Health and Well-Being of International University Students, and Comparison with Domestic Students, in Tasmania, Australia

International students comprise an increasingly larger proportion of higher education students globally. Empirical evidence about the health and well-being of these students is, however, limited. We sought to examine the health and well-being of international students, primarily from Asian countries, attending the University of Tasmania, Australia, using domestic students as a comparison group. Ethics approval was given to invite (via email) all currently enrolled students to participate in the study by completing a pilot-tested, online survey. The survey was completed by 382 international students (response rate = 8.9%) and 1013 domestic students (9.2%). Independent samples t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests were used for bivariate comparisons between international and domestic students, and between subgroups of international students. Regression models were used to examine the associations between student status (international vs. domestic) and health outcomes, controlling for demographic and enrolment variables. International students, particularly male students, were found to be at increased risk of several adverse health outcomes while also being less likely to seek help for mental health and related problems. The findings indicate the need for accessible, targeted, culturally-sensitive health promotion and early intervention programs

Inhibiting automatic negative social responses in alcohol intoxication: interactions with theory of mind ability and level of task guidance

Rationale: Alcohol intoxication is associated with socially disinhibited behaviours that may reflect impaired social cognitiveabilities that guide social behaviour. The effects of alcohol on social cognition and how this may contribute to disinhibitedbehaviour are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine whether intoxicated individuals could inhibit automaticnegative responses to negative social information, whether these difficulties were reliant on theory of mind (ToM) ability andwhether intoxicated individuals were able to adjust verbal responses when provided with guidelines about how to respond.Methods: Sixty-four participants aged between 18 and 34 (balanced for gender) consumed a beverage containing either placeboor alcohol calculated to achieve a target BrAC of 0.080%, before completing a Flanker task, a go/no-go task and a novel measureof social disinhibition, the social disinhibition task.Results: Results indicate that alcohol-intoxicated individuals can inhibit negative responses to negative social information, butdisplay difficulty inhibiting negative responses to social information that requires ToM. They also suggest that people under theinfluence of moderate-to-high-dose alcohol can adjust their responses when provided with specific guidelines on how to respond.Conclusions: These findings may have important implications for understanding negative alcohol-related behaviours and promotethe consideration of social context, social pressure and social cognitive abilities in the development of public policy and targetedinterventions to prevent alcohol-related antisocial behaviours