Abstract
Objective : Problems regarding the mental health status of Chinese students in Japan have been receiving growing concern. The aims of this study were to clarify the mental health status of Chinese postgraduate students in Japan and to examine the psychosociological factors related to it.
Materials : The subjects studied were 267 Chinese postgraduate students who live in the Kanto, Tohoku, and Hokkaido regions of Japan.
Methods : The investigation was carried out using an unsigned self-describing questionnaire. It was performed from May to June 2005. The questions dealt with demographic information, the mental health status (General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) for neurosis and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) for depression), and psychosociological factors (daily life irritation, selfesteem, trait anxiety, and emotional support network) of the subjects. At first, we compared the mental health status by sex, and then examined the relationship between the mental health status and psychosociological factors. Finally, we tried to estimate the causation mechanisms linking the mental health status and psychosociological factors by covariance structural analysis.
Results : The prevalences of neurosis symptoms (GHQ) and depression symptoms (SDS) among the subjects were high. Both rates among the women were higher than among the men. An increase in the personal unease factor (decline of feelings of self-esteem, characteristic uneasiness) was shown in daily life irritation and the insufficiency of the emotional support network. Through these results, a causal structure model regarding mental health and psychosociological factors was obtained, using covariance analysis.
Conclusions : In this study, it became clear that a decline in the mental health status of Chinese postgraduate students in Japan has appeared conspicuously. The women showed higher rates of both neurosis symptoms (GHQ) and depression symptoms (SDS) than the men. In addition, the emotional support network relieves daily life irritation, reduces the personal unease factor, and brings about a positive effect on mental health.
