International students challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in a university in the United States: A focus group study

Abstract

Research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted college students. However, very few studies have attended to the specific plight of international students . The purpose of this study was to document challenges international students may have encountered while studying in the United States during the pandemic. Focus groups (N = 4; 13 students total) were conducted with students who were ≥ 18 years of age, enrolled at least part-time, on an F1 visa, and non-resident alien, who did not have parents/guardians living in the United States and were able to read and write in English. Focus groups lasted 1.5-2 h in duration and followed a standardized script. These sessions were audio-recorded and professionally transcribed. Two researchers performed qualitative content analysis. Six themes emerged from the analysis and included residency challenges, lifestyle changes, coping, negative affect, social support, and university structure. It appears that the challenges associated with residency and lifestyle directly impacted students' negative affect. However, the remaining themes moderated this relationship. These findings highlight the role universities can play in providing relief to international students during these challenging times and suggest areas for improving their experiences.

Higher Prevalence of Food Insecurity and Psychological Distress among International University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Australian Perspective

“…The authors suggested that the differences in the prevalence of depression and anxiety are attributable to insufficient attention being paid to prevention of the pandemic at the initial stage of the outbreak [ 54 ]. A qualitative study at West Virginia University in the USA revealed that international students’ sentiment of homesickness and loneliness was further accentuated by the uncertainty due to travel restrictions [ 25 ].…”

“…There is emerging evidence that, for international university students in many countries, the sudden closure of some international borders not only severely disrupted their learning and social activities but may have also impacted their sense of safety and belonging, leading to higher rates of psychological distress and making them particularly vulnerable to housing and food insecurity [ 25 , 26 ]. A qualitative study on Vietnamese students in the USA, for example, found that high levels of uncertainty and the impact of lockdown orders were likely to have substantial consequences in terms of psychological distress for these students [ 27 ].…”

“We Did It Right on Time”: International Students’ Internship in China During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Worthy yet mostly neglected is the provision of psychological support services for interns as international students is what the present study underlined. Recent studies reported COVID-19 results in weak social interaction and relationship that deteriorates mental states (Rudnik et al, 2020), homesickness (Rathakrishnan et al, 2021) of international students and generally jeopardize their academic performance (Mbous, Mohamed, & Rudisill, 2022).…”

Reimagining Higher Education in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Chinese Students’ Desires for Overseas Learning and Implications for University Governance

“…In conclusion, our discussions above have critically examined how mainland Chinese students evaluated overseas study during and after the COVID-19 crisis, showing growing interest of Chinese students making Asia their future destination for studying abroad, especially when they were becoming more concerned about the public health conditions in traditional destinations based in Europe, the UK, and the US. The motivations and desires of Chinese students choosing overseas learning would have been affected by the new geopolitics and different kinds of “cultural shocks,” particularly when Asian students were reported being discriminated against and stigmatized after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic when studying abroad (Mbous et al, 2022 ; Mok and Zhang, 2022 ).…”