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.
In this project i explored the students data using PostgreSQL to find if 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.
(I have completed this project by curiosity as being a International Student myself i can relate with the conclusions and inference from the findings)
| 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) |
-- Code to view the data in students
SELECT *
FROM students;-- Finding the number of international students and their average scores by length of stay, in descending order of length of stay
SELECT stay,
COUNT(*) AS count_int,
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;Firstly lets take a look at the purpose of each test and the scoring factor to gain clarity
1)PHQ-9 Test (Patient Health Questionnaire-9): Purpose: Measures the severity of depression. Structure: Consists of 9 questions that correspond to the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder in the DSM-IV. Scoring: Each question is scored from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day), with a total score ranging from 0 to 27. Higher scores indicate more severe depression.
2)SCS Test (Social Connectedness Scale): Purpose: Assesses an individual's sense of belonging and connection with others. Structure: Typically includes multiple items that evaluate feelings of closeness, community, and social support. Scoring: Items are scored on a Likert scale (e.g., from strongly disagree to strongly agree). Higher scores suggest a greater sense of social connectedness.
3)ASISS Test (Acculturative Stress Index for International Students): Purpose: Measures the stress experienced by international students as they adapt to a new culture. Structure: Includes various items that assess stress factors such as cultural differences, language barriers, discrimination, and homesickness. Scoring: Items are usually rated on a scale (e.g., from never to always), with higher scores indicating higher levels of acculturative stress.
From the data gathered, we can infer that international students who stay longer tend to have higher average depression test scores and lower social connectedness scores. Interestingly, these students also show lower levels of acculturative stress, a challenge more frequently faced by those with shorter stays. This pattern suggests that students who are new to living abroad are more likely to experience culture shock and homesickness.