Understanding Palestinian University Student Mental Health, Coping and Institutional Support Needs: A Mixed Methods Study

Background and Purpose. Palestinians have experienced chronic political violence that has led to significant impacts on their well-being. In October of 2023, another surge of political violence began in the Palestinian territories that has caused widespread suffering, death, and destruction. This violence has also had marked ripple effects on the global community, and Palestinian students at US universities are one of these groups in dire need of intentional support. The synergistic effects of transgenerational trauma, acute traumatic stress, and discrimination in campus communities may place Palestinian students at increased risk for negative psychological outcomes. In response to the current trauma burden of Palestinian college students, universities can play a significant role in providing essential resources for mental health and well-being.

This mixed-methods study assessed the mental health impacts, coping strategies, perceptions of institutional response and mental health needs of Palestinian university students in the US situated in the context of the ongoing political violence in Palestine. This study addressed the following research questions via qualitative and quantitative inquiry: 1) What is the impact of prolonged political violence on the mental health of Palestinian students in US universities? 2) What strategies are Palestinian students in US universities using to cope with prolonged political violence? 3) What are Palestinian students’ perceptions of institutional responses at two US universities pertaining to the wave of violence following October 2023? 4), What types of university support and/or resources do Palestinian students identify as needed within the context of ongoing political violence?

Methods. An embedded mixed methods design was used in this study, a type of design in which quantitative data measuring mental health and coping was collected within a traditional qualitative design. Qualitative semi-structured interview data was used to explore mental health, coping, university responses, and mental health support needs, and quantitative survey data was used to support qualitative findings around student mental health and coping. Data was collected between October 2024 and March 2025. Purposive sampling techniques were used to locate and enroll a total of 17 student participants for the quantitative surveys. From this pool of participants, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subset of 13 student participants. Qualitative data and quantitative data were analyzed separately, then brought together and discussed through the lens of Political Determinants of Health and Historical Trauma frameworks.

Results, Conclusions and Implications. Themes from the combined qualitative and quantitative data included student experiences of institutional betrayal; increased challenges to maintaining well-being due to ongoing violence and local community responses; use of collective and community-oriented coping strategies; and a desire for increased institutional support through changes such as tailoring of mental health services, university-supported education about Palestine and the ongoing violence, and policies that protect Palestinian, pro-Palestinian and other affected students from discrimination and censorship. These study findings demonstrate the need for a broader view of student well-being and appropriate supportive responses during ongoing global conflict and encourage the enhancement of social justice and mental health equity at institutions of higher education.