Evaluating mental health awareness and attitudes among international students in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic

Autor: Shoko Teragishi, Honoka Kimura, Kei Namiki, Koki Yokota, Emi Kaburagi, Asuka Seko, Tamaki Hosoda-Urban
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Social Sciences and Humanities Open, Vol 9, Iss , Pp 100899- (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2590-2911
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.100899
Popis: Objectives: International students in Japan face unique mental health challenges stemming from cultural and linguistic differences, potentially accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research on the mental health of this demographic is scarce. This study aims to describe their mental health status, awareness of mental health resources, and attitudes toward seeking mental health support. Methods: This study conducted analyses based on data collected though an online survey at a national university in Japan during October and November 2022. International students were surveyed about their mental health status, awareness, and attitude. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were employed to examine the associations between survey responses and demographic variables. Results: Among the 116 surveyed participants, 6.9% reported experiencing poor mental health, 16.4% rated their mental health as fair, and 1.7% expressed uncertainly about their mental health status. Similarly, 4.3% indicated poor physical health, 21.6% rated their physical health as fair, and 0.9% expressed uncertainty about their physical health. Additionally, 16.4% felt that their mental health adversely affected their daily life and academics, and 12.1% believed that their physical health had a similar negative impact. Awareness of mental health resources was notably low, with only 25.9% of students being informed. Furthermore, limited awareness was observed among older students (χ2 = 8.176, p
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