Conflict and well-being: a comparative study of health-related quality of life, stress, and insecurity of university students in the West Bank and Jordan.

<bold>Purpose: </bold>A significant body of research indicates that the conflict environment is detrimental to the quality of life and well-being of civilians. This study assesses the health-related quality of life, stress, and insecurity of the West Bank, which has been engaged in conflict for seven decades, in comparison to a demographically and culturally similar population in Jordan, a neighboring nation with no conflict. We expect the Jordanian sample to report better functioning.<bold>Methods: </bold>We collected 793 surveys from university students (mean age = 20.2) in Nablus, West Bank (398 [50.2%]) and Irbid, Jordan (395 [49.8%]). The survey instrument consisted of the SF-36 to measure HRQoL, the PSS-4 to measure stress, and an insecurity scale, along with demographic characteristics.<bold>Results: </bold>Our findings indicate that outcomes in the West Bank were not significantly worse than in Jordan, and in some cases represented better functioning, especially in the SF-36 measures.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Our counterintuitive results suggest that health and well-being outcomes are dependent on many factors in addition to conflict. For one, it may be that the better perceived health and well-being of the Palestinians is because they have developed a culture of resilience. Additionally, Jordanians are undergoing a period of instability due to internal struggles and surrounding conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]