“如果你感到孤独，感到不安全，这会影响到一切”：一项混合方法研究，探讨国际学生的住宿、主观幸福感和心理健康求助。
'If you are feeling alone and you are not feeling safe, it impacts everything': a mixed-methods exploration of international students' accommodation, subjective wellbeing and mental health help-seeking.
机构信息
Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University, Alphington, Australia.
出版信息
BMC Public Health. 2024 May 8;24(1):1262. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18691-8.
BACKGROUND
The international education sector is important not only to Australian society, but also to the national economy. There are growing concerns about the potential wellbeing challenges facing international students in their host country, owing to acculturative stress; including loneliness, isolation and experiences of racism. Risks include poor mental health and decreased likelihood to access support due to stigma, language and cultural barriers, not knowing where to seek help, and poor mental health knowledge.
METHODS
This study explored students' perceptions of their accommodation, subjective wellbeing (through the Personal Wellbeing Index, ['PWI']), mental health help-seeking and individual engagement with evidence-based everyday health promotion actions (informed by the '5 Ways to Wellbeing' model) through an online survey (N = 375) and three online focus groups (N = 19). A mixed-methods approach using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, regression analysis and thematic analysis, were used.
RESULTS
The PWI of international students in the survey was observed to be substantially lower (M = 60.7) than that reported for the Australian population (M = 77.5). Accommodation impacted on wellbeing (loneliness, belonging, connectedness) in a number of different ways including through location, safety, and shared accommodation. In terms of help-seeking, international students noted a number of barriers to accessing support for mental health: cost of accessing support, language and cultural barriers, lack of information on where to find support and stigma.
CONCLUSIONS
In the discussion, implications of the findings are considered, including that more could be done to shape policy and practice in service and facility provision around wellbeing, connectedness, and help-seeking for mental health support of international students.
背景
国际教育部门不仅对澳大利亚社会很重要，对国家经济也很重要。由于文化适应压力，越来越多的人担心留学生在东道国可能面临的潜在福祉挑战，包括孤独、孤立和种族主义经历。风险包括心理健康状况不佳，由于耻辱感、语言和文化障碍、不知道在哪里寻求帮助以及心理健康知识不足，导致寻求支持的可能性降低。
方法
本研究通过在线调查（N=375）和三个在线焦点小组（N=19），探讨了学生对住宿、主观幸福感（通过个人幸福感指数[“PWI”]）、心理健康寻求帮助以及个体参与基于证据的日常健康促进行为（受“5 种幸福方式”模型的启发）的看法。使用描述性统计、方差分析、回归分析和主题分析的混合方法。
结果
调查中留学生的 PWI 明显较低（M=60.7），低于澳大利亚人口报告的 PWI（M=77.5）。住宿通过位置、安全和合租等多种方式对幸福感（孤独感、归属感、联系感）产生影响。在寻求帮助方面，留学生注意到获得心理健康支持存在一些障碍：获得支持的成本、语言和文化障碍、缺乏有关在哪里寻找支持的信息以及耻辱感。
结论
在讨论中，考虑了研究结果的影响，包括可以做更多的工作来塑造政策和实践，以改善国际学生的福祉、联系和寻求心理健康支持的帮助。
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