Depression and anxiety from acculturative stress: Maladaptive perfectionism as a mediator and mindfulness as a moderator.

Abstract

This cross-sectional study applied Berry (1997, 2006) Stress and Coping Framework of Acculturation to Chinese international students to understand their mental distress and contributing factors. Maladaptive perfectionism (i.e., the failure to meet one's standards for performance) was hypothesized to mediate the effect of acculturation stress on anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the positive associations between acculturation stress and depression and anxiety were hypothesized to vary depending on students' mindfulness levels (i.e., nonjudgmentally paying attention in the present moment). A total of 167 Chinese international students attending a predominantly White, Midwestern University completed an online survey. Conditional process modeling via Hayes (2013) PROCESS was used to analyze the data. The results demonstrated that acculturation stress was positively associated with higher maladaptive perfectionism, which in turn was positively associated with depression and anxiety. Furthermore, the effect of acculturation stress on depression was significant for those with mindfulness levels lower than the 95th percentile. The effect of acculturation stress on anxiety was significant for those with mindfulness levels lower than the 95th percentile. This study identified that students with lower mindfulness levels may be at higher risk for depression and anxiety while experiencing acculturation stress. Overall, findings supported using Berry (1997, 2006) theory to understand Chinese international students' risk for mental distress. Counselors can apply these findings to increase students' awareness about possible risk and protective factors for depression and anxiety.