Mental Health in Californian Jews Before and After October 7, 2023

Hibel, Leah C.
Sigal, Marika
Teff-Seker, Yael

Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis
Department of Sociology, University of California, Davis

Diane Elmore Borbon served as action editor.

The authors have no conflicts to disclose. This project was in part supported by a University of California, Davis, Humanities and Social Sciences Stimulating Exceptional and Essential Discovery grant. The funding source had no other involvement other than financial support. The authors gratefully acknowledge Eva Anderson and all of the participants, without whom this project would not have been possible.

Leah C. Hibel played a lead role in conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, and writing–original draft and an equal role in funding acquisition. Marika Sigal played a lead role in data curation and an equal role in writing–review and editing. Yael Teff-Seker played an equal role in funding acquisition and writing–review and editing.

Leah C. Hibel, Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States [email protected]

Received January 28, 2025

revised June 12, 2025

Accepted June 16, 2025

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, & Policy Publish Ahead of Print, July 28, 2025. | DOI: 10.1037/tra0002011

Objective: Numerous studies have shown terrorism and perceptions of discrimination to have mental health implications. This study aimed to examine changes in Northern Californian Jewish participants’ mental health before and after the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023. Method: Between September 2023 and August 2024, Jewish participants reported on their stress, anxiety, and depression levels, as well as perceptions and experiences of antisemitism. Participants who completed the survey before October 7 were reassessed. Using both a within-subjects (N = 45) and between-subjects (N = 218) design, we examined changes from before to after October 7 in mental health and the role of antisemitism in explaining these changes. Results: Within-subjects pairwise t tests showed significant increases in stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms from before to after October 7. Similarly, between-subjects analyses revealed that participants surveyed after October 7 reported significantly higher average depression and anxiety levels (but not stress) compared to those surveyed before. Individual, and intraindividual, differences in perceptions of antisemitism partially explained Jewish participants’ experience of depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: Jewish participants exhibited significant increases in depression and anxiety following the October 7, 2023, attack. Changes in mental health were uniquely predicted by both the timing of the assessment (pre/post October 7) and concerns about antisemitism. Findings suggest the necessity of additional mental health services to address the needs of Jewish communities.