SOFRIMENTO MENTAL: AVALIAÇÃO EM UMA UNIVERSIDADE AMERICANA MENTAL DISTRESS IN EXCHANGE STUDENTS: EVALUATION AT AN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

• Main Authors: Karla Jéssica Santos de Araújo, Andréia Moreira da Silva, George Martins Ney da Silva Júnior, João Batista Carrijo, Leonardo Ferreira Caixeta, Anisah Bagasra
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: UniEVANGÉLICA 2017-02-01
• Series: Revista Educação em Saúde
• Subjects: Mental Health; Psychological Stress; Social Adjustment
• Online Access: http://revistas.unievangelica.edu.br/index.php/educacaoemsaude/article/view/2018/1800

Objective: To verify the presence of mental suffering in international students at an American university. Methods: Field research, with a quantitative approach, that analyzed, through the Self-reporting Questionnaire 20, the factors that influence the adjustment of the students to a new culture. Results: 58% of the participants were male, 51% Asian. The prevalence of mental distress was 22% among women representing 89% of this number (p=0,001). The mean age of the participants was 21 ± 1,83 years and the average length of stay in the USA was 20 ± 17,1 months. The mental distress was found to be associated with the difficulty with the language and the nonparticipation in activities in College (both: p=0,01). Conclusion: Women presented higher frequency of mental distress more frequently and scored higher than men on the questionnaire, which confirmed what is said in the world literature. Moreover, facilitating improvement in the foreign language and encouraging participation in activities in College are strategies that can be used to reduce mental distress.