Analysis of Mental Health and Impact Factors of International Students of Science and Engineering in China-Taking a University in Western China as an example

Abstract

To explore the mental health of international students of science and engineering in China and provide an empirical basis for psychological crisis prevention and intervention, Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90) was used to investigate 116 such international students in a university of western China and demographic variables including gender, education level, Chinese proficiency, and social support are analyzed. The results show that each factor score of SCL-90 is less than 2 points; the top three factors are obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depression, and others. The scores of each factor of SCL-90 are different and follow certain regularity with different demographic variables. Each factor’s female score is higher than that of male; Mental health status is positively correlated with Chinese proficiency and social support and negatively correlated with education level. The overall mental health of international science and engineering students is relatively good. Specific efforts should be implemented to decrease the prevalence of psychological disorders, and some associated mental health education should be carried out based on the characteristics of such international students.