Serenity in Political Uncertainty

Abstract

College students are often faced with academic and personal stressors that threaten their well-being. Added to that may be political and environmental stressors such as acts of violence on the streets, interruptions in schooling, car bombings, targeted religious intimidations, financial hardship, and uncertainty of obtaining a job after graduation. Research on how college students adapt to the latter stressors is limited. The aims of this study were (1) to investigate the associations between stress, uncertainty, resilience, social support, withdrawal coping, and well-being for Lebanese youth during their first year of college and (2) to determine whether these variables predicted well-being. A sample of 293 first-year students enrolled in a private university in Lebanon completed a self-reported questionnaire in the classroom setting. The mean age of sample participants was 18.1 years, with nearly an equal percentage of males and females (53.2% vs 46.8%), who lived with their family (92.5%), and whose family reported high income levels (68.4%). Multiple regression analyses revealed that best determinants of well-being are resilience, uncertainty, social support, and gender that accounted for 54.1% of the variance. Despite living in an environment of frequent violence and political uncertainty, Lebanese youth in this study have a strong sense of well-being and are able to go on with their lives. This research adds to our understanding on how adolescents can adapt to stressors of frequent violence and political uncertainty. Further research is recommended to understand the mechanisms through which young people cope with political uncertainty and violence.

Health‐promoting behaviors and self‐efficacy among nursing students in times of uncertainty

“…Our study results revealed that higher levels on the HPLP‐II scores were negatively correlated with overall uncertainty scores, though our sample showed that Lebanese nursing students have a moderate to a high level of overall uncertainty. This result is consistent with the previous literature, which shows high scores of uncertainty of students in Lebanon (Doumit et al, 2015). In fact, students who are living in Lebanon are in a constant unstable situation due to the possibility of unexpected bombings, wars, and forced relocation.…”

“…Indeed, the ongoing nature of political uncertainty means that for many Lebanese young adults, it must be integrated into the context of their lives (Doumit et al, 2015; Karam et al, 2006). This might lead us to conclude that this population might have habituated to conflicts, became resilient, and developed high self‐efficacy.…”

“…Increased stress has been associated with a lack of commitment and poor engagement in HPB (Lee & Loke, 2005), whereas, General Self‐Efficacy (GSE) has been associated with an increased commitment to healthy behaviors (Farokhzadian et al, 2018). Although there is a considerable knowledgebase on the impact of war on Lebanese college students (Doumit, Afifi & Devon, 2015; Faour, 1998; Kazarian, 2005; Oweini, 1998), there is little research on HPB and GSE among nursing students who experience uncertainties during periods of political instability. Factors affecting HPB and GSE may differ significantly for nursing students in such an environment.…”

Psychometric properties of the Arabic version of Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in a sample of Lebanese women

“…This has been eminent in their ability to maintain functionality in academic, social, and occupational settings. It has been proposed that the Lebanese people’s ability to cope with distress has been part of the Lebanese identity transmitted through generations [ 29 ]. This might provide them with a sense of coherence and hope in their future.…”

Resilience is an independent correlate of the course of quality of life in patients with first-ever ischemic stroke

“…Low resilience has been revealed to be an important predictor of different adverse health outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, frequent pain and fatigue, and even lower quality of life (Carvalho et al, 2016;Doumit et al, 2015;Henry, 2017;Kirby et al, 2017;Lies et al, 2017). The predictive effect of resilience on the quality of life might result from the alleviation of resilience to the negative stressors (Kirby et al, 2017).…”