Coping and resilience under sociopolitical stress among Palestinian children and youth in East Jerusalem: a sumud perspective

Children and youth exposed to political violence draw upon a range of cognitive, emotional, and social coping strategies to sustain resilience. This study explores coping processes and resilience-fostering mechanisms of Palestinian children and youth navigating escalating oppression in occupied East Jerusalem during the Israeli war on Gaza. Using a participatory approach, an advisory group of seven adolescent co-researchers contributed to study design, ethics, data collection, and analysis. In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 Palestinians aged 12–19, alongside eight adults (parents and professionals). Four interrelated themes emerged. Survival-oriented coping reflected minimal agency in unpredictable and uncontrollable situations, relying on preemptive and avoidance strategies to reduce harm under constant surveillance and threat. In contrast, individual coping strategies—faith-based practices, cognitive reappraisal, emotional expression, educational engagement, and future planning—enabled youth to restore internal control and preserve dignity. Supportive ecosystems of family, peer, school, and community networks provided complementary emotional, material, and identity-based resources that sustained resilience. Finally, cultural and political coping, including attachment to Al-Aqsa Mosque and resistance to dehumanization, anchored youth within collective narratives of sumud (steadfastness). The findings highlight the interplay of individual, relational, and collective coping strategies in contexts of chronic political violence, emphasizing the need for community-based interventions that strengthen both agency and protective social ties. They further point to the value of culturally grounded socioecological frameworks for understanding coping and resilience in intractable conflicts. Practically, these insights call for co-designed, culturally responsive multilevel programs that pair individual coping tools with peer/family supports and community safety resources.