Antisemitism on Campus in the Wake of October 7: Examining Stress, Coping, and Depressive Symptoms Among Jewish Students

ABSTRACT

The Hamas‐led terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, were an inflection point that spurred a global rise in antisemitism. College and university campuses were particularly affected. Given the adverse impacts of prejudice and discrimination for mental health and the dearth of research on psychosocial effects of antisemitism, examining stress, coping, and mental health among Jewish students within this context is crucial. In this study, we used longitudinal data and multilevel modelling in the months after the events of October 7 to examine within‐ and between‐person effects of antisemitism‐related stress, stress associated with the Israel‐Palestine conflict, and approach and avoidance coping on depressive symptoms among a sample of 253 Jewish college and university students. Within‐person results indicated that increases from one's usual level of antisemitism‐related stress and stress attributable to the Israel‐Palestine conflict were independently associated with heightened depressive symptoms. Increased use of avoidance coping was also associated with heightened depressive symptoms, whereas the inverse was true for approach coping which had a protective effect. Similar effects were observed at the between‐person level. Results from the present work draw attention to both the potentially detrimental effects of stress associated with antisemitism, but also highlight coping as a target for intervention to potentially combat such effects. The findings also point to a path forward where campuses can remain open areas of inquiry by fostering resilience at both the community and individual level.