Associations Between Psychological Conditions and Social Capital Among Chinese International Students in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study investigated the psychological conditions of Chinese international students in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the association between different forms of social capital and psychological outcomes (i.e., worries about being infected, subjective wellbeing, loneliness, and psychological coping responses). In our study, different forms of social capital refer to bonding social capital originating from host national and co-national networks, bridging social capital, and maintained social capital. A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2021. Our results demonstrated that the effects of social capital on psychological conditions differed according to its form. Worries about being infected, loneliness, and negative coping had negative associations with bonding social capital originating from host national network, but no associations with bonding social capital originating from co-national network, bridging social capital, and maintained social capital. Subjective wellbeing had a positive relationship with social capital originating from host national network and bridging social capital. Positive coping was only significantly associated with bridging social capital. To help international students cope better with the pandemic, efforts are required to strengthen their host national networks and expand their weak-tie networks.