Mental Health and Its Associated Variables Among International Students at a Japanese University: With Special Reference to Their Financial Status.

We attempted to identify the risk factors that may affect mental health status of the international students and we conducted the survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The students were divided into two groups; (1) those who received scholarships and (2) those who didn't since we thought the division represented practical patterns of their financial status. The associations of socio-demographic characteristics with depressive symptoms were examined. Of the 726 students, 480 (66.1%) responded and 207 (43.1%) had depressive symptoms. The logistic regression analysis indicated that quality of sleep, amount of exercise, and housing conditions--but not financial status--were statistically associated with the risk of developing depressive symptoms. Although the inversion of the cause and effect is yet to be ascertained, the students who are unsatisfied with their housing conditions, quality of sleep and less exercise need more attention.