rate of international students was significantly lower than that of Japanese students each year. Although the rate is almost stable in Japanese students (2.1-2.5%), it has increased significantly in international students, from 0.5% in 2005 to 1.4% in 2010. A larger percentage of the subjects were from Asia (66%), compared to the former Soviet Union (10%) and Europe (7%). A greater proportion of the subjects were graduate students (67%). The diagnoses were as follows: depression (34%), adjustment disorder (32%), insomnia (15%), and schizophrenia (9%). The percentage requiring emergency consultation was 24%, including the most severe cases that had to return to their home country. Sixty-nine percent of the subjects stayed in Japan for more than 1 year. Half of the subjects decided to visit the MHS themselves. The results of the present study show that the consultation rate of international students was lower than that of Japanese students in spite of the "culture shock" experienced by international students. This result is in agreement with previous reports. Among international students, however, there is a trend indicating an increase of visits to the MHS in recent years, approaching the rate for Japanese students. Preparations for emergency consultation are still important.
随着作为文部科学省“30万留学生计划（全球30）”一部分来日本的国际学生数量预期增加，对大学心理健康设施的需求也会增加。然而，近期国际学生的精神障碍发生率尚未得到充分评估。作为为国际学生心理健康建立有效治疗措施倡议的一部分，我们调查了在筑波大学健康中心心理健康服务处（MHS）就诊的这些学生的现状和近期趋势。基于病历对2005年至2010年期间到MHS就诊的国际学生的人口统计学特征、就诊途径、压力和诊断情况进行了回顾性调查。研究对象为59名国际学生（15名男性，44名女性；平均年龄：28.4岁）。国际学生的咨询率每年都显著低于日本学生。日本学生的咨询率几乎稳定（2.1 - 2.5%），而国际学生的咨询率则显著上升，从2005年的0.5%升至2010年的1.4%。与前苏联（10%）和欧洲（7%）相比，更大比例的研究对象来自亚洲（66%）。更大比例的研究对象是研究生（67%）。诊断结果如下：抑郁症（34%）、适应障碍（32%）、失眠（15%）和精神分裂症（9%）。需要紧急咨询的比例为24%，包括必须回国的最严重病例。69%的研究对象在日本停留超过1年。一半的研究对象是自行决定前往MHS就诊的。本研究结果表明，尽管国际学生经历了“文化冲击”，但其咨询率仍低于日本学生。这一结果与之前的报告一致。然而，在国际学生中，近年来有前往MHS就诊的人数增加的趋势，接近日本学生的就诊率。紧急咨询的准备工作仍然很重要。
