Stress, Coping, and Psychological Well-Being: Comparison among American and Asian International Graduate Students from Taiwan, China, and South Korea

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of stress, coping, and psychological well-being among American graduate students and Asian international graduate students from Taiwan, China, and Korea. The sample consisted of 131 American graduate students, and 77 Taiwanese, 53 Chinese, and 50 Korean international graduate students from 90 universities in the US. Pearson correlation coefficients, factorial ANOVAs, and multiple regression analyses were conducted for investigation. Results of the current research were consistent with previous research suggesting that Asian international graduate students were not a homogeneous group in experiencing stress, coping, and psychological well-being. In sum, three groups of Asian international graduate students experienced greater stress than American graduate students. All graduate students with greater academic, environmental, and family stress were associated with maladaptive coping skills. All graduate students using more adaptive coping skills were associated with greater psychological well-being. In addition, doctoral students, no matter the culture, reported having less overall stress and greater psychological well-being. Although Taiwanese international graduate students tended to use maladaptive coping skills, their psychological well-being was still great. Perceived English skills remained to be a strong predictor in stress, coping, and psychological well-being especially in Chinese and Korean international students.