Student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: are international students more affected?
Open accessAbstract
Background: The psychological well-being of students may be especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; international students can lack local support systems and represent a higher risk subgroup. Methods: Self-reported depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, alcohol use, academic stress, and loneliness were examined in two cohorts of university students (March 2020 n = 207, March 2021 n = 142). We investigated differences i) between 2020 and 2021, ii) between domestic and international students, and ii) whether differences between the two cohorts were moderated by student status. Results: More depressive symptoms, academic stress, and loneliness were reported in 2021. International students reported more depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, anxiety, PTSD, academic stress, and loneliness. The main effect of cohort was not moderated by student status. Conclusions: International students had worse mental health outcomes overall, but were not affected more by the COVID-19 pandemic than domestic students.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
International students are more vulnerable and at risk during unprecedented times.
“International students have also been mentioned as being more vulnerable and at risk during such unprecedented times (Firang, 2020; Hari et al., 2021; Kivelä et al., 2022; Mbous et al., 2022).”
From Social connections combat loneliness and promote wellbeing among college students coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic (2025) · cites this paper as Kivelä et al., 2022
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
An inventory for measuring depression
BECK, A. T. (1961) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004 · Cited by 38,032 · see citing works
An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties.
Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1988) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.56.6.893 · Cited by 14,407 · see citing works
SAUNDERS, J. B., AASLAND, O. G., BABOR, T. F., DE LA FUENTE, J. R., & GRANT, M. (1993) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x · Cited by 13,482 · see citing works
Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Carbin, M. G. (1988) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/0272-7358(88)90050-5 · Cited by 11,696 · see citing works
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17051729 · Cited by 9,923 · see citing works
Validation of the Insomnia Severity Index as an outcome measure for insomnia research
Bastien, C. (2001) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/s1389-9457(00)00065-4 · Cited by 8,067 · see citing works
The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China
Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., Dong, J., & Zheng, J. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934 · Cited by 5,843 · see citing works
Holmes, E. A., O'Connor, R. C., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C., Christensen, H., Cohen Silver, R., Everall, I., et al. (2020) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30168-1 · Cited by 5,715 · see citing works
Blevins, C. A., Weathers, F. W., Davis, M. T., Witte, T. K., & Domino, J. L. (2015) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1002/jts.22059 · Cited by 5,233 · see citing works
Normality Tests for Statistical Analysis: A Guide for Non-Statisticians
Ghasemi, A., & Zahediasl, S. (2012) · International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism · doi:10.5812/ijem.3505 · Cited by 4,368 · cited 1× · see citing works
“56 While ANOVA is robust to violations of homogeneity of variance given equal group sizes (as in our analyses of student status), we examined homogeneity between the 2020 and 2021 cohorts due to unequal groups: homogeneity was met for all variables (variance ratios (VRs) 1.5), with the BDI…”
InfluentialThe Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and Initial Validation
Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C.-Y., Imani, V., Saffari, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2022) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8 · Cited by 4,332 · see citing works
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., & Xu, Y. (2020) · General Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/gpsych-2020-100213 · Cited by 4,307 · see citing works
The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health
Torales, J., O’Higgins, M., Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., & Ventriglio, A. (2020) · International Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0020764020915212 · Cited by 3,013 · see citing works
Hasin, D. S., Stinson, F. S., Ogburn, E., & Grant, B. F. (2007) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.64.7.830 · Cited by 2,908 · see citing works
Cross-national prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts
Nock, M. K., Borges, G., Bromet, E. J., Alonso, J., Angermeyer, M., Beautrais, A., Bruffaerts, R., Chiu, W. T., de Girolamo, G., Gluzman, S., et al. (2008) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.107.040113 · Cited by 2,654 · see citing works
Bovin, M. J., Marx, B. P., Weathers, F. W., Gallagher, M. W., Rodriguez, P., Schnurr, P. P., & Keane, T. M. (2016) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/pas0000254 · Cited by 2,532 · see citing works
Auerbach, R. P., Collaborators, W. W.-I., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere, K., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., et al. (2018) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000362 · Cited by 2,522 · see citing works
Rotenstein, L. S., Ramos, M. A., Torre, M., Segal, J. B., Peluso, M. J., Guille, C., Sen, S., & Mata, D. A. (2016) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2016.17324 · Cited by 2,479 · see citing works
Prevalence of depression symptoms in US adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Ettman, C. K., Abdalla, S. M., Cohen, G. H., Sampson, L., Vivier, P. M., & Galea, S. (2020) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.19686 · Cited by 2,138 · see citing works
A systematic review of studies of depression prevalence in university students
Ibrahim, A. K., Kelly, S. J., Adams, C. E., & Glazebrook, C. (2013) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.11.015 · Cited by 1,988 · see citing works
Prevalence of Depression in the Community from 30 Countries between 1994 and 2014
Lim, G. Y., Tam, W. W., Lu, Y., Ho, C. S., Zhang, M. W., & Ho, R. C. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-21243-x · Cited by 1,557 · see citing works
Liu, N., Zhang, F., Wei, C., Jia, Y., Shang, Z., Sun, L., Wu, L., Sun, Z., Zhou, Y., Wang, Y., et al. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112921 · Cited by 1,548 · see citing works
The effect of COVID-19 on youth mental health
Liang, L., Ren, H., Cao, R., Hu, Y., Qin, Z., Li, C., & Mei, S. (2020) · Psychiatric Quarterly · doi:10.1007/s11126-020-09744-3 · Cited by 971 · see citing works
The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students
Andrews, B., & Wilding, J. M. (2004) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1348/0007126042369802 · Cited by 919 · see citing works
Garlow, S. J., Rosenberg, J., Moore, J. D., Haas, A. P., Koestner, B., Hendin, H., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2007) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.20321 · Cited by 807 · see citing works
Alcohol abuse and dependence among U.S. college students.
Knight, J. R., Wechsler, H., Kuo, M., Seibring, M., Weitzman, E. R., & Schuckit, M. A. (2002) · Journal of Studies on Alcohol · doi:10.15288/jsa.2002.63.263 · Cited by 687 · see citing works
Addressing collegiate mental health amid COVID-19 pandemic
Zhai, Y., & Du, X. Y. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113003 · Cited by 655 · see citing works
Jungmann, S. M., & Witthöft, M. (2020) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102239 · Cited by 635 · see citing works
Saraswathi, I., Saikarthik, J., Senthil Kumar, K., Madhan Srinivasan, K., Ardhanaari, M., & Gunapriya, R. (2020) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.10164 · Cited by 608 · see citing works
de Meneses-Gaya, C., Zuardi, A. W., Loureiro, S. R., & Crippa, J. A. S. (2009) · Psychology & Neuroscience · doi:10.3922/j.psns.2009.1.12 · Cited by 596 · see citing works
Pan, K.-Y., Kok, A. A. L., Eikelenboom, M., Horsfall, M., Jörg, F., Luteijn, R. A., Rhebergen, D., Oppen, P. V., Giltay, E. J., & Penninx, B. W. J. H. (2021) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30491-0 · Cited by 585 · see citing works
Shah, S. M. A., Mohammad, D., Qureshi, M. F. H., Abbas, M. Z., & Aleem, S. (2021) · Community Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10597-020-00728-y · Cited by 554 · see citing works
Deng, J., Zhou, F., Hou, W., Silver, Z. A., Wong, C. Y., Chang, O., Drakos, A., Zuo, Q., & Huang, E. (2021) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113863 · Cited by 497 · see citing works
Sun, Y., Li, Y., Bao, Y., Meng, S., Sun, Y., Schumann, G., Kosten, T., Strang, J., Lu, L., & Shi, J. (2020) · The American Journal on Addictions · doi:10.1111/ajad.13066 · Cited by 486 · see citing works
Acute mental health responses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
Newby, J. M., O’Moore, K., Tang, S., Christensen, H., & Faasse, K. (2020) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0236562 · Cited by 471 · see citing works
Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. J., Pantaleón, Y., Dios, I., & Falla, D. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591797 · Cited by 408 · see citing works
Ebert, D. D., Mortier, P., Kaehlke, F., Bruffaerts, R., Baumeister, H., Auerbach, R. P., Alonso, J., Vilagut, G., Martínez, K. U., Lochner, C., et al. (2019) · International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1002/mpr.1782 · Cited by 407 · see citing works
manual De Jong GIerveld Loneliness Scale
van Tilburg, T. (2023) · Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · doi:10.17605/osf.io/u6gck · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Suicide Ideation Among College Students: A Multivariate Analysis
Arria, A. M., O’Grady, K. E., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., Wilcox, H. C., & Wish, E. D. (2009) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811110903044351 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among First-Year College Students: Results From the WMH-ICS Project
Mortier, P., Auerbach, R. P., Alonso, J., Bantjes, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., Hasking, P., Nock, M. K., et al. (2018) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.01.018 · Cited by 307 · see citing works
Faisal, R. A., Jobe, M. C., Ahmed, O., & Sharker, T. (2022) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00458-y · Cited by 275 · see citing works
Lai, A. Y.-K., Lee, L., Wang, M.-P., Feng, Y., Lai, T. T.-K., Ho, L.-M., Lam, V. S.-F., Ip, M. S.-M., & Lam, T.-H. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.584240 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
A Second Pandemic: Mental Health Spillover From the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Choi, K. R., Heilemann, M. V., Fauer, A. J., & Mead, M. (2020) · Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association · doi:10.1177/1078390320919803 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
Priorities for addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college student mental health
Liu, C. H., Pinder-Amaker, S. L., Hahm, H. C., & Chen, J. A. (2020) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1803882 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Sleep problem, suicide and self-harm in university students: A systematic review
Russell, K., Allan, S., Beattie, L., Bohan, J., Macmahon, K., & Rasmussen, S. A. (2019) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2018.12.008 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Fried, E. I., Papanikolaou, F., & Epskamp, S. (2021) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/21677026211017839 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
The health and wellbeing of international students at an Australian university
Rosenthal, D. A., Russell, J., & Thomson, G. (2006) · Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s10734-006-9037-1 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Pandemics and pre-existing mental illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Neelam, K., Duddu, V., Anyim, N., Neelam, J., & Lewis, S. W. (2020) · Brain Behavior & Immunity - Health · doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100177 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Responding effectively to the mental health needs of international students
Bradley, G. (2000) · Higher Education · doi:10.1023/a:1003938714191 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Cerami, C., Santi, G. C., Galandra, C., Dodich, A., Cappa, S. F., Vecchi, T., & Crespi, C. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00556 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Miconi, D., Li, Z. Y., Frounfelker, R. L., Santavicca, T., Cénat, J. M., Venkatesh, V., & Rousseau, C. (2021) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjo.2020.146 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Skromanis, S., Cooling, N., Rodgers, B., Purton, T., Fan, F., Bridgman, H., Harris, K., Presser, J., & Mond, J. (2018) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph15061147 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Ding, K., Yang, J. G., Chin, M.-K., Sullivan, L., Demirhan, G., Violant, V., Uvinha, R. R., Dai, J., Xu, X., Popeska, B., et al. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18052686 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Stress and Coping Patterns of University Students
Böke, B. N., Mills, D. J., Mettler, J., & Heath, N. L. (2019) · Journal of college student development · doi:10.1353/csd.2019.0005 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Latent profile analysis of COVID-19 fear, depression, anxiety, stress, mindfulness, and resilience
Yalçın, İ., Can, N., Çalışır, Ö. M., Yalçın, S., & Çolak, B. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01667-x · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Bergin, A., & Pakenham, K. (2015) · Psychiatry, Psychology and Law · doi:10.1080/13218719.2014.960026 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Chinese International Students: An Emerging Mental Health Crisis
Chen, J. A., Liu, L., Zhao, X., & Yeung, A. (2015) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2015.06.022 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Zhao, Y., An, Y., Tan, X. F., & Li, X. (2020) · Journal of Loss and Trauma · doi:10.1080/15325024.2020.1761592 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Yu, Y., She, R., Luo, S., Xin, M., Li, L., Wang, S., Ma, L., Tao, F., Zhang, J., Zhao, J., et al. (2021) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/22705 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Addressing international student mental health during COVID-19: an imperative overdue
King, J. A., Cabarkapa, S., Leow, F. H., et al. (2020) · Australasian Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1039856220926934 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Coping during COVID-19: examining student stress and depressive symptoms
Mushquash, A. R., & Grassia, E. (2021) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1865379 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders in College Students
Borsari, B. E., Read, J. P., & Campbell, J. F. (2008) · Journal of College Student Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/87568220801960720 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Cabello, M., Izquierdo, A., & Leal, I. (2021) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.13260 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
COVID-19 and Depressive Symptoms: A Community-based Study in Quebec, Canada
Schmitz, N., Holley, P., Meng, X., Fish, L., & Jedwab, J. (2020) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0706743720943812 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Lotzin, A., Ketelsen, R., Buth, S., Krause, L., Ozga, A., Böttche, M., & Schäfer, I. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-400361/v1 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Scale for Suicide Ideation: Psychometric properties of a self-report version
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Ranieri, W. F. (1988) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/1097-4679(198807)44:4
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [49]49. Saunders JB, Aasland OG, Babor TF, de la Fuente JR, Grant M . Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of per-
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Cipolletta, S., Ronconi, L., & Tomaino, S. C. M. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1529795 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kivelä, L., Mouthaan, J., van der Does, W., & Antypa, N.
- Affiliations
- Leiden University (NL)
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author
- Antypa, Niki
- Venue
- Journal of American College Health
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-02-14
- Volume
- 72
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 414-422
- ISSN
- 0164-4300 (ISSN-L)
- 0744-8481
- 1940-3208
- OpenAlex
- W4213275851
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 8.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of American College Health (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- DataverseNL (cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Keywords
- student mental health, COVID-19 pandemic, international students, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, alcohol consumption, academic stress, loneliness, domestic students, university students
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Anxiety, Depression, Humans, Mental Health, Students, Universities, Pandemics, Suicidal Ideation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
