Attitude to psychological help and problematic experiences of Chinese students studying at Russian universities

Context and relevance. The problem addressed in this study lies in the contradiction between the objective need of Chinese students studying at Russian universities for psychological support during academic and sociocultural adaptation, and the presence of cultural, linguistic, and organizational barriers that hinder their access to professional help. Despite the growing recognition of the importance of psychological support for international students, the specific features of Chinese students' attitudes toward psychological help and the relationship between these attitudes and problematic experiences in the context of Russian universities remain insufficiently specified. This impedes the development of targeted support interventions that account for stigmatization, fear of “losing face”, language difficulties, and the specifics of adaptation to the Russian educational environment. Objective. To comprehensively describe Chinese students’ attitudes toward psychological help and examine the associations between IASMHS components (Psychological Openness, Help-Seeking Propensity, Indifference to Stigma), behavioral indicators of help-seeking, and problematic experiences arising during study at Russian universities. Hypotheses. (1) Chinese students exhibit culturally driven stigma and fear of “losing face” that reduce help-seeking. (2) The severity of problematic experiences intensifies negative attitudes and anxiety. (3) Adequate awareness of available psychological assistance fosters readiness to seek help. (4) Prior positive counseling experience increases repeated help-seeking. Methods and materials. This study (N = 80; age 20–33 years, M = 25,00, SD = 2,59) employed: (a) the IASMHS scale (Mackenzie) adapted by Vainshtein et al.; (b) an original questionnaire (behavioral aspects, demographics); (c) the ‘Problematic Experiences’ questionnaire (based on L.A. Regush et al.), adapted for cross-cultural specifics. Results. (1) Most participants showed moderately positive general attitudes to professional help (M = 85,95; SD = 12,52), yet stigma and fear of “losing face” persist among a significant portion of respondents. (2) The most pronounced problematic experiences were safety (M = 3,12; SD = 1,01), academic and administrative adaptation (M = 2,91; SD = 0,93), and worries about the future (M = 2,96; SD = 0,93; career and diploma recognition). (3) Spearman correlations showed that higher levels of problematic experiences were moderately negatively associated with Indifference to Stigma (IS) (r = –0,25…–0,33; p < 0,05) and with the total IASMHS score (r = –0,23…–0,24; p < 0,05); no associations with Psychological Openness or Help-Seeking Propensity were found (p > 0,05). (4) Awareness of available services (ϕ = 0,868; p < 0,01) strongly correlates with actual help-seeking, but no statistically significant link (p = 0,144) was found between positive counseling experience and future intentions to seek help again. Conclusion. Stigmatization and linguistic barriers remain key obstacles. Integrating Russian-Chinese information resources, ensuring confidentiality, and expanding individual face-to-face consultations may increase help-seeking rates. Recommendations include bilingual information provision, culturally sensitive support formats, mentoring support, and joint adaptation programs that take into account Confucian values and family expectations.

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