Life Under Occupation: Citizenship And Other Factors Influencing The Well-Being Of University Students Living In The West Bank

Keywords

citizenship; conflict; Health-related quality of life; insecurity; occupied Palestinian Territory; stress

Abstract

There is substantial evidence that individuals affected by conflict suffer poor physical and mental outcomes, particularly in indicators of well-being. This study assesses the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), perceived stress and insecurity of Palestinian young adults in the West Bank. We surveyed 398 university students from Nablus (mean age = 20.1) using the SF-36 to measure HRQoL, the PSS-4 to assess stress and a context-specific insecurity instrument. A third of participants reported Israeli citizenship, and the results indicated better outcomes in these individuals in several outcomes, with the noteworthy exception of insecurity. This study is one of the first to assess citizenship of West Bank Palestinians as a potential covariate to predict measures of well-being. Because citizenship is such a meaningful issue for Palestinians and is related to individual freedom and access to resources, this study suggests that there are complex dynamics outside of typical demographic variables that contribute to well-being.

Publication Date

4-2-2016

Publication Title

Medicine, Conflict and Survival

Volume

32

Issue

2

Number of Pages

112-137

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1080/13623699.2016.1242049

Socpus ID

84991030100 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84991030100

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