a growing experience - Student Services - University of Melbourne

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTSThe names of these scales and the dimension measured by each are set out below,together with the percentage variance explained, range of factor loadings and thecoefficient of reliability. Details of the scales are provided in Attachment 3.Connectedness scale: Students’ perception of the support available to them inMelbourne: three items (69.2 per cent of variance explained; item factor loadingrange: .82 to .84; alpha=0.78)Cultural Stress scale: Perceived discomfort of students in a culturally unfamiliarsetting: eight items (36.3 per cent of variance explained; item factor loading range:.51 to .70; alpha=0.75)Perceptions of Drug Use scale: Students’ relative use of drugs at home and here,together with evaluation of own and friends’ drug use: seven items (52 per cent ofvariance explained; item factor loading range: .59 to .83; alpha=0.84)Perceptions of Alcohol Use scale: Students’ relative use of alcohol at home and here,together with evaluation of their alcohol use: four items (57.1 per cent of varianceexplained; item factor loading range: .59 to .84; alpha=0.74)Perceptions of Gambling and Smoking scale: Students’ relative gambling andsmoking behaviour at home and here, together with evaluation of their gambling andsmoking: five items (52.2 per cent of variance explained; item factor loading range:.60 to .85; alpha=0.77)Abuse and Distress scale: Students’ experience of physical, verbal and sexual abuse inAustralia, and the resultant distress experienced: three items (75.0 per cent of varianceexplained; item factor loading range: .82 to .91; alpha=0.87)Health Service Evaluation scale: Students’ perception of the quality of service theyreceived: four items (66.5 per cent of variance explained; item factor loading range:.66 to .88; alpha=0.83)Counselling Service Evaluation scale: Students’ perception of the quality of servicethey received: four items (73.4 per cent of variance explained; item factor loadingrange: .70 to .92; alpha=0.88)In addition, items constituting the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS),developed by Lovibond and Lovibond (1995) were included in the questionnaire. Theshort form of the DASS was used for the purpose of this project (seven items perscale). Alpha values given by the authors for a normal (i.e. non-clinical) Australiansample are Depression: 0.81, Anxiety: 0.73; Stress: 0.81. Alpha values for the sampleof students participating in the present study are higher: Depression: 0.88, Anxiety:0.81; Stress: 0.86STATISTICAL ANALYSISThe Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 12.0.1 was used to analyse the data. Arange of statistical tests was used, including various descriptive statistics, inferentialstatistics and multivariate analyses.Rosenthal, Russell & Thomson, 2006 27