Subjective well-being of Chinese students at different stages of training in institutes of higher education of Russia and China

Abstract

The paper brings forward the results of a comparative study of subjective well-being of Chinese students training in institutes of higher education of China and Russia. The works of psychologists focus primarily on the problem of adaptation of foreign students.However, difficulties can arise and provoke stress in senior years of education. It is important to know how Chinese students cope with stress at different stages of training. The level of subjective well-being is a significant indicator of the success of coping with stress.The empirical study involved 366 Chinese students at the age from 19 to 25 years – men and women – first-year and third-year bachelor students of and first-year MA students of institutes of higher education of China and Russia. The Index of Well-Being Questionnaire (A. Campbell et al.), adapted by Yao Chunsheng, He Nailing and Shen Qi [19, 21] was a method of studying the level of subjective well-being.The results of the study showed that the students of institutes of higher education of Russia scored lower in the assessment of their subjective well-being than the students of institutes of higher education of China. The firsts-year MA students trained in China scored higher in the assessment of subjective well-being than the third-year bachelor students. The firsts-year MA students trained in Russian universities scored lower in the assessment of subjective well-being than the thirdyear bachelor students. The authors put forward a hypothesis that, if to compare with students studying in China, a relatively lower subjective well-being of Chinese students trained in Russian institutes of higher education concerned not only difficulties in adapting toconditions of living and studying abroad, but also stress about future employment. This stress was higher in MA students.