Depressive symptoms among international exchange students, and their predictors

The study described in the present paper prospectively examined the depressive symptoms displayed by a cohort of Japanese high school students (n=144) before and during their 1-year placements with volunteer host families in various countries under the aegis of an international cultural exchange programme. The subjects' level of depression showed a statistically significant increase 6 months after such a placement, but had returned to pre-departure levels by the completion of their 1-year placement. The variables that significantly predicted depressive symptoms during the placement in multiple regression analyses were the neuroticism score and the depressive symptoms measured prior to departure. However, the parental rearing practices and the fluency in the English language did not show a significant correlation. When measures of social support during the placement were entered, the perceived adequacy of social support was found to make an additional contribution to the prediction of depressive symptoms.