Development of the Causal Relationship Model of Mental Health and Quality of Life of Chinese Students in Upper Northern Thai Universities
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Abstract
This research aimed to develop the causal relationship model for examining Chinese students’ mental health and quality of life in upper northern Thai universities. The sample consisted of 420 Chinese undergraduate students from upper northern Thai universities, selected by stratified random sampling. The research instruments were the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Assessment Short Form, the Thai General Health Questionnaire (Thai GHQ-28), the College Climate Perception Test, the Cultural Differences in Perception Test, and the Resilience Quotient. Data were analyzed by utilizing a causal structural model with latent variables.
The results showed that the proposed model fitted the empirical data; chi-square statistics () = 268.70,
/df = 169, /df = 1.59, RMSEA = .038, SRMR = .065, GFI = .94, AGFI = 0.92 and CN = 334.50 and all path coefficients were statistically significant at .05 level. Furthermore, the findings showed that college climate perception had the most effect on mental health (path coefficient = .65), followed by resilience quotient (path coefficient = .16). For cultural differences in perception, it was the only variable that influenced the quality of life (path coefficient = -.25). The results of this study will serve as a guideline for educational institutions to prepare to take care of Chinese students studying in Thailand, ensuring they have good mental health and quality of life.
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