“It’s a constant war”: exploring the mental health, coping, and institutional support needs of Palestinian students at US universities during ongoing political violence

This dissertation investigates the mental health, coping, and institutional support needs of Palestinian students at universities in the United States (US) in the context of ongoing political violence, particularly following the escalation of violence in Palestine since October 7th, 2023. Although physically distant from Palestine, Palestinian students in the United States remain deeply impacted by the trauma of witnessing violence against their communities abroad and the political backlash experienced on their university campuses. Employing a convergent embedded mixed-methods design, this study explores the experiences of seventeen Palestinian students enrolled in universities across nine U.S. states. This study draws upon trauma and coping concepts and theories, including continuous traumatic stress, collective and historical trauma, the Cultural Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping, and the Cognitive Developmental Model of Identity Integration to frame the multidimensional and intersecting forms of distress encountered by participants. This study also introduces the novel concept of secondary continuous traumatic stress to explore previously unexplained distress experienced by Palestinian students at US universities from witnessing the violence overseas. Qualitative analyses revealed five themes: institutional betrayal and anti-Palestinian racism, pervasive traumatic distress, collective coping, cycles of distress, engagement, and disengagement in coping strategies, and institutional acknowledgment, inclusion, and protection for Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students. Quantitative analysis added to these findings through four themes: low acute distress and moderate cumulative distress, high cumulative trauma burden, moderate and varying degrees of existential anxiety, and moderate and varying use of coping. The integrated findings highlight that many participants experienced traumatic distress caused by both witnessing violence in Palestine and from harmful responses at their universities. Participants relied on collective forms of coping, including activism and social support, but also encountered exhaustion, burnout, and heightened survivors’ guilt. The study underscores an urgent need for universities to move beyond performative statements and enact substantive changes, such as divestment from entities complicit in violence, culturally responsive mental health services, and the creation of safe physical and academic spaces for Palestinian students. This study fills several gaps in the literature and offers recommendations based on Palestinian student’s lived experience for fostering safer, more inclusive campus environments for Palestinian and other marginalized students experiencing trauma related to political violence.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Muller, Jenna

Contributors dc:contributor

• Powell, Tara
• Tan, Kevin
• Lough, Ben
• Davis, Jenny
• Awad, Awad

• Trauma
• Mental Health
• Coping
• Institutional Support
• Political Violence

Statement dc:rights

• © 2025 Jenna Muller All Rights Reserved

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130185

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F130185