Examining the Experiences of Campus Safety among International Students

Main Article Content

Sonia H. Ramrakhiani
Andrew M. Byrne
Christopher A. Sink

Abstract

Although international students comprise a significant percentage of the college population, limited attention is directed to their safety needs. This study measured the experiences and perceptions of campus safety among international college students in the United States. The researchers sampled participants from institutions around the country, who self-identified as international students. A researcher-developed 53-item Likert scale questionnaire, the International College Students’ Safety Questionnaire (ICSSQ), was administered to the sample. Findings from the exploratory factor analysis provided preliminary evidence for a four-factor solution for the 26-item ICSSQ with adequate internal consistency. Salient demographic variables, such as, nationality, college status and perceived proficiency in English, were found to be significantly linked to derived factor scores. Implications for institutional adoption of this instrument, along with limitations and directions for future research are included.

Article Details

Section
Articles

References

Baba, Y., & Hosoda, M. (2014). Home away home: Better understanding of the role of social support in predicting cross-cultural adjustment among international students. College Student Journal, 48(1), 1-15.

Babacan, H., Pyke, J., Bhathal, A., Gill, G., Grossman, M., & Bertone, S. (2010). The community safety of international students in Melbourne: A scoping study. Melbourne: Institute for Community, Ethnicity and Policy Alternatives (ICEPA), Victoria University. http://vuir.vu.edu.au/15491/

Bekmuratova, S. Z. (2012). Study of international students’ definitions of, and perceptions about, domestic violence against women. Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects. Paper 55. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/55

Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5–68.

Bista, K., & Foster, C. (2011). Issues of international student retention in American higher education. The International Journal of Research and Review, 7(2), 1-10. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1958362

Cantor, D., Fisher, B, Chibnall, S, Townsend, R., Lee, H., Bruce, C., & Thomas, G. (2019). Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct. Association of American Universities. https://www.aau.edu/sites/default/files/AAU-Files/Key-Issues/Campus-Safety/Revised%20Aggregate%20report%20%20and%20appendices%201-7_(01-16-2020_FINAL).pdf

Chen, H., Akpanudo, U., & Hasler, E. (2020). How Do Chinese International Students View Seeking Mental Health Services? Journal of International Students, 10(2), 286-305. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i2.765

Contreras-Aguirre, H. C., & Gonzalez, E. G. Y. (2017). Experiences of international female students in U.S. graduate programs. College Student Journal, 51(1), 33.

Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ee, J. (2013). “Is he an idiot!” Experiences of international students in the United States. Journal of International Students, 3(1), 72-75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v3i1.522

Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using SPSS (4th Edition). Sage.

Forbes-Mewett, H., & McCulloch, J. (2016). International students and gender-based violence. Violence Against Women, 22(3), 344-365. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801215602344

Forbes-Mewett, H., & Sawyer, A-M. (2011). Mental health issues amongst international students in Australia: Perspectives from professionals at the coal-face. The Australian Sociological Association Conference Local Lives/Global Networks. University of Newcastle New South Wales.

Glass, C. R., Buus, S., & Braskamp, L. A. (2013). Uneven experiences: What’s missing and what matters for today’s international students. Global Perspective Institute. https://www.gpi.hs.iastate.edu/documents/Report-on-International-Students.pdf

Glass, C. R., & Westmont-Campbell, C. (2014). Comparative effects of belongingness on the academic success and cross-cultural interactions of domestic and international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 38(1), 106-119. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.04.004

Graham, J. W. (2009). Missing data analysis: Making it work in the real world. Annual Review of Psychology, 60(1), 549-576. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085530

Granello, D.H., & Wheaton, J.E. (2011). Online data collection: Strategies for research. Journal of Counseling and Development, 82, 387-393. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2004.tb00325.x

Hacker, N. L., & Bellmore, E. N. (2020). “The Trump Effect”: How does it impact international student enrollment in U.S. colleges? Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, 10(1), 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31274/jctp.11588

Heppner, P. P., Wang, K. T., Heppner, M. J., Wang L. (2012). From cultural encapsulation to cultural competence: The cross-national cultural competence model. In Fouad N.A., Carter J. A., Subich L. M. (Eds.), APA handbook of counseling psychology, Vol. 2: Practice, interventions, and applications (pp. 433-471). American Psychological Association. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/13755-018

Hinkin, T. R., Tracey, J. B., & Enz, C. A. (1997). Scale construction: Developing reliable and valid measurement instruments. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 21(1), 100- 120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/109634809702100108

Institute of International Education. (2020). United States hosts over 1 million international students for the fifth consecutive year. https://www.iie.org/en/Why-IIE/Announcements/2020/11/2020-Open-Doors-Report

Institute of International Education. (2019). International students in the United States. https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Data

Kaiser, H. F. (1960). The application of electronic computers to factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 141-151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/001316446002000116

Kasper, D., & Unlü, A. (2013). On the relevance of assumptions associated with classical factor analytic approaches. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 109, 1-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00109

Lee, J. J. (2010). International students’ experiences and attitudes at a US host institution: Self- reports and future recommendations. Journal of Research in International Education, 9(1), 66-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240909356382

Li, J., Wang, Y., Xiao, F. (2014). East Asian International Students and psychological well-being: A systematic review. Journal of International Students, 4(1), 301-313. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v4i4.450

Lowinger, R. J., He, Z., Lin, M., & Chang, M. (2014). The impact of academic self-efficacy, acculturation difficulties, and language abilities on procrastination behavior in Chinese international students. College Student Journal, 48(1), 141-152.

McLachlan, D. A., & Justice, J. (2009). A grounded theory of international student well-being. The Journal of Theory Construction and Testing, 13(1), 27-32.

Mamiseishvili, K. (2012). International student persistence in U.S. post-secondary institutions. Higher Education, 64, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9477-0

Marginson, S., C. Nyland, E. Sawir, & H. Forbes-Mewett (2010). International student security. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511751011

Mesidor, J., & Sly, K. (2014). Mental Health help-seeking intentions among International and African-American college students: An application of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Journal of International Students, 4(2), 137-149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v4i2.474

Mvududu, N. H., & Sink, C. (2013). Factor analysis in counseling research and practice. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 4(2), 75-98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2150137813494766

Nyland, C., Forbes-Mewett, H., & Marginson, S. (2010). The international student safety debate: Moving beyond denial. Higher Education Research and Development, 29 (1), 89- 101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360903277364

Owens, A. R., & Loomes, S. L. (2010). Managing and resourcing a program of social integration initiative for international university students: what are the benefits? Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(3), 275-290.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13600801003743364

Patron, M. (2014). Loss and loneliness among international students. Psychology Journal, 11(1), 24-43.

Pew Research Center. (2017). Facts on foreign students in the U.S. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/fact-sheet/foreign-students-in-the-u-s/

Postel, E. J. (2020). Violence against international students: A critical gap in the literature. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 21 (1), 71-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017742385

Redden, E. (2020a, July 1). International students’ worries during the pandemic. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/07/01/survey-international-students-main-concerns-center-issues-health-safety-and

Redden, E. (2020b, Nov. 16). International student numbers decline. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/11/16/survey-new-international-enrollments-drop-43-percent-fall

Renn, K. A., & Reason, R. D. (2013). College Students in the United States: characteristics, experiences, and outcomes. Jossey-Bass.

Salinas, C. & Lozano, A. (2021). History and Evolution of the term Latinx. In E. G. Murillo, D. Delgado Bernal, S. Morales, L. Urrieta, E. Ruiz Bybee, J. Sánchez Muñoz, V. B. Saenz, D. Villanueva, M. Machado-Casas, & K. Espinoza (Eds.), Handbook of Latinos and Education (second edition), (pp. 249-263). Rutledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429292026

Scholl, J. A., Cogan, C., Micol, R. L., Steward, J., Hancock, K., & Davis, J. L. (2019). Physical and sexual violence on college campuses: Considerations for international students. Journal of American College Health. DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2019.1668398

Shea, M., & Yeh, C. J. (2008). Asian American students' cultural values, stigma, and relational self-construal: Correlates of attitudes toward professional help seeking. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 30(2), 157-172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.30.2.g662g5l2r1352198

Terrazas-Carrillo, E. C., Hong, J. Y., & Pace, T. M. (2014). Adjusting to new places: International student adjustment and place attachment. Journal of College Student Development, 55(7), 693-706. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2014.0070

Urias, D. (2005). Empowering the disenfranchised: Supporting spouses of international students and scholars. International Educator: Foreign Student Affairs, 42-47.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2015 (NCES 2016-079). https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=804

Valdez, G. (2015). US higher education classroom experiences of undergraduate Chinese international students. Journal of International Students, 5(2), 188-200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v5i2.434

Wang, K. T., Li, F., Wang, Y., Hunt, E. N., Yan, G. C., & Curry, D. E. (2014). The International Friendly Campus Scale: Development and psychometric evaluation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 42, 118-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2014.05.004

Willis-O’Connor, S. (2014). International students’ impressions of counseling. Antistasis, 3(1), 11-15.

Yao, C. W., & Viggiano, T. (2019). Interest convergence and the commodification of international students and scholars in the United States. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, 5(1), 82–109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2642-2387.2019.5.1.81-109

Zhang, J., & Goodson, P. (2011). Acculturation and psychosocial adjustment of Chinese international students: Examining mediation and moderation effects. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 614-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2010.11.004