International students in the US occupy a precarious position at the intersection of immigration policy and global education mobility, one made more challenging by the disparate impact of COVID-19 on college students’ mental health. Few studies, however, have explored the pandemic's effects on mental well-being among the international student population in the US. Our study aims to provide initial empirical evidence on the mental health status of these students, with a specific focus on discrimination, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. We propose a mediation framework and estimate the mediating effects of loneliness and anxiety in the relationships between discrimination and depression in a sample of US-based international students (N = 103). We collected cross-sectional data from July to August 2020, using a 50-item online survey instrument with three open-ended questions. Mediation analyses using PROCESS Macro were used to analyse quantitative data and thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Findings showed that higher levels of discrimination were significantly associated with higher levels of loneliness. Higher levels of loneliness were significantly associated with higher levels of anxiety, which in turn led to high levels of depressive symptoms. Our study contributes to understanding the needs and capacities of international students in the wake of COVID-19 and simultaneously provides pragmatic program and policy implications for inclusive higher education environments and the overall health and well-being of this crucial US student population.

Although aging and migration are major global demographic trends, little attention has been given to the health and well-being of immigrants who migrate later-in-life. Drawing on the social convoy perspective, we examine the social impact of late-life migration and explore patterns of human service provision among late-life immigrants in a midwestern U.S. region. Using qualitative data (N = 71)—in-depth interviews and focus group discussions— from diverse key informants, including late-life immigrants and local human service providers, our study attempts to expand the knowledge base on late-life migration and garner community-generated solutions for the well-being of this unique population.

Purpose: While social cohesion is important for the promotion of immigrant health, language is a core component through which immigrant groups establish social connections. Since language is a vehicle through which immigrant groups establish social linkages and that English language proficiency has been established as a virtual requirement for full participation in US society, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role of language in establishing social cohesion affecting immigrant health.Design/methodology/approach: Using the 2012 California Health Interview Survey, the authors investigated the role of language efficacy in the relationship between social cohesion and utilization of healthcare among immigrant groups with good and poor health statuses (n=11,134). Mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS Macro.Findings: The direct effect of social cohesion on healthcare utilization and the effect of English language efficacy on healthcare utilization were significant for both groups. English language efficacy was a significant mediator between social cohesion and healthcare utilization among immigrants with good health statuses.Research limitations/implications: Limitations include generalizability issues across immigrant sub-populations, limited measures in terms of English language efficacy and limitations with measures variables such as length of stay.Social implications: This study highlights that language is the channel that plays a crucial role not only to establish and maintain social cohesion for positive health outcomes, but also the ripple effects of promoting trust, belonging, opportunity of upward mobility and inclusion.Originality/value: The findings of the study add value to other pertinent issues of linguistic diversity, positive social relationships and well-being of diverse communities.

Transformative sequential mixed methods design in a cross-cultural context is seldom straightforward. Using a community-based participatory research approach as the transformative lens in an African refugee context in the southern United Status, we explored: (a) the intersection of culture, financial stress, and financial self-efficacy and (b) tested the efficacy of financial literacy as the focus of a culturally responsive solution grounded in community-identified priorities. Through a three-phased explanatory sequential mixed methods design, we demonstrate how the addition of a third phase of analysis that focuses on convergence and expansion of quantitative and qualitative data integration and cyclical processes of dissemination and action can strengthen the utility of transformative mixed methods research in a cross-cultural context. Our study offers a unique contribution to the long-standing methodological dialogue between the design elements of mixed methods research, community-based participatory research, and migration studies by expanding the transformative explanatory sequential design archetype in a cross-cultural context.