Mental Health
A Descriptive Epidemiological Study on Mental Health Service Utilization in African Immigrant Students Enrolled in Universities in the United States Zeinab Baba* Zeinab Baba Heather B. Edelbute
Background: Mental health among college students continues to be of increasing concern on US college campuses. At the same time, more students are coming from abroad to the US for higher education, contributing to the diversity of universities in the US. International students from sub-Sahara African (SSA) represent a growing group of international students and also an understudied population who may have unique mental health needs.
Methods: Data on international students from SSA were obtained from the Healthy Minds Network (HMN), a yearly web-based survey conducted on US university campuses. Descriptive analyses were conducted for academic years spanning 2020-2021 (n=611), 2021-2022 (n=568), and 2022-2023 (n=1,105); 80% of them reported being a visa holder (F-1, J-1, H1-B, A, L, G, E, and TN).
Results: Across all three academic years, more international students from SSA reported being over the age of 35 when they arrived in the US, being enrolled as a full-time student, and living in on-campus housing compared to the overall international student population. Over 80% of our study population across each academic year reported not receiving counseling or therapy for mental health concerns compared to less than 70% for international students overall. The most commonly diagnosed mental health conditions for this population were anxiety and depression. Many international SSA students used informal help-seeking methods to receive support for mental or emotional health from roommates, friends, and religious counselors.
Conclusions: As the university student body in the US continues to diversify and grow, it is important to understand unique challenges faced by subpopulations of students. This study provides descriptive characteristics that will inform the provision of mental health services to this group.