Perceived discrimination, social connectedness, and mental well-being of international students in Türkiye: Mediating roles of self efficacy and student-university match

Çetinkaya Yıldız E., Koğar E. Y., Metin A., Alkan D.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS, cilt.110, ss.102333, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 110
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102333
  • Dergi Adı: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), ABI/INFORM, CINAHL, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Index Islamicus, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.102333
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study examines whether general self-efficacy and student-university match mediate the relationship between international students’ perceived discrimination and social connectedness and their well-being. A total of 350 international students (64 % female) participated in this study. The data analysis used the bootstrapping technique to perform parallel multiple mediation analysis. The findings indicate that perceived discrimination and social connectedness directly affect mental well-being and mental affect well-being through the mediation effects of general self-efficacy and student-university match variables. Since the direct and mediation effects are significant and in the same direction, there is complementary mediation in these two models. The findings contributed to the literature on the relationship between discrimination, social connectedness, and mental well-being among international students. The results underscore the importance of creating inclusive and supportive settings in higher education to improve the mental well-being of international students.