University and college counseling services have
played a vital role in higher education for many
years. Research in the U.S. has found an increase in
psychological problems and distress among college
students (Stone & Archer, 1990). What motivates
students who seek counseling in the U.S. is stress
due to academic, career, or personal problems that
may interfere with their ability to take full
advantage of the educational opportunities before
them (Boyd, Hattauer, Brandel, Buckles, Davidshofer,
Deakin, Erskine, Hurley, Locher, Piorkowski, Simono,
Spivack, & Steel, 2003). While there are many factors
that affect level of psychological distress in
students there are some culture-specific factors
relevant to the Arab Middle East that requires
examination. Four variables pertinent to the Arab
culture have been selected for examination due to
their potential effects on psychological distress of
students. These variables are religiosity, social
support, social stigma and parental styles. We will
seek to understand the relationship between intrinsic
religiosity, social support, parental styles and
stigma with psychological distress in Lebanese
university students seeking therapy.