This project investigates mental health challenges among international students at a Japanese university, focusing on factors like social connectedness, acculturative stress, and length of stay. Based on a 2018 study published by the university, which showed that international students faced a higher risk of mental health difficulties, my analysis aimed to verify if data from international students at the university reflects similar mental health trends. Using PostgreSQL to query and analyze the dataset, I looked for associations between length of stay, social connectedness, acculturative stress, and mental health indicators like depression.
Methodology 📊
Using PostgreSQL, I structured my queries to extract, filter, and analyze relevant information regarding international students’ mental health data. Here is an outline of the steps I followed in analyzing the dataset:
Identifying At-Risk International Students:
- Filtered the dataset to focus on international students only.
- Queried for the average social connectedness score and acculturative stress score, examining how these variables correlated with mental health difficulties.
Assessing Social Connectedness and Acculturative Stress:
- Conducted queries to calculate average social connectedness and acculturative stress scores.
- Compared the results to mental health indicators, identifying patterns in students with low social connectedness and high acculturative stress.
Examining the Impact of Length of Stay:
- Segmented the international student data based on length of stay (e.g., less than six months, six months to a year, and over a year).
- Calculated mental health difficulties across different length-of-stay groups to see if duration in the host country had an observable impact on mental health outcomes.
Correlation and Trend Analysis:
- Ran SQL functions to find correlations between variables (such as acculturative stress and depression).
- Visualized trends in length of stay against mental health indicators to reveal any potential longitudinal effects.
Key Insights and Findings 💡
Higher Depression Rates in International Students:
- The data supported findings from the university's study that international students experience a higher risk of mental health difficulties than the general population.
- International students with low social connectedness scores and high acculturative stress scores had significantly higher indicators of depression.
Social Connectedness as a Protective Factor:
- Strong social connectedness was inversely correlated with depression indicators. International students who felt more integrated and socially connected reported fewer mental health issues.
- This trend reinforces the importance of social networks and community involvement in supporting international students’ mental health.
Acculturative Stress as a Risk Factor:
- High levels of acculturative stress were associated with increased mental health challenges, particularly depression. This trend was especially noticeable in students who had recently arrived in the country and were still adapting to cultural differences.
Length of Stay and Adaptation Over Time:
- Interestingly, students with longer stays (over a year) tended to report lower acculturative stress and slightly improved mental health indicators, suggesting that adaptation over time can alleviate certain stressors.
- This indicates that while initial adaptation might be challenging, students’ mental health might improve as they adjust to their environment.
Conclusions 💭
This project highlights the unique mental health challenges faced by international students and the impact of social connectedness, acculturative stress, and length of stay. The findings support the original study's conclusion that international students have higher mental health risks, and that social connectedness and acculturative stress significantly influence these outcomes. By validating the study's findings through SQL analysis, I have demonstrated that quantitative analysis using PostgreSQL can offer critical insights into mental health trends, helping universities better understand and support their international student population.
This project underscores the importance of targeted mental health resources and community-building initiatives for international students, especially during their initial adaptation phase. The results could be valuable for university programs aiming to support international students’ well-being and ease their cultural transition.
-- Run this code to view the data in students
SELECT *
FROM students;SELECT DISTINCT stay AS stay, COUNT(inter_dom) 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 LIKE 'Inter'
GROUP BY stay
ORDER BY stay DESC;