Psychological Outcomes and Associated Factors Among the International Students Living in China During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Bibliographic Data

ID15517828
AuthorsMd Dhedharul Alam (0000-0002-1813-5830, First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University), Jing Lü (0000-0001-5766-2775, First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University), Ni Li (0000-0003-1210-4993, Third People's Hospital of Hangzhou), Shaohua Hu (0000-0003-0570-670X, First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University, corresponding author), Yi Xu (0000-0002-9555-6145, First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume12
Pages707342-707342
Publication date2021-08-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2021.707342
PMID34483997
OpenAlexW3194382360
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited32

Background: The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a severe mental health problem for international students living in China. Despite the little information on the psychological impact on international students, we aimed to assess the psychological outcomes and associated factors among international students currently living in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 28, 2020 to June 12, 2020 on 402 full-time international students across 26 provinces in China. The frequency of symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, psychological distress, loneliness, and fear was assessed with the English versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), University of California, Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS), and Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S) scales, respectively. Results: The prevalence of symptoms of depression (73.4%), anxiety (76.6%), stress (58.5%), insomnia (77.6%), psychological distress (71.4%), loneliness (62.4%), and fear (73.1%) among international students during the COVID-19 pandemic was shown. The prevalence of moderate to extremely severe symptoms of all psychological outcomes was significantly associated with 26-30-year-old students, students who lived with roommates, and students who stayed in China shorter than 2 years. Participants in the central region reported significantly moderate to extremely severe symptom levels of all the psychological outcomes except fear symptoms. Univariate analysis indicated that a significant association of all psychological outcomes was found among 26-30-year-old students and students who stayed in China shorter than 2 years. Multivariate analysis showed that Engineering, Business, Social Sciences and Law, and Language students were significantly associated with the symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fear. Participants staying in China for shorter than 2 years were associated with a higher risk of all psychological outcomes except psychological distress and loneliness symptoms. Conclusions: We found a higher prevalence of psychological outcomes and risk factors among international students during the COVID-19 pandemic. We immediately appealed to university authorities, mental health professionals, and government officials to provide mental health interventions and strategies for their international students, particularly young, central region students, living with roommates, different study backgrounds, and short time staying during the pandemic

Anxiety · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Depression (economics · Disease · Distress · Insomnia · Loneliness · Mental health · Pandemic · Perceived Stress Scale · Psychiatry · Stress (linguistics · UCLA Loneliness Scale · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout · Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 · Medicine · Psychology · Internal Medicine

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