Living under Siege: Resilience, hopelessness, and psychological distress among Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip

Background Following an approach that emphasizes adaptation and functioning, we investigated how the cumulative network of associations between the effects of the Gazan siege and resilience/hopelessness may affect mental health outcomes. Specifically, we sought to assess the impact of the siege on psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and stress), as well as the moderating effects of resilience and hopelessness, in a sample of 550 Palestinian university students. Aims. We hypothesized that the consequences of the siege would affect psychological distress, such that the more people were impacted by the siege, the more symptoms of common mental disorders they would report. We also expected that the siege would negatively affect both resilience and hopelessness. Results. We found that higher scores on the scale measuring the impact of the siege were associated with greater hopelessness, while living under siege also compromised resilience. Hence, the more our participants were impacted by the siege, the less their mental health benefited from the protective effects of resilience, and the more hopelessness exposed them to anxiety, stress, and depression. These findings draw attention to how the ongoing violation of human rights influences people’s mental health in Gaza. Implications for clinicians and policymakers are discussed.