INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES AND THE SOCIOPOLITICAL CLIMATE

Abstract

Recent years have seen heightened anti-immigration rhetoric and increasingly restrictive immigration and education policies in the United States, creating climates of uncertainty for noncitizens (Crumley-Effinger, 2024; Rose-Redwood & Rose-Redwood, 2017). While prior qualitative research has shown that policy uncertainty, visa insecurity, and politicized discourse contribute to increased stress among international students (Alharbi & Smith, 2018; Marbang et al., 2020), empirical quantitative research remains limited. The current study investigates how perceived sociopolitical climate threat (SCT) affects mental health outcomes among international students. Additionally, this study examines coping and psychological responses to this threat by investigating the mediating role of self-censorship in the association between SCT and mental health outcomes. The buffering effects of support systems (community, social, and institutional) were also examined. Results indicated a significant association between self-censorship and depressive symptoms, even when compared to other predictors identified in the literature (e.g., academic stress, financial stress). These findings suggest that self-censorship is a strong and underexamined stressor among international students navigating hostile political environments.