Climate Shocks and Academic Mental Health: The Impact of the Ksar El Kebir Floods on Doctoral Progression

This study examines the psychological impact of the Ksar El Kebir floods on doctoral progression, situating the analysis at the intersection of climate shock research, academic mental health, and institutional resilience studies. In a context marked by the intensification of extreme climatic events, natural disasters emerge not only as environmental and material disruptions but also as drivers of psychosocial vulnerability capable of durably affecting educational and scientific trajectories. While the literature extensively documents the effects of disasters on the mental health of exposed populations—such as chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic symptoms—limited research has investigated their specific repercussions on the continuity of doctoral pathways, particularly in Global South contexts characterized by constrained institutional resources. Doctoral candidates constitute a structurally vulnerable population, exposed to high levels of academic pressure, professional uncertainty, and financial precarity—factors already associated with an increased prevalence of psychological distress. Drawing on a case study centered on Ksar El Kebir, this research explores the mechanisms through which a climate shock translates into academic disruption. The floods affected material living conditions (housing, mobility, access to university infrastructure) while simultaneously generating an atmosphere of uncertainty and disorganization likely to impair cognitive capacities essential for scientific production, including concentration, motivation, and work continuity. These effects manifested in delays in data collection and analysis, reduced productivity, and, in some cases, temporary interruptions of doctoral research. The study further examines aggravating factors (material losses, social isolation, insufficient institutional support) alongside the resilience resources mobilized by doctoral students. By integrating stress psychology, climate risk governance, and doctoral studies research, it highlights how climatic and academic vulnerabilities intersect to produce inequalities in scientific progression. By addressing an empirical gap in the literature—particularly within Global South contexts—this research underscores the necessity for universities to incorporate the climate dimension into academic support policies and to develop institutional mechanisms that strengthen the resilience of doctoral trajectories in the face of escalating environmental crises.