Internationalization of higher education and the impact of immigration on mental health of international students

In the contemporary educational scenario, the flow of students seeking to broaden their horizons in higher education in another country is increasingly present. With immigration and the change of country and culture, the student may be subject to a state of psychic vulnerability due to the loss of cultural references. In this sense, and due to the phenomenon of internationalization of higher education, the present study aimed to investigate what are the impacts of immigration on the mental health of international students and what are the risk factors and protection of mental health of these students. For this purpose, a literature review was carried out in three databases with national and international studies: BVS-Psi, Redalyc and EBSCO. The results pointed to a diversity of individual, social, institutional and cultural factors that impact on the mental health of international students, whose expressions of psychic suffering focused on the stress of adaptation to the new cultural and academic context, accompanied by psychic malaise, somatic disorders, cognitive difficulties, and clinical manifestations of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. It was also verified the underutilization of psychological support services in universities, the demand at the beginning of the course, the cultural difference in the expression of symptoms and the greater demand for help among female students. In conclusion, the study points out the need for programs to host and integrate international students that make it possible to minimize the initial migratory impact and thus to collaborate for the socio-educational adaptation of the student.

Key words: Immigrants; Academic mobility; Student mental health