How Structural Barriers and Cultural Expectations Shape International Students’ Wellbeing: A Social Justice Analysis of International Students’ Lived Experiences in Australia.
Keywords:
International students, stress, mental health, social determinants of health, social justiceAbstract
Mental health challenges among international students are a pressing social and public health concern in Australia. Although, these students have a significant contribution in bolstering the country’s economy, their emotional well-being has been overlooked due to structural barriers and neoliberal policies. These policies often view mental well-being through an individualised and biomedical lens, which neglects the subtle impacts of structural inequities like financial precarity, racial discrimination, immigration policies, and cultural dislocation in exacerbating students’ mental health challenges. The scarcity of literature that critically explores the roles of these determinants in shaping students' mental health while acknowledging their lived experiences contextualises the need for this research.
In this paper we will draw upon reflections on our lived experiences integrated with an analysis of existing literature to establish how social determinants contribute to psychological distress among international students. The critical analysis of autoethnographic vignettes and existing literature reveals students’ mental distress as a deliberate consequence of policy and structural biases, rather than individual deficits. The addition of every intersecting layer of a student’s identity further compounds their psychological vulnerability, which is already compromised due to limited working rights, impeded access to services, and erosion of former identity.
In alignment with the Australian Association of Social Workers’ (AASW) Code of Ethics, these reflections mandate social workers to remain committed to critiquing systemic inequities and upholding human rights values. The findings suggest the urgency of including student voices in policy formulation and service design while keeping human rights and intersectional frameworks at its core. Policy changes that facilitate subsidized and fast-tracked qualification recognition, post-study visa stability, adequate provision of support services, and extended student health coverage equivalent to Medicare benefits should be prioritized to create a fair, inclusive, and equitable society for international students.
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