Development of a Technology for Assessing the Risk of Psychosomatic Disorders in Russian and Foreign Students During Adaptation to Academic Stress

Studying in a modern university is usually associated with increased cognitive and emotional load, which in turn can provoke the development of various psychosomatic disorders in students. It is a well-known fact that foreign students studying in Russia are a group more susceptible to the effects of stress compared to Russian students. In this regard, it is an important task to develop a comprehensive methodology to assess the dynamics of anxiety-depressive spectrum disorders in Russian and foreign students studying in Russia. In our work we proposed and tested a comprehensive methodology for testing semester-wise dynamics of symptomatology expression of anxiety and depressive disorders in students. The methodology included psychological questionnaires and behavioral testing performed on the basis of the stop-signal paradigm (SSP). The results of the study revealed the factors that affect (increase or decrease) the risk of anxiety and depression in groups of Russian and foreign students studying in Russian universities.