Stress, Anticipatory Anxiety, and Mental Health Help-Seeking among Chinese Students in United States at the Beginning of COVID-19: A Thematic Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous negative effects towards people’s mental health. The current study explored the influence of pandemic on Chinese international students in the U.S. at the beginning of the pandemic. Interview method was used in this study. Interview questions included the influence of pandemic, the influence of panic caused by pandemic, the influence of Asian-hates events, and mental health help-seeking behaviour. As the result, three main themes were narrowed down: stress, anticipatory anxiety, and help-seeking behaviour. The current study found that the most frequent stressor was the risk of infection. The other direct stressors were difficulty of traveling between China and the U.S., negative influence of academic life, and shortage of medical supplies. More indirect stressors were found: worries about Chinese students in the U.S. being infected by parents, worries about discrimination by parents, discriminating experiences of friends, and infection history of friends and of relatives in China. Three anticipatory anxieties were found: getting in touch with others, anti-Asian events, and different strategies to cope with disease. All participants reported no professional help-seeking behaviour. Five of eight participants reported the non-professional help-seeking. Three of eight participants reported they used self-regulation to cope with the stress and anxiety. The results demonstrated the unique experience and coping strategy of Chinese international students. Although they had lived in the U.S. for many years, their coping strategies still identified with Chinese culture. Future study could explore more associations of stress, anxiety, and help-seeking to understand and help Chinese international students better. This study can provide some guidance for future intervention studies and practices regarding the mental health situation of Chinese international students in other countries during the pandemic.