Post-traumatic stress disorder among Palestinian university students following the May 2021 war

Abstract Background Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common disorder among survivors of war-combat. Along with the spread of CVOID-19, the May 2021 war against Gaza Strip increased the chance for PTSD among university students living in the Gaza Strip, hence, this study aimed to assess level of PTSD among university students following Israeli war against the Gaza Strip in May 2021. Methodology: This cross-sectional study targeted all university students in Gaza Strip. The Impact Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) {which has 3 domains; intrusion, avoidance, and hyper-arousal} was used to assess PTSD among participants. Results The results showed that only 4.3% of the participants had not symptoms of PTSD while 88.7% showed severe symptoms of PTSD. The mean for IES-R score was 2.55. The highest mean of IES-R domains related to “Intrusion” (mean = 2.77) followed by “Avoidance” (mean = 2.28) and “Hyper-arousal” (mean = 2.01). Differences between males and females, participants who got injured and those who did not, participants who had a family member got injured and those who hadn’t, participants who had a relative/a friend got injured and those who hadn’t, participants who had a family member killed during the war and those who hadn’t, and participants who had a relative or a friend killed during the war and those who hadn’t were all statistically significant. Conclusion The findings showed that university students living in the Gaza Strip suffered from severe PTSD following the May 2021 war. This level of PTSD shows the need for special intervention programs to diminish level of stress and trauma among these students after the war, especially with the spread of COVID-19 pandemic which increases their stress level.