The influence of language barrier states on the psychological distress of expatriates residing in Türkiye

Scholars have noted that language barriers have an impact on the psychological distress of individuals. The inability to understand and communicate with others creates the space for problems to arise in one's workplace, social standing, and personal life. In the current study, the influence of language barrier states on three dimensions of mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) was investigated. One hundred ninety-two participants completed an online survey which included the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21), a one-item question to understand language level, and a Demographics Information Form in order to identify the influence of language barrier states on the participants' psychological distress scores. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine the differences between three states of language barriers (beginner, intermediate, advanced) on depression, anxiety, and stress scores. The results revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the depression, anxiety and stress scores based on the language barrier states that expats in Türkiye experience. It was concluded that perception of language barriers ought to be considered in further studies in order to better understand the influential parties found in this association.