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A Comparison of International and Domestic Tertiary Students in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Nigar G. Khawaja*
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Australia. [email protected]
Jenny Dempsey
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
*
*Address for Correspondence: Dr Nigar Gohar Khawaja, School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Beams Road, Carseldine QLD 4034, Australia.
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Abstract

In this study international and domestic students were compared on variables such as accommodation and financial satisfaction, social support, mismatched expectations, academic stress, dysfunctional coping, and psychological distress. International and domestic students (N = 86 for each group), enrolled at a large Australian university based in a capital city, completed a battery of questionnaires. Results demonstrate that in comparison to domestic students, international students had less social support, used more dysfunctional coping strategies and had greater incongruence between their expectations and experiences of university life. The results endorse the significance of providing high quality supportive and orientation programs to international students, to enhance their social support and coping strategies, which, as demonstrated, are lacking.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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