Research through service: Meeting Chinese international college students’ mental health needs

Introduction and backgroundResearch indicates that Chinese International College Students (CICS) encounter considerable cultural and mental health challenges while studying in the United States. However, there has been limited focus on the processes and outcomes of effective mental health intervention programs tailored to their needs. This study adopted a research-through-service approach to design, implement, and evaluate a four-week group intervention program aimed at enhancing the mental health and well-being of CICS.Methods and intervention programThe group intervention was designed with the perspective that effective mental health services for CICS should be culturally specific, growth-oriented, and focused on promoting positive learning outcomes rather than merely addressing problems or solutions. Group sessions were conducted in Chinese and emphasized experiential activities aimed at enhancing participants’ cultural confidence and fostering a growth-oriented, positive mindset. Thirteen CICS voluntarily participated in the group intervention. One to three weeks after the program, twelve participants took part in semi-structured post-group interviews. These interviews explored their reflections on the group experience, their general perspectives on well-being, perceived challenges and strategies for managing those challenges, and their attitudes toward seeking professional help when needed. The interview data were analyzed using the Consensus Qualitative Research (CQR) method (Hill, 2012).ResultsParticipants shared experiences of cultural conflicts and challenges they faced, as well as the active coping strategies they employed. These strategies included confiding in trusted individuals, practicing forbearance and self-regulation, and seeking practical solutions to underlying problems. When reflecting on the group intervention experience, participants reported notable benefits across intellectual, relational, and emotional domains. Additionally, they provided valuable suggestions for enhancing the program’s effectiveness.ConclusionIntervention programs designed to support Chinese International College Students (CICS) should promote cultural confidence, adopt a strength-based and growth-oriented approach, and avoid deficit-focused or problem-centered frameworks

Uplift History of the Eastern Pamir Inferred from Inversion of Thermochronometric Data and River Profile

The Pamir salient accommodates a great amount of Cenozoic India-Eurasia convergence in the forms of thrusting, strike-slip faulting, extension, and gneiss dome formation. It thus becomes a key location for exploring the orogenic tectonic evolution. Here, we focus on the Eastern Pamir where extensional deformation dominates during the late Cenozoic. We conducted low-temperature thermochronological dating on bedrock samples collected from the footwall of the Kongur Shan normal fault together with inversion of the longitudinal river profile of the Gez River. Our new zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He (ZHe and AHe) data reveal young ages in proximity to the normal fault and older ages adjacent to the western Tarim Basin. By inverting the Gez River profile together with published and new thermochronological ages, we obtained a sustained uplift rate of ~3 mm/yr in the Kongur Shan dome since ~8 Ma, contrasting with no significant uplift to the east of the dome before the Pliocene. This uplift pattern can be interpreted as a result of the upward extrusion of crust materials along a flat–ramp–flat thrust fault at depth under the context of convergence