The impact of social support on the relation between stress from daily life issues and depression among East Asian international students in the United States

Moderation effects of social support on the relation between stress resulting from five daily life issues (i.e., acculturation, second language, academic performance, interpersonal relationships, and financial concerns) and psychological distress (i.e., the level of depression) among China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan international students were examined in this study. The results showed that there is no moderation effect of social support on the relation between stress resulting from five daily life issues and the level of depression among this rapidly growing population. Additionally, no moderation effects of social support from a specific source on the relation between stress from a specific daily life issue and the level of depression were found. Even though the findings of this study were not consistent with stress-coping theory and stress-buffering model and did not support the proposed model of this study, it did support that significant and positive relationships between stress resulting from five daily life issues and the level of depression exist and significant and negative relationships between perceived social support and the level of depression exist among East Asian international students in the United States.