Does going to university in a different country affect your mental health? A Japanese international university surveyed its students in 2018 and published a study the following year that was approved by several ethical and regulatory boards.
The study found that international students have a higher risk of mental health difficulties than the general population, and that social connectedness (belonging to a social group) and acculturative stress (stress associated with joining a new culture) are predictive of depression.
Explore the students data using PostgreSQL to find out if you would come to a similar conclusion for international students and see if the length of stay is a contributing factor.
Here is a data description of the columns you may find helpful.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
inter_dom | Types of students (international or domestic) |
japanese_cate | Japanese language proficiency |
english_cate | English language proficiency |
academic | Current academic level (undergraduate or graduate) |
age | Current age of student |
stay | Current length of stay in years |
todep | Total score of depression (PHQ-9 test) |
tosc | Total score of social connectedness (SCS test) |
toas | Total score of acculturative stress (ASISS test) |
-- Run this code to save the CSV file as students
SELECT *
FROM 'students.csv';-- Start coding here...
SELECT COUNT(*) AS total_records
FROM students;
SELECT inter_dom, COUNT(inter_dom) AS count_inter_dom
FROM students
GROUP BY inter_dom;
SELECT *
FROM students
WHERE inter_dom NOT LIKE 'D%' AND inter_dom NOT LIKE 'I%' OR inter_dom is NULL;SELECT "Region", COUNT(inter_dom) AS count_inter_dom
FROM students
WHERE inter_dom = 'Inter'
GROUP BY "Region";SELECT
MIN("todep") AS min_phq,
MAX("todep") AS max_phq,
ROUND(AVG("todep"),2) AS avg_phq,
MIN("tosc") AS min_scs,
MAX("tosc") AS max_scs,
ROUND(AVG("toas"),2) AS avg_scs,
MIN("toas") AS min_as,
MAX("toas") AS max_as,
ROUND(AVG("toas"),2) AS avg_as
FROM students;
SELECT
MIN("todep") AS min_phq,
MAX("todep") AS max_phq,
ROUND(AVG("todep"),2) AS avg_phq,
MIN("tosc") AS min_scs,
MAX("tosc") AS max_scs,
ROUND(AVG("toas"),2) AS avg_scs,
MIN("toas") AS min_as,
MAX("toas") AS max_as,
ROUND(AVG("toas"),2) AS avg_as
FROM students
WHERE inter_dom IN ('inter', 'Dom')
GROUP BY inter_dom;SELECT "age",
ROUND(AVG(todep),2) AS average_phq,
ROUND(AVG(tosc),2) AS average_scs,
ROUND(AVG(toas),2) AS average_as
FROM students
WHERE inter_dom = 'Inter'
GROUP BY "age"
ORDER BY "age" DESC;-- Find the average scores by length of stay for international students, and view them in descending order
SELECT "stay",
ROUND(AVG(todep), 2) AS average_phq,
ROUND(AVG(tosc), 2) AS average_scs,
ROUND(AVG(toas), 2) AS average_as
FROM students
WHERE inter_dom = 'Inter'
GROUP BY "stay"
ORDER BY "stay" DESC;MENTAL HEALTH
The analysis of the data suggests that international students experiencing longer stays show higher average depression scores and lower social connectedness scores. Remarkably, these students also demonstrate reduced levels of acculturative stress, contrary to those with shorter stays who may face culture shock and homesickness.
To improve the well-being of international students, the following measures are recommended:
Accessible Mental Healthcare: It is advisable for the Japanese government to provide affordable mental healthcare services specifically designed for international students.
Enhancing Social Connections: Programs like buddy systems should be implemented to encourage social engagement among both domestic and international students.
Student Clubs or Organizations: Creating clubs or organizations specifically for international students can provide a supportive network and a sense of community among peers with similar experiences.
Local Family Match Programs: Matching international students with local families can significantly ease their cultural adaptation.
These strategies aim to assist international students in their adjustment and mitigate the challenges of being away from home.