Mental health and wellbeing of international students in Australia: a systematic review

Background: Concerns have been raised that international students are at high risk of poor mental health and wellbeing.

Aims: The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on the mental health and wellbeing of international students in Australia.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using ciNAHl, MeDliNe, PsyciNFO, and Academic Search complete using eBScOhost interface for articles published from 2000. A pre-determined set of eligibility criteria was used to screen articles and eligible articles were quality appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal tool. Due to considerable heterogeneity, the data was narratively analysed, considering the statistical significance and the text narratives. Nineteen studies (N = 19) met the inclusion criteria.

Results: Mental health issues experienced by international students included anxiety (2.4-43%, N = 5), depression (3.6-38.3%, N = 6), psychological stress/distress (31.6-54%, N = 9) and gambling problems (3.3-50.7%, N = 3). Factors affecting student wellbeing included loneliness/isolation (60-65%, N = 4), work/financial difficulties (15.4-95%, N = 4) and discrimination/safety concerns (9-50%, N = 3). Other factors affecting students included cross-cultural transition experiences, language difficulties, social interaction, university belonging, technology difficulties, self-harm, use of counselling services and mental health literacy.

Conclusion: International students in Australia experience various issues affecting their mental health and wellbeing. More effort needs to be made to better support students.