Chinese International Students’ Face Concerns, Self-Stigma, Linguistic Factors, and Help-Seeking Intentions for Mental Health

Abstract

ABSTRACT Chinese international students (CIS) in American universities encounter serious mental health issues, and they also underutilize campus mental health care services. The current study examined several factors which result in this phenomenon, such as Chinese face concerns, self-stigma of seeking help for mental health services, as well as English proficiency and language discrimination. A survey with 433 CIS in multiple U.S. universities was conducted to analyze the relationships between these factors above, help-seeking intentions, and mental health problems (depression and anxiety). The SEM results suggested that face concerns increased the risk of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety and also increased self-stigma toward seeking mental health services. However, face concerns positively influenced help-seeking intentions. The self-stigma had a negative effect on help-seeking intentions. Perceived English discrimination increased mental health problems while English proficiency increased help-seeking intentions. Meanwhile, both linguistic factors above were significantly associated with face concerns. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed to investigate how to address mental health problems among Chinese international students.