Understanding the Mental Health Experiences of Racialized International and Domestic Students

• In Event: Examining Well-being and Belonging in Higher Education: Global Perspectives on Student Mental Health, Stress, and Identity

Proposal

According to the World Health Organization, mental illness is the leading cause of disability. There are about 450 million people currently suffering worldwide. In Canada, those numbers are mirrored with 6.7 million Canadians affected and 1 in 2 having or having had a mental illness by the time they are 40 years of age (CAMH, 2023). These numbers are equally prevalent in higher education institutions across Canada and the United States (Ng & Padjen, 2018; Giamos at el., 2017; Ng & Krusisselbrink-Flatt, 2013) as according to a General Health Questionnaire, about one-third of Canadian undergraduate university students reported experiencing increased levels of psychological distress (Adlaf, et al., 2005), and mental-illness related suicide remains the second-leading cause of death for those in this age group (15-24) after accidents (CAMH, 2023). In addition, according to the National College Health Assessment (NCHA), a survey of 43 780 students from 41 Canadian higher education institutions, the American College Health Association (2016) indicates that there was a 47% increase from 2013 in students formally diagnosed with depression, and in 2020, nearly one in five postsecondary students were reported to experience mental health challenges, with about 11 per cent reporting suicidal ideation (Mortier et al. 2018).

This increase in mental health concerns has resulted in an increase in the demand for mental health services and supports, as well as an increase in the diversity and severity of needs (Ng & Padjen, 2018). Unfortunately, research still suggests that mental health supports within higher education institutions are still underdeveloped, unsustainable, and do not meet the demand in need that students are experiencing (CASA, 2014; Lunau, 2012). Students’ needs are more complex than ever and despite the expansion of supports, they still surpass what institutions are able to realistically provide (Ng & Padjen, 2018). In fact, research indicates that one of the most pressing concerns that wellness centres are facing are a lack of culturally relevant supports and resources to meet the increasing diversity of students’ needs (Ng & Padjen, 2018; DiPlacito-DeRango, 2016). It is no surprise then that the number of mental health crises at higher education institutions are rising and this increase in the occurrence of mental health concerns among postsecondary students, in addition with the rising number of student enrollment, has resulted in many scholars defining this as a mental health crisis within higher education institutions (Liu et al., 2019; Evans et al., 2018; Xiao et al., 2017; American College Health Association, 2016, Gallagher, 2013). 

Despite this, enrollment rates in Canadian Higher Education Institutions show no rates of declining, and according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, Canada had the highest the level of higher education attainment among 25–64-year-olds across 46 OECD countries (OECD, 2023). In fact, although Canadian colleges experienced a slight decline in enrollment in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, university enrollment actually increased by 2.1 per cent (Government of Canada, 2022). However, there remains low help-seeking behaviors among postsecondary students even to the point of detrimental health outcomes (Ogrodniczuk et al., 2021; Eisenberg et al., 2012; & Eisenberg et. al., 2007). As such, the looming question remains: can Canadian higher education institutions provide adequate support for the increase in demand for and complexity of student mental health supports and services?  This is significant because despite the increase in enrollment, there remains limited research on the mental health experiences of International and domestic undergraduate students within the Canadian context, which undermines efforts to create effective supports and resources that address students’ needs as unsurprisingly, it is challenging to appropriately address a concern that is not fully understood. For those who are racialized there is even less research available, and the research that is available indicates that in additional to transitional challenges, racialized International and domestic students experience even more complex challenges such as racism, discrimination, microaggressions and racial trauma, which can have even more detrimental consequences (Eylem, 2020).

As such, this qualitative research study will seek to understand the mental health experiences of racialized domestic and international undergraduate students and how their identities impact their experiences and engagement with mental health resources. The specific questions that underpin this study are: 1) What are the campus mental health supports and resources available to racialized domestic and International undergraduate students? 2) How do racialized undergraduate domestic and International students engage with mental health resources? 3) What drives their engagement or disengagement with mental health resources? Using an Intersectionality (1991) framework and drawing from Bronfenbrenner & Morris’ (2006) work on socioecological systems, I will examine the mental health experiences of racialized International and domestic undergraduate students, and possible reasons for their lack of engagement with institutional supports and resources.

Data collection and analysis for this study is currently ongoing, and I will present findings from my environmental scan of all the mental health supports and resources available to racialized International and domestic undergraduate students across all three University of Toronto campuses. I will also present key themes and findings from 20 semi-structured interviews with racialized International and domestic undergraduate students attending the University of Toronto. Preliminary findings suggest that despite the mental resources available, students remain hesitant to use resources due to various possible reasons, including but not limited to stigma and a lack of culturally responsive supports. Building an inclusive, anti-racist, trauma-informed, culturally relevant system of mental health support and care within Canadian Higher Education Institutions requires a deeper and thorough understanding of who our students are, their diverse needs, and then the undertaking of deliberate action to address those needs. The truth remains that, Higher Education Institutions are “an expression of the age, as well as a [great] influence operating upon both present and future” (Kerr, 1982, p. 4). If we do not stand in the gap, who will?

Author

• JesusMiracle Chiadika, University of Toronto