Depression, anxiety and coping strategies among Palestinian university students during political violence: a cross sectional study
Date
2024-09-03
Authors
Ahmead Muna
El Sharif Nuha
Abuiram Issa
Alshawish Eman
Dweib Mohammad
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Publisher
Frontiers in Public Health
Abstract
Background: There are numerous wars and ongoing political violence
in Palestine and little is known about how they have affected Palestinian
undergraduate students’ mental health and coping strategies. This study aimed
to assess the prevalence of depression, and anxiety symptoms and coping
mechanisms among Palestinian university students during the times of current
political violence in Palestine after October 7, 2023.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was utilized for a sample of
students from 3 universities in Palestine (Al Quds University, Hebron University,
and An-Najah University) and 1815 participants responded. Data were collected
using self-reported questionnaires, including Hospital Anxiety and Depression
Scale (HADS) and Brief COPE scale. Person correlation test, chi-square test,
and bivariate analysis were performed to examine the associations between
research variables.
Results: The estimated prevalence of depression was 65.9, and 60.9% for anxiety.
The logistic regression showed that students from the Arts Faculty, females,
and those with working parents were significantly more likely to experience
depression and anxiety symptoms. Also, active coping, emotional support, and
humor reduced the likelihood of experiencing depression symptoms, while active
coping, positive reframing, humor, and acceptance decreased the likelihood
of developing anxiety symptoms. Further, the study found that using religion,
self-blame, denial, and behavioral disengagement increased the likelihood of
depression symptoms while planning, venting, religion, self-blame, denial, and
behavioral disengagement increased the likelihood of anxiety symptoms.
Conclusion: The study found that political violence often leads to symptoms
of depression and anxiety among undergraduates. Furthermore, the use of
maladaptive coping mechanisms increases the likelihood that these symptoms
will occur. Providing immediate assistance to university students affected by
political violence and conflicts is crucial for their emotional and mental recovery
and coping with difficulties.
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Citation
Ahmead M, El Sharif N, Abuiram I, Alshawish E and Dweib M (2024) Depression, anxiety and coping strategies among Palestinian university students during political violence: a cross sectional study. Front. Public Health 12:1436672. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1436672