A Systematic Review on the Factors Affecting Chinese International Students’ Mental Health

Abstract

Psychological stress among college students is significantly higher than that among the general population, and the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of many college students. However, relatively little research has focused on Chinese international students’ (CISs) mental health in the USA. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that may affect Chinese international students’ mental health through a systematic review of the literature. We reviewed refereed empirical research articles published during 2010–2021 and explored the factors identified in these articles that affect the mental health status of CISs who are attending US universities. A total of 49 articles (31 quantitative, 15 qualitative, and 3 mixed-methods) that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed and analyzed. Through this review, we identified three main categories of factors: personal, environmental, and behavioral. We further examined specific factors under each category. Results demonstrate 104 personal factors, 68 environmental factors, and 18 behavioral factors that affect CISs’ mental health status. Findings suggest that many factors may trigger CISs’ mental health, but little was known about causal factors, which point to future research on intervention studies to identify causal relationships between variables. Practical implications are discussed.