{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T04:46:43Z","timestamp":1785732403886,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785715200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Inroduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study examined the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate students at the Arab American University in Palestine.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42). The sample comprised 384 undergraduate students from different academic disciplines. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Mann\u2013Whitney U tests, Kruskal\u2013Wallis H tests, and post-hoc pairwise comparisons where appropriate.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A substantial proportion of students were classified within the extremely severe depression category (67.45%), severe anxiety category (33.33%), and severe stress category (47.92%). A statistically significant gender difference was found in depression scores, U = 15,515.00,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.009, with male students showing higher mean ranks than female students. Depression scores also differed significantly across GPA categories, H(3) = 8.21,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.042.\n                      <jats:italic>Post-hoc<\/jats:italic>\n                      comparisons showed a significant difference between students with GPAs of 2.33\u20132.99 and 3.67\u20134.00. No statistically significant differences were found for anxiety or stress according to gender, faculty type, or GPA category.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The findings indicate a substantial burden of psychological distress within the study sample. Although causal factors were not investigated, the results support further research examining the influence of ongoing socio-political conditions and highlight the importance of appropriate university-based mental health support.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1895781","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T04:26:11Z","timestamp":1785731171000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mental health during societal crisis: anxiety, depression, and stress among students at the Arab American University"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Mersal Abdullah Sulaiman","family":"Mersal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports, Faculty of Physical Education, An-Najah National University","place":["Nablus, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Madleen","family":"Masaeed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Education Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Arab American University","place":["Jenin, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Psychiatry: Theory and Practice","author":"Abu Al-Nour","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1436672","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2024.1436672","article-title":"Depression, anxiety and coping strategies among Palestinian university students during political violence: a cross-sectional study","volume":"12","author":"Ahmed","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front. 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