A Systematic Literature Review of International Student Resilience: Moving Toward an Interdisciplinary Multilayered Model

The study of international student resilience is of paramount psychological, political, and sociological significance. To date, however, no comprehensive mapping of the existing research on this topic has been undertaken. In response, our systematic literature review screened 5,635 publications retrieved from more than 80 databases and analyzed the 66 most relevant studies in-depth. We examined the contextual, conceptual, methodological, and empirical complexities of international student resilience through a concerted inductive–deductive approach to descriptive and thematic analysis. This examination was initially grounded in psychological theories of resilience, particularly the conceptual triad of challenges, facilitators, and positive outcomes, as well as the protective, compensatory, and challenge models. We then extended and problematized this psychological orientation by incorporating political and sociological debates on individual responsibilization and social justice, alongside engagement with the multi-Rs sociological model of resilience. Building on this review, we propose an interdisciplinary, multilayered model that serves as a heuristic for studying international student resilience and resilience more broadly, across empirical, conceptual, real, and ideological levels.