Group psychological support as emotional well-being improvement in Chinese students during adaptation before studying at Russian university

The increasing number of international students in Russian universities, particularly within the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, emphasizes the importance of their social, cultural, and academic adaptation. Emotional well-being is a crucial factor, as it directly relates to academic success, life satisfaction, and resilience. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of group psychological support in improving the emotional state and adaptation capacity of Chinese students in the early days of stay in Russia. The study includes 136 students aged from 17 to 25. Research tools comprise the Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale (CCSAS), Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), the Well-Being–Activity–Mood Scale (SAN),the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) by Dr. E. Diener, and an author’s version of the polar profiles technique. According to CCSAS, about 30% showed a low level of adaptation, mainly in the academic and interpersonal domains. VAS served to evaluate the effectiveness of the group psychological support. Significant improvements were observed in the subset of participants (19 students): their emotional state increased from 6.5 ± 1.1 to 7.6 ± 1.5; t (18) = 5.42; p < 0.001, while subjective adaptation rose from 5.8 ± 0.9 to 6.4 ± 1.1; t (18) = 4.71; p < 0.001. Correlation analysis showed strong associations between life satisfaction, well-being, activity, and mood on the one hand, and negative indicators such as anxiety, stress, and adaptation difficulties on the other. The findings confirm that group psychological support reduces stress and anxiety, strengthens the sense of belonging, and develops effective self-regulation strategies, thus serving as an efficient tool for the adaptation of Chinese students in Russian universities.