Healthy Ways of Construing the Self: Specific Dimensions of Self‐Construal Are Negatively Associated with Depressive Symptoms Among International Students in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Living in a new cultural environment features potential tensions between how international students see themselves and what is expected of them in the host society, which can have a negative impact on their self‐treatment and mental health. This research explored which specific dimensions of self‐construal protect international students in the Netherlands from negative self‐treatment and depressive symptoms. Specifically, we conducted two cross‐sectional survey studies with international students from the two largest groups in the Netherlands. We found that three specific dimensions of their self‐construal —higher levels of consistency, self‐direction, and self‐expression —were associated with lower levels of negative self‐treatment and depressive symptoms. We discuss how this pattern of findings aligns with a pancultural explanation based on human need satisfaction, but also with a more contextual explanation based on the cultural fit between specific dimensions of self‐construal and core values of Dutch society.