International students on the edge: The precarious impacts of financial stress

International students are an important global cohort of 'noncitizens' whose experiences are central concerns for urban sociologists and migration scholars. Drawing on survey fieldwork conducted among international students in the private rental sector in Sydney and Melbourne during 2019,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of sociology (Melbourne, Vic.) Vol. 59; no. 4; pp. 952 - 974
Main Authors Wilson, Shaun, Hastings, Catherine, Morris, Alan, Ramia, Gaby, Mitchell, Emma
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published South Melbourne, VIC SAGE Publications 01.12.2023
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Bedding
Economic stress
Education
Emigration and immigration
Employment
Evaluation
Evictions
Foreign students
GNI
Gross National Income
Higher education
Homeless people
Housing
Life events
Low income groups
Migration
National income
Noncitizens
Occupational stress
Policy making
Poverty
Quantitative analysis
Quantitative research
Social aspects
Sociology, Urban
Well being
education systems
poverty
international migration
quantitative analysis
urban sociology
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Summary:International students are an important global cohort of 'noncitizens' whose experiences are central concerns for urban sociologists and migration scholars. Drawing on survey fieldwork conducted among international students in the private rental sector in Sydney and Melbourne during 2019, this article provides new knowledge about the hardships experienced by international students who report financial stress. Using a modified scale developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, we highlight the accelerating role of high levels of financial stress in producing disruptive events such as housing evictions and fears of homelessness, as well as reliance on inadequate housing like 'hot-bedding'. Financial stress is significantly more likely for students from low-GNI (gross national income) countries and higher stress reduces wellbeing. Access to paid employment, however, does not 'protect' against higher financial stress. We conclude that higher education policymakers need tools and policies to prevent disruptive life events among international students related to financial stress, particularly those associated with housing.
Bibliography:Journal of Sociology, Vol. 59, No. 4, Dec 2023, 952-974
Informit, Melbourne (Vic)
ISSN:1440-7833
1741-2978
DOI:10.1177/14407833221084756