Does Cultural Immersion Around the World Create Stronger Students? A Study of the Benefits of Studying Abroad on Students’ Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Mental illnesses have been increasing throughout the population of the United States. College-aged students are being affected by mental illnesses at alarming rates. This is a pivotal age range for people as they transition towards more adult responsibilities. Universities provide its students a lot of opportunities to prepare them for the real-world. One of these opportunities that has become popular amongst students is studying abroad. This research focuses on the effects of study abroad on students’ mental health and wellbeing. 104 students from the summer 2022 CIMBA study abroad program participated in this study. This set of respondents encompassed ten universities and a wide variety of academic majors, creating a diverse group. The students took a pre-survey and post-survey to evaluate their mental health state at two periods in time. The survey-items included the Psychological Wellbeing Scale and Hero Wellness Scale derived from the literature. For statistical analysis, the pre-survey average response was compared to the post-survey average response. The data showed that there were statistically significant (p\u3c0.05) positive increases in students’ mental health and wellbeing over the course of studying abroad. Students also reflected highly upon their study abroad experience and gained meaningful relationships and personal growth that will benefit them in the future. This research should be taken into consideration by universities to promote study abroad opportunities to its students. Further research could study more long-term effects of study abroad on students by surveying them years after they study abroad

Does Cultural Immersion Around the World Create Stronger Students? A Study of the Benefits of Studying Abroad on Students’ Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Mental illnesses have been increasing throughout the population of the United States. College-aged students are being affected by mental illnesses at alarming rates. This is a pivotal age range for people as they transition towards more adult responsibilities. Universities provide its students a lot of opportunities to prepare them for the real-world. One of these opportunities that has become popular amongst students is studying abroad. This research focuses on the effects of study abroad on students’ mental health and wellbeing. 104 students from the summer 2022 CIMBA study abroad program participated in this study. This set of respondents encompassed ten universities and a wide variety of academic majors, creating a diverse group. The students took a pre-survey and post-survey to evaluate their mental health state at two periods in time. The survey-items included the Psychological Wellbeing Scale and Hero Wellness Scale derived from the literature. For statistical analysis, the pre-survey average response was compared to the post-survey average response. The data showed that there were statistically significant (p\u3c0.05) positive increases in students’ mental health and wellbeing over the course of studying abroad. Students also reflected highly upon their study abroad experience and gained meaningful relationships and personal growth that will benefit them in the future. This research should be taken into consideration by universities to promote study abroad opportunities to its students. Further research could study more long-term effects of study abroad on students by surveying them years after they study abroad