Building Social Capital: Impact On The Mental Health Of International Students At Universiti Sains Malaysia
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Date
2016-03
Authors
Khosravi, Roghayeh
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Many empirical studies related to social capital have confirmed that there are relationship between social capital and mental health. However, little research has been conducted to evaluate interventions designed to improve the level of social capital and its impact on the mental health of international students. This research aimed to address the gaps by examining whether the building social capital program can improve social capital and mental health of international students at Universiti Sains Malaysia. This research aimed to examine (1) if there is a relationship between social capital and mental health of international students; (2) whether building social capital program is an effective method for improving social capital for the international students; (3) how the building social capital program can enhance the social capital components among experimental group; and (4) whether building social capital program is an effective method for improving mental health among international students. A mixed-method design was employed in order to collect and analyze the data. A total of 60 newly registered international students at Universiti Sains Malaysia were recruited and assigned to non-randomized experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in a 3 month program. Both experimental and control group were then responded to the GHQ-28 instrument and social capital questionnaire before and after the intervention. Qualitative data were also collected through the participants’ evaluations, texts produced during the intervention and an open question questionnaire. Both of the quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 and NVivo 10 software programs, respectively. Study findings have revealed that there was a correlation between social capital and mental health. The building social capital program was effective in developing social capital and its components. Among the developed social capital components, cognitive, structural and bonding social capital could predict total social capital. While bridging social capital was not a significant predictor of total social capital. Also the building social capital program was effective in developing mental health. Among developed social capital components, cognitive and structural social capital could predict mental health while bonding and bridging social capital did not make any contribution in predicting mental health. In addition, qualitative results showed that the building social capital has effectively improved all components of social capital and their sub-scales. As a conclusion, findings from the current study have provided empirical evidences that building social capital program based on self-help group and training of social skills was effective in improving social capital and mental health of international students. This conceptual framework can help social workers to apply the theory of social capital into practice. In addition, social work practitioners should consider such an intervention for targeted populations in order to maximize the benefits of social capital. Since empirical investigations in this field are relatively new, additional research is needed to advance theory, research and practice.
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Keywords
Mental health , International students in Universiti Sains Malaysia