EWU McNair Scholar Darlynne Khayesi worked with Dr. Jillene Seiver in her Summer Research Internship on Mental Health Challenges in College Students which focused on the experiences of immigrant students.
Darlynne’s study aimed to test the hypothesis that there is a higher prevalence of mental health issues among immigrant college-attending students compared to their native counterparts. In a multicultural context, all immigrants, regardless of their paperwork status, face psychological stress—or acculturative stress—when confronted with both risks and opportunities with regards to their cultural and individual identities upon arrival in a new nation.
She recruited survey participants through a random selection of college students who volunteered to participate in the online survey. The human volunteers’ identities could not be traced back to them.
The survey used questions based on The Perceived Stress Scale, Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, and the Trauma History Questionnaire, in randomized order. These were followed by demographic questions, such as age, sex, marital status, family or household income level, parents’ highest level of education, participant highest level of education, employment status, and immigrant status. For immigrants, further questions involve family situation (e.g. whether moved to US with family) and living situation (e.g. with family, roommates, etc.). Following data collection, groups will be investigated and compared based if they are immigrants or native born, with data reflecting the sample population.
Darlynne is a senior at EWU majoring in Applied Developmental Psychology and minoring in Communications Studies as well as Gender and Women’s Studies. She is currently finalizing the analysis and related research paper for this research project while applying to graduate programs at several schools. We look forward to seeing what Darlynne does next!
