Citation

Abu-Ras W, Birani A, Suarez ZE, Arfken CL. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022; 19(23): e16005.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph192316005

PMID

36498076

Abstract

This study examined the association between the degree of religiosity, combined with cultural beliefs, social stigmas, and attitudes towards mental-health treatment in two groups, who, despite having similar cultural and religious affiliation, have experienced different socio-political contexts: Palestinian Muslim college students living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Israel. The study was guided by Tanhan and Young's (2021) conceptual framework.

METHODS: A snowball recruitment strategy was applied, using a cross-sectional survey. A total sample size was 214 students, 105 from the OPT and 109 from Israel.

RESULTS indicate that students from the OPT (n = 105) did not differ from those living in Israel (n = 109) on religiosity using the Islamic Belief scale, or Attitudes Towards Mental Health treatment (F(1, 189) = 1.07, p = 0.30). However, students from the OPT had higher confidence in mental-health professionals (M = 15.33) than their counterparts (M = 14.59), and women had higher confidence (M = 16.03) than men (M = 13.90). The reliance on traditions for Muslim students over Western mental-health approaches is a critical factor in predicting the attitudes towards students' mental problems and their chosen treatment. Sociopolitical context played a significant role in shaping attitudes toward mental-health providers.

Language: en

Keywords

mental health; Israel; culture; Muslim college students; occupied Palestinian territory; religiosity