Relationship between Stressors Due to Siege of Gaza Strip on Anxiety, Depression and Coping Strategies among University Students

Aim: The present study assessed siege related stressors and their impact on the depression, anxiety and coping strategies among university students in the Gaza Strip. Method: It is descriptive analytic study comprised of 399 randomly selected university students from the four main universities in Gaza Strip (Al-Aqsa, Al- Azhar, Al-Quds Open and Islamic University). Five questionnaires were used: sociodemographic questionnaire, the Gaza Stressful Situations Checklist, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Carver Brief Coping Scale. Results: The most frequently reported stressors were: sharply increased prices due to closure (92% of students), studies being affected so much due to cut-off of electricity (83.5%), and shortage of gas. Results showed that mean stressors in men were 12.38 and 10.33 in women. The study showed 9.5% of men and 12% of women had severe depression although no gender differences were found. In addition, 10.3% of men and 13.8% of women had anxiety. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between total stress due to siege and depression symptoms and anxiety. The most frequent coping strategies were finding comfort in religious beliefs (78.2%), thinking about what steps to take (71.4%), and learning to live with the situation (67.7%). A significant negative relationship was found between total score of stress due to siege and total coping strategies. Conclusion: The Gaza siege has had lasting negative effects on Palestinians, which has led to increased mental health problems among and to them using fewer positive coping strategies. Humanitarian organizations should play a more positive role to protect the Palestinian community from the negative consequences of siege. Further research is recommended to evaluate the impact of siege on Palestinian people in all aspects of life and to provide therapeutic interventions for university students with moderate and severe depression.