Dissociative experiences among Lebanese university students: Association with mental health issues, the economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Beirut port explosion

Abstract

Background Dissociative experiences are psychological manifestations characterized by a loss of connection and continuity between thoughts, emotions, environment, behavior, and identity. Lebanon has been facing indescribable events in the last few years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut explosion, a crushing economic crisis with the highest inflation rate the country has known in over three decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between dissociative experiences and post-traumatic stress symptoms from the economic crisis, the Beirut blast, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other mental health issues in a sample of Lebanese university students. Methods This cross-sectional study enrolled 419 active university students (18–35 years) from all over Lebanon (May and August 2021). The respondents received the online soft copy of a survey by a snowball sampling technique through social media and messaging apps. The questionnaire included sociodemographic data, the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES-II), the PTSD Checklist Specific Version (PCL-S), the Financial Wellbeing Scale, the Beirut Distress Scale, the Lebanese Anxiety Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire. Results The two-factor model of the DES fitted best according to CFI, RMSEA and χ2/df values, but modestly according to TLI. The two factors were absorption and amnesia/depersonalization. Higher stress (Beta = 0.95) and more PTSD from the Beirut blast (Beta = 0.29) and from the economic crisis (Beta = 0.23) were significantly associated with more absorption. A personal history of depression (Beta = 6.03), higher stress (Beta = 0.36) and more PTSD from the Beirut blast (Beta = 0.27) and from the COVID-19 pandemic (Beta = 0.16) were significantly associated with more amnesia/depersonalization. Conclusion Significant rates of dissociative experiences and their sub-manifestations (amnesia/depersonalization and absorption) were found among Lebanese university students, with remarkable co-occurrence of a traumatic/stressful pattern, whether on an individual (history of PTSD) or a collective level (Post-traumatic manifestations from Beirut blast, COVID-19 pandemic and/or economic crisis), or whether correlated to an acute single event or to certain chronic stressors, or even to a personal history of depression. Such findings must raise the attention to serious mental and psychosocial alteration in the Lebanese national identity.

The mediating role of anxiety and depression between problematic social media use and bulimia nervosa among Lebanese university students

“…Lebanese Anxiety Scale (LAS-10) is a 10-item instrument in Arabic measuring the severity of anxiety symptoms among Lebanese adults [ 49 ] and adolescents [ 50 ]. This scale was previously used in Lebanon [ 51 , 40 ]. In LAS-10, the first seven questions are graded from 1 to 10, and the last three questions are graded from 1 to 4 based on the repetitive manifestation of symptoms (i.e., “I feel that the difficulties are accumulating to the point where I can’t get through them”).…”

“…There is evidence to support the idea that non-Western nations are not immune to EDs where EDs are spreading, especially in the Middle East [ 1 ]. Mental health issues are frequently underestimated in developing countries, although they were shown to be prevalent in Lebanon following the COVID-19 pandemic [ 39 ], particularly in the context of a severe socio-economic crisis and political instability [ 40 , 41 ]. Moreover, Arab cultures and mentalities favor and work hard for a thin and toned body, which puts a lot of pressure on people, therefore, emphasizing the importance of studying BN in these populations.…”

The evolving Lebanese drug crisis: Trends in drug availability and affordability for common outpatient diseases from 2019 to 2023

“…From this list, we selected the most common outpatient diseases and subsequently generated the following five drug classes used to treat these conditions: antibiotics, anticoagulant & antithrombotics, cardiovascular, diabetes, and COPD. Though not a leading cause of mortality in Lebanon, we chose to also include psychiatric medications as a separate drug class due to the increasing rates of mental health disorders associated with the economic crisis, the 2020 Beirut explosion, and the COVID-19 pandemic [ 14 , 15 ]. A final list of medications for analysis was selected in a two-step process: 1) medications included in the 2018 Lebanese Ministry of Public Health list of essential medications that fit within the drug classes listed above; 2) medications not included in the 2018 list that were deemed relevant to treat the conditions listed above [ 16 ].…”

Psychometric properties of the Arabic Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale- Parent in a non-clinical sample of Arabic-speaking adults

“…On their side, children are exposed to these factors plus family con icts that could result from economic pressures, as well as academic and social media pressures. [25][26][27] Recognizing and dealing with anxiety among children, as well as understanding parental perceptions of it in Lebanon is crucial, yielding the need of Arabic translation and validation of the SCAS-Parent.…”