The Unique Stresses of International Students

International students come to United States to pursue better education opportunities. They study hard in class and join clubs actively. They try to understand American culture and become a part of local community. However, many of them are not happy. International students face unique sources of stress different from native students'. The “demands for cultural adjustment” may place them at a greater risk for various mental problems, which indicates that they need culturally sensitive counseling services (Mori, 2000). 

The first unique source of pressure for international students from non-English speaking countries is the language barrier. Academically, many international students cannot understand and articulate knowledge in English as easily as in their mother language. Low English fluency may affect their ability to study, which in turn negatively affects their psychological well-being (Liu, 2009). Moreover, language barrier brings international students pressure on social relationships because they cannot express themselves to native students as freely as they use mother language. When I was a freshman and attended a small writing class, I felt very touched by a classmate’s essay and I really wanted to express how I had similar ideas like hers. However, I could not express my feelings of sympathy exactly because only a few English words came to my mind. Finally, I just praised her essay without sharing my feelings and experiences. I lost an opportunity to communicate with someone who may have a lot of similarities with me just because of unfamiliarity of language. This kind of experience impedes me to get involved in social life on campus deeply and sometimes makes me feel lonely and helpless.

Cultural gaps also create unique pressure on international students’ social relationships. In moving to another country, international students tend to feel a deep sense of losing support after leaving their families and friends (Hayes & Lin, 1994). This hardship may bring them the feeling of anxiety and irritation (Pedersen, 1991). Furthermore, relationships seem to be much less lasting in the highly mobile society of the United States than they are in other cultures. When I discussed school life with Chinese classmates, more than three of them mentioned that friendships with native students are short and “superficial”. They described that native students are outgoing and easy to make friends, but they may forget you the next time they see you and it is hard to establish deep connections. Many international students grew up in environments with more intimate and permanent relationships, so they may easily misinterpret Americans’ sociable characteristics as offers of serious relationships, finally feeling disappointed. Meirong Liu (2009) stated that the loss of social support and lack of social connectedness contribute to international students’ accumulative stress which often accompanies emotional pain, such as feelings of powerlessness and loneliness.

While international students may be more likely to experience mental problems and need psychological assistance, however, the mental health services are highly underused by this population (Bradley et al., 1995). One hindrance is cultural understanding of mental health problems. In Chinese traditional culture, for example, mental difficulties are always ignored or even related to immoral thoughts. I was surprised when I saw one of my Chinese friends posting her experiences of finding CAPS counseling services in social media, because most people in my culture will try to avoid being related to “mental problems”. When some friends told me how they were depressed everyday and even cannot sleep at night because of study pressure and differences in culture, I always suggested them to talk to a clinician. However, they will feel uncomfortable and told me, “the situation is not so serious and I definitely have no mental problems! I just feel unhappy.” Many Asian countries, like China, still lack the publicity and education about the importance of mental health, so people will think psychological problems as the symbol of “abnormality” and “minority” unconsciously. Unlike Americans who emphasize mental health caring and treated psychological problems like other physical problems, some other cultures underestimate individual psychological problem and considers it is caused by phenomenological forces. As a result, some international students cannot distinguish psychological problems from depressed emotions and they have no awareness to ask help from mental health services.

Because international students are at higher risks of psychological problems and some of them are hesitant or even unable to seek services, increasing visibility and accessibility of counseling services become more important (Mori, 2000). The college should provide mental health services in different languages to encourage international students to express their problems more comfortably. S. Sue (1994) reported that education is one of the most productive strategies to modify international students' attitudes toward psychological problems. The counseling service and its advertisement should normalize the mental health services and prevent international students from interpreting their difficulties as “craziness”. International students should be more aware of their mental health conditions and understand that college services can help them study and live better.

When more international students come to study and live in American college, it becomes urgent to create a diverse and inclusive campus environment. The unique stresses of international students and their need for mental health assistance should be considered urgently and seriously.

References

Bradley, L., Parr, G., Lan, W. Y., Bingi, R., & Gould, L. J. (1995). Counseling expectations of international students. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 18, 21-31.

Hayes, R. L., & Lin, H. R. (1994). Coming to America: Developing social support systems for international students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 22, 7-16.

Meirong Liu. (2009). Addressing the Mental Health Problems of Chinese International College Students in the United States. Advances in Social Work, 10(1), 69-86.

Mori, S. (2000). Addressing the Mental Health Concerns of International Students. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78(2), 137-144.

Pedersen, P. B. (1991). Counseling international students. The Counseling Psychologist, 19, 10-58.

Sue, S. (1994). Mental health. In N. W. Zane, D. T. Takeuchi, & K. N. J. Young (Eds.), Confronting critical health issues of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (pp. 266-288). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Thomas, K., & Althen, G. (1989). Counseling foreign students. In P. B. Pedersen, J. G. Draguns, W. J. Lonner, & J. E. Trimble (Eds.), Counseling across cultures (3rd ed., pp. 205-241). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.