Exploring Counseling Dropout Rates Among International College Students with Disabilities

Little is known about the experiences of international students with disabilities in counseling services. Due to challenges for international students, higher levels of distress and cases of dropout from counseling at university counseling centers are expected. Researchers used data from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) to explore the interaction between international student status and disability status on counseling dropout. Data collected represented treatment received between August 2014 and May 2019 and represented a total sample of 159,537. Participants were categorized into four groups: international students with disabilities (n = 331), international students without disabilities (n = 8,059), domestic students with disabilities (n = 11,362), and domestic students without disabilities (n = 139,785). Data were collected from the Standardized Data Set (SDS) and counseling center final report. A hierarchical binomial logistic regression was conducted. Disability was found to have an effect on counseling dropout. More support and better understanding of disability is needed for effective counseling.