The relationship between perceived discrimination, depression, and somatization among Mongolian international students in South Korea: the mediating effects of acculturation stress and loneliness
摘要
The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of acculturative stress and loneliness on the relationship between perceived discrimination, depression, and somatization among international students from Mongolia living in South Korea. Data were collected from 288 Mongolian international students in South Korea, and 268 responses were analyzed after excluding 20 participants who were not university students or had incomplete responses.The analysis was conducted using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 programs to evaluate the structural equation model. The results indicated that perceived discrimination had a significant direct effect on acculturative stress, depression, and somatization. However, the direct path from perceived discrimination to loneliness was not significant. Additionally, acculturative stress had a significant effect on loneliness, depression, and somatization, suggesting that higher levels of acculturative stress are associated with increased loneliness, depression, and somatization. Furthermore, loneliness had a significant negative effect on both depression and somatization. The mediated effects of loneliness and acculturation were significant, indicatingthat perceived discrimination canincrease acculturative stress, which in turn can increase loneliness, leading to depression. Finally, perceived discrimination had a significant indirect effect on somatization through acculturative stress and loneliness.