This report will show the psychological difficulties when international students study in Australia. It will consider how culture, communication, and racial discrimination among other factors in Australia that pose a challenge to international students studying in Australia. These factors pose a significant challenge to international students, and the challenges may cause psychological difficulties. Thereby, problems such as mental disorder may arise and affect the student's education. The research uses online materials to collect its data and also skimming through the articles to find the information required. The findings will help the international students find a way to cope with studying in Australia. Use of the data can also help in limiting adverse results often arising from coping strategies.
Challenges International Students Face In Australia
Introduction
International students in Australia face various difficulties while in the country. Therefore, increasing attention since Australia has been one of the nations that have the utmost number of international students. Nonetheless, Australia also reports a high number of people who have a psychological condition (Said, Kypri and Bowman, 2013, p. 935). Learners come from various parts of the world where practices and the environment may greatly differ from those present in Australia. Most of these challenges cause psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. Some of the difficulties that the international students face while in Australia include cultural conflicts, adapting to a new location, differences in communication styles and racial discrimination. All these elements cause psychological problems making the students seek coping mechanisms. However, coping mechanism such as increased alcohol intake may have further adverse effects on the lives of these international students.
Methodology
The process of obtaining data for the report involved searching on online databases for the relevant articles. The search involved using phrases such as cultural differences, international student difficulties in Australia and 'psychological problems for an international student. Skimming through the article helped in choosing the ones with relevant information to use in the report. The search resulted in 6 articles, and their notes were used in the development of the report.
Findings and Discussion
Various studies indicate that international students face challenges while undertaking their studies in Australia. These problems often cause psychological issues that increase risks of mental disorders. Some of the factors that present the greatest challenges for the students include cultural differences, communications problems, adjusting to new places and in some cases racial discrimination.
Cultural Conflict
One of the challenges that international students face while studying in Australia is socio-cultural differences. Students visiting Australia for studying come from regions with cultural practices that differ from those in Australia. The cultural values conflicts always present a challenge to international students. Learners who come from communities that value communalism always has trouble in Australia. According to these students, people should work as a group with the aim of having benefits for everyone. Therefore, they believe in working and studying together to achieve their goals in schools. Thus, they embrace collectivism and cooperation as part of the ways to achieve their goals even in schools.
However, communities in Australia often embrace the idea of individualism. Therefore, students from communities that embrace communalism and collectivism have problems dealing with the situation in Australia that has a conflicting culture (Yue and Lê, 2012, p. 120). The individuals from Australia value independence and may not be willing to work as a group to achieve their objectives. Therefore, international students will have challenges in dealing with conflicting cultural values while studying in Australia. International students have to develop ways of independent learning to help them adapt to the new environment. The situation often leads to shut off from meaningful cross-cultural interaction and lack of a sense of belongingness (Glass and Westmont, 2014, p. 106). This kind of situation can affect the performance of the international students.
New Location
Most of the international students also report cases where they feel lonely while in a foreign country. The problems are common in the initial periods when the student starts studying in the new country (Sawir, Marginson, Deumert, Nyland and Ramia, 2008, p. 149). Some international students studying in Australia also experience loneliness. The problem arises from individuals leaving their families in their native countries. When they get to a new environment, most experience relational deficit making them feel lonely. International students are at increased threat of developing mental problems (Forbes-Mewett and Sawyer, 2016, p. 666). The cultural difference may also contribute to the feeling of loneliness that has significant mental health effects on the international students. Studies already show that international students have these psychological stresses evident in their ways of coping (Forbes-Mewett and Sawyer, 2011, p. 2).
Communication Style
The style of communication is also another element that presents a challenge to international students. It does not rely on the fluency in the English language that is used in Australia. Nonetheless, some international students also face language barriers that affect their relations with the natives while in Australia originating from weak intercultural communication (Yue and Lê, 2012, p. 120). Even students who are fluent in English while in their native countries often experience problems with communication when they move to Australia. Communication style of people often relies on their culture. Students who come from cultures where people practice communalism and collectivism experience significant communication challenges when they move to Australia. Thus, the difference in culture causes varied communication styles. People in Australia have their communication style that may differ from the native countries of the students. During the students stay in Australia, they will face conflicting ideas on how to communicate while trying to adjust to the new environments. Such circumstances make them have psychological stress and make them feel lonely and homesick (Redfern, 2016, p. 2)
Racial Discrimination
Another challenge that some international students face while in Australia is racial discrimination. However, most of the incidences of racial discrimination occur while students are off campuses. The cases mainly involve insults with those not fluent in English facing the highest rates of racial abuse. Moreover, cases of racial discrimination are common among teenagers than other people in societies (Yue and Lê, 2012, p. 127). International students also note that the on-campus kind of racial discrimination is not obvious like the off-campus ones. Racial discrimination often makes the international students lack a sense of belonging while in Australia. Such circumstances often cause the international students to have psychological difficulties in their new environment.
Evidence of These Psychological Difficulties
Most of the international students who experience these psychological difficulties show signs of mental problems and try to find ways of coping. These students often show signs of depression in their daily lives. They contribute to high rates of depression experienced in developed nations such as Australia (AM, Davenport, Luscombe, Rong, Hickie and Bell, 2007, p. 1). One of the ways that these students try to cope with the psychological difficulties is through excessive consumption of alcohol. Studies have shown that many university students also show other signs of psychological difficulties such as anxiety, sleep irregularities, and eating disorder with women showing higher rates than those in men (Said, Kypri, and Bowman, 2013, p. 938).
Conclusion and recommendation
International students experience high rates of psychological difficulties while in Australia. The issue arises from many factors that increase their risk of mental problems. Cultural differences, variation in communication styles, racial discrimination, and being in the new location are some of the factors that increase psychological stress for the students. Most of these students often show symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorder due to psychological difficulties. Besides, some of these students seek coping mechanisms such as increased consumption of alcohol to deal with their psychological problems. The students from various cultures should try to understand the perspective and values of their peers to minimize barriers to intercultural communication.
References
AM, I.B.H., Davenport, T.A., Luscombe, G.M., Rong, Y., Hickie, M.L. and Bell, M.I., 2007. The assessment of depression awareness and help-seeking behaviour: experiences with the International Depression Literacy Survey. BMC psychiatry, 7(1), p.48.
Forbes-Mewett, H. and Sawyer, A.M., 2011. Mental health issues amongst international students in Australia: Perspectives from professionals at the coal-face. University of Newcastle New South Wales.
Forbes-Mewett, H. and Sawyer, A.M., 2016. International students and mental health. Journal of International Students, 6(3), p.661.
Glass, C.R. and Westmont, C.M., 2014. Comparative effects of belongingness on the academic success and cross-cultural interactions of domestic and international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 38, pp.106-119.
Redfern, K., 2016. An empirical investigation of the incidence of negative psychological symptoms among Chinese international students at an Australian university. Australian Journal of Psychology, 68(4), pp.281-289.
Said, D., Kypri, K. and Bowman, J., 2013. Risk factors for mental disorder among university students in Australia: findings from a web-based cross-sectional survey. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 48(6), pp.935-944.
Sawir, E., Marginson, S., Deumert, A., Nyland, C. and Ramia, G., 2008. Loneliness and international students: An Australian study. Journal of studies in international education, 12(2), pp.148-180.
Yue, Y. and Lê, Q., 2012. International Students' Social Engagement and Social Wellbeing in an Australian Regional Area. International Journal of Health, Wellness " Society, 2(3).
