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Understanding Anxiety Sources Among International and Domestic Students: A Comparative Study
 Khanh Nguyen
Faculty Advisor: Robert Josephs, PhD
Anxiety is a prevalent mental health concern among college students. The factors contributing to it may differ between international and domestic students. Although prior research has examined mental health disparities between these groups, findings are inconsistent regarding whether international students experience higher anxiety levels than domestic students. Moreover, there is a lack of research on the specific sources of anxiety affecting each group within the U.S. This study compared overall anxiety levels between international and domestic undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Austin, and identified the primary sources of anxiety reported within each group. Participants were 41 undergraduate students (domestic n = 30; international n = 11). Anxiety levels and sources were measured using a standardized self-report measure of general anxiety symptoms and a custom questionnaire measuring five anxiety domains: academic pressure, financial stress, social isolation, cultural adjustment, and visa/legal challenges. Contrary to expectations, domestic students reported significantly higher overall anxiety than international students, and rated all shared anxiety sources more strongly, with the largest gap in financial stress. Domestic students also showed a clear dominant anxiety domain, with academic pressure significantly higher than financial or social concerns. Among international students, no single anxiety source emerged as dominant; anxiety ratings across academic, financial, social, cultural, and visa/legal domains were generally similar. Findings suggest that student anxiety does not manifest uniformly across populations and underscore the need for targeted, population-specific mental health support rather than universal intervention models.