Psychological Aspects of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Despite ongoing local and international peace efforts, the Jews, Arabs, and other residents of Israel and the Palestinian territories (i.e., the West Bank and Gaza) have endured decades of political, social, and physical upheaval, with periodic eruptions of violence. It has been theorized that the psychological impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict extends beyond the bounds of psychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Exposure to the ongoing conflict may lead to changes in the way Israelis and Palestinians think, feel, and act; while these changes may not meet the thresholds of PTSD or depression, they nonetheless could have a strong public health impact. It is unclear whether existing studies have found associations between exposure to the conflict and nonclinical psychological outcomes. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize the empirical research on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its psychological consequences. As a whole, the body of literature we reviewed suggests that exposure to regional political conflict and violence may have detrimental effects on psychological well-being and that these effects likely extend beyond the psychiatric disorders and symptoms most commonly studied. We found evidence that exposure to the conflict informs not only the way Israelis and Palestinians think, feel, and act but also their attitudes toward different religious and ethnic groups and their degree of support for peace or war. We also found that Palestinians may be at particularly high risk of experiencing psychological distress as a result of the conflict, though more research is needed to determine the extent to which this is due to socioeconomic stress. Our review suggests the need for more studies on the nonclinical psychological aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as for longitudinal studies on the impact of the conflict on both Israelis and Palestinians.

Depression, Perceived Health, and Right‐of‐Return Hopefulness of Palestinian Refugees

“…The English‐language version of the PHQ‐9 depressive symptom severity tool was shown to have good sensitivity and high specificity for major depression in ambulatory care samples of American adults (Kroenke et al., ). In this study, presuming low specificity for Arab populations, the PHQ‐9 may have assessed symptoms of depression along with other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, panic, or posttraumatic stress disorder, which have been shown to be prevalent in Palestinian refugees (Ayer et al., ). Moreover, it has been suggested that some Arab populations have a general negative affect factor that may lead to the reporting of more depressive symptomatology (Al‐Turkait, Ohaeri, El‐Abbasi, & Naguy, ).…”

Well‐being and pressures of daily life in two West Bank villages—Exploring context and history

“…Evidence that exposure to war‐ or conflict‐related traumatic events affects people's mental health is well established (Ayer et al, ). Our study of well‐being in two Palestinian villages illustrates that a wide array of contextual and non‐trauma‐related variables (lower education, joint and backaches, larger household size, lower standard of living, less employment, aggression or physical violence of the male head of household, illness in the family and residence in village B) are associated with increased stress of various types.…”

“…Recent Palestinian research has reframed the mental health paradigm to focus on the broader framework of social justice, quality of life, human rights and human security (Giacaman et al, ). A systematic literature review on the psychological aspects of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict acknowledges that most studies do not consider possibly relevant factors such as income, discrimination and social inequality, and suggests that a within‐group variation analysis can help to understand predictors of well‐being (Ayer et al, ).…”

“…Our study also takes into account that the associations between individual and contextual variables and perceived pressures and well‐being may differ between villages. By comparing the results between two villages, the study examines the political and socio‐economic factors that may explain within‐group variation of perceived pressures and well‐being in a population (Ayer et al, ).…”

Sense of Optimism and Perceptions of the Future among Palestine Refugee Students Living in Three West Bank Camps

“…This should neither be overlooked nor minimized. Research has shown that exposure to chronic conflicts and violence, restricted economic opportunities, and enduring poverty can change the way people think and feel, including having more negative expectations and less hopefulness (Ayer et al, 2015). One might reasonably expect that young Palestine refugees, too, may become increasing pessimistic in face of the persistent obstacles to their dreams and aspirations.…”