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Annotated Bibliography
How does stress affect the international students studying overseas
Name: ________________
Instructor: _____________
Course: _______________
Date due: ______________
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Outline
Introduction:
Hook: Alot of research has been done for the stress that studying overseas can cause
Topic: How does stress affect the international students studying overseas?
Purpose: To see if cultural, social, language, financial, and academic barriers when studying
overseas can cause more stress for international students
Thesis: This paper will analyze about how international students have a higher chance to
experience stress when they are studying overseas due to the combination of cultural, social,
language, financial, and academic barriers.
Body 1:
Background of what stress is:
Definition:
Physiological disturbance or damage caused to an organism by adverse circumstances (Oxford
Dictionaries)
Main Causes:
•
Stress is generally caused by the various difficulties international students experiencing
when they study overseas
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•
Adjustment to new society can maybe very difficult
•
Can lead to psychological problems
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“It is stated, that psychological adjustment is strongly related to depressive symptoms and
somatic complaints among international students” (Sapranaviciute et al, 2012, p336)
•
“The accumulation of stressors over time depletes international students’ physical and
psychological resources, thus compromising their capacity to cope with the demands of
academic life” (Redfern, 2016, p282)
•
“The present study identified three major types of college stressors, including academic
hassles, personal hassles, and negative life events” (Li et al, 2005, p321).
Body 2:
Cultural and social barriers causing stress in international students:
•
In the articles from above, it also showing that the international students have trouble
asking questions in the class, asking other students for help with homework and also they
feel anxiety when they have to speak in a different language.
•
The culture differences are also very big between the host country and the international
students' own cultures.
◦ “These stressors are caused by discrepancies in cultural practices and norms between
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Canadian and Chinese cultures” (Flynn, 2013, p2)
•
Many international students have problem fitting in and have social isolation.
Body 3:
Language barriers causing stress in international students:
•
Language barriers are also very big because many students do not have the
communication ability such as domestic students to communicate fluently.
◦ “International students may experience a profound sense of loss as familiar ways of
behaving, routines, customs, and relationships also change” (Flynn, 2013, p3)
•
So it gives them a lot of stress.
Body 4:
Academic barriers causing stress in international students:
•
Finally, academic barriers can also cause the stress because due to language and social
barriers
◦ “China is by far the highest contributing country; Citizen and Immigration Canada
(CIC, 2010) reports that there were nearly 50,000 Chinese students residing in
Canada in 2009” (Flynn, 2013, p12)
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•
“Differences in values, language, and religious and political loyalties can be problematic
for international students in their relationships with host institutions, peers, and
instructors” (Flynn, 2013, p12).
•
international students sometimes do not understand what the teacher is saying but they do
not dare to ask because of different cultural values.
◦ “In addition to academic preparation students are requested to learn a new language.
Stress of international students is also provoked by academic cultural differences.
Furthermore, international students are under pressure of expectations of the relatives
back home” (Sapranaviciute et al, 2012, p335).
•
Due to the cultural differences, Chinese international students are highly stressed when
studying overseas because their families investing all their resources and time on their
child so he/she can have more opportunities when overseas
◦ “Chinese traditional culture places a strong emphasis on academic success, and as
such academic factors may be a large contributor to the psychological health of
Chinese international students” (Redfern, 2016, p281).
Body 5:
Financial barriers causing more stress in international students:
•
The international students also have financial problems and they are scared to not do well
in school and disappoint their families and parents at home.
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Conclusion:
•
The authors have also used the survey and research method to find out that stress levels
are higher in international students than the domestic students due to these factors.
•
“the importance and special attention that needs to be given to international students so
that they can more successfully adapt to studying and living in a foreign country”
(Sapranaviciute et al, 2012, p 340-341)
•
Based on the evidences from the researches, it is very clear that the combination of
cultural, social, language, academic and financial barriers can cause higher level stress
for the international students when studying overseas.
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Annotated Bibliography (How does stress affect the international students studying overseas)
Sapranaviciute, L., Perminas, A., & Pauziene, N. (2012). Stress coping and psychological
adaptation in the international students. Open Medicine, 7(3), 335-343. Retrieved from
https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/med.2012.7.issue-3/s11536-011-0161-7/s11536-011-01617.xml
This article from the book discusses when studying overseas, academic demands,
cultures, language problems and adaptation difficulties can create stress problems for the
international students. The authors created a study with 356 students and used a
questionnaire and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale to measure stress and
depression. The study showed that international students have higher chance to exhibiting
the stress but they also have developed different stress coping strategies when comparing
to the domestic students. When compared to domestic students, international students are
less likely to use instrumental or social support, and more likely to use religion or even
substance. This can also mean that it's due to less acculturation and more social isolation.
This is very useful for my idea because it supports my idea that the international students
have higher chance to have stress because of the different barriers.
Wu, H., Garza, E., & Guzman, N. (2015). International Student’s Challenge and Adjustment to
College. Hindawi. Retrieved 7 April 2018, from
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/edri/2015/202753/
This article describes the impact of going to overseas to studying for international
students. The authors pointed out that when studying overseas, international students
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usually experience many academic and social problems. Such as cultural barriers, social
isolation, academic challenges, and inability to fit in properly. The differences in
environment, setting, and culture can cause cultural shocks that lead to physical,
biological, cultural, social and psychological problems. In other words, it can cause a lot
of mental stress for the students. However, the author mentions a lot of ways to treat this
problem, such as counseling, special programs, and different treatment from school and
teachers. In my essay, I hope to use the research and ideas from this article to support my
topic that many international students experience stress due to the different problems
caused by the new settings, environments and culture.
Li, H., Lin, C., Bray, M. A., & Kehle, T. J. (2005). The measurement of stressful events in
chinese college students. Psychology in the Schools, 42(3), 315-323.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pits.20082 Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/620700825?accou
ntid=15182
In this article, the authors discusses the causes of stress for Chinese university/college
students. They discovered that the causes of stress is very similar to the causes for other
university students in North America. The authors conduct a study and discovered that
8% of Chinese students exhibited high stress, 74% exhibited low stress, and 18% reported
no stress. The study also showed that the stress was caused by the competition, the low
learning efficiency due to things not taught very well, and inadequate social skills. The
study also show there are 15 stressors, such as studying, careers, relationships, life
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pressures, financial problems, studying environments, and more. I hope to use this
research and the findings to help support my topic because stress can be caused by many
factors in the school.
Flynn, S. (2013). Making meaning from acculturative stress: Chinese international students'
experiences (Order No. AAINR91109). Available from PsycINFO. (1449313125; 2013-99190110). Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1449313125?acco
untid=15182
This article describes how there are increasing amount of Chinese international students
in Canadian Universities each year but the research has shown that there are a lot of
stressors that can cause stress. Stress can be caused by many things such as cultural
norms, linguistic barriers, and academic difficulties. However, although the stress can be
difficult for a lot of students, they have found ways to cope with the stress. Such as
creating meaning, self restructuring and situational coping strategies. I hope to use this
research for my essay because it explains many different causes for stress and the
different ways to cope with them.
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), 281-289. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12106 Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1832674815?acco
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untid=15182
This article discusses the different negative psychological symptoms in international
students when studying abroad in Australia. The authors used the Depression, Anxiety
and Stress Scale (DASS-42) to measure 201 undergraduate students. They found that
international students' stress levels fell under moderate and high levels compared to
normal and mild and moderate for Australian domestic students. Anxiety for international
students are also moderate and severe while mild and normal for domestic students. The
results also show that international students are more likely to have the stress and anxiety
problems because of culture problems and social problems. I plan to use this article as
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