Is Silence Golden? Chronic Stress and Psychophysiological Indicators’ Changes over Time in International Students: A Pilot Study
| Autor: | Iuliia Nikolaevna Muzychenko, Irina Aleksandrovna Apollonova, David Evans |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | English<br />Russian |
| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | RUDN Journal of Psychology and Pedagogics, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 128-145 (2022) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 2313-1683 2313-1705 |
| DOI: | 10.22363/2313-1683-2022-19-1-128-145 |
| Popis: | Most people assume studying or working abroad would be stressful - but would one ever think that it could be detrimental to the health? Stress literature relates cross-cultural transactions to the chances of gaining higher levels of chronic stress. This paper reports the results of two studies on international students in Moscow in 2018. Specifically, Study 1 assessed how cross-cultural transactions perceived to affect health state during the first 6 months of their relocation. Study 2 aimed to investigate if the psychological stress linked to relocation to a different country can possibly lead to psychobiological effects of chronic stress. In Study 1, qualitative methods were applied to conduct 21 interviews with international students. In Study 2, a longitudinal pilot study was conducted for 10 foreign students during the first 2-5 (M = 3.6) months of their relocation. Stress related to cross-cultural transactions was expected to affect subjective well-being and health variables. The health state was a relatively silent topic in the interview participants of Study 1. The results of Study 2 showed that the participants had changes in the resting heart rate (RHR) baseline. Perceived chronic stress related to cross-cultural transactions may affect psychophysiological state; however, the affect varies depending on a person. Further research is required for the data consistency and for identifying non-invasive objective risk markers and individual stress pathways, with the goal of identifying at-risk students and providing treatment options before any serious harm is done to their health. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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