The Relationship Between Childhood Traumas and Purpose in Life: Mediating Role of Religious Orientation

Abstract

Studies investigating the effect of childhood traumas on religious orientation are very limited and do not address all dimensions of religious orientation. However, including all religious orientation dimensions in the studies is important to understand the different religious attitudes observed after traumatic experiences. In addition, there has been no studies examining the mediating role of religious orientation in the relationship between childhood traumas and purpose in life in the literature. For that reason, in this study, we investigated the mediating role of religious orientation (intrinsic, extrinsic, quest, fundamentalist) in the relationship between childhood traumas and purpose in life. 421 Muslim adults were reached through online questionnaire mothod. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form, Purpose in Life Scale and Muslim Religious Orientation Scale – Revised were delivered to the participants using conveniance sampling technique. Data was analyzed With PROCESS v3.5 macro extension in IBM SPSS 22. The results showed that childhood traumas significantly and negatively predicted purpose in life. In addition, it was obseved that childhood traumas significantly predicted intrinsic religious orientation negatively and quest religious orientation positively. Childhood traumas were not significantly related to the extrinsic and fundamentalist religious orientations. Parallel multiple mediation analysis revealed that childhood traumas nefatively affected purpose in life and some of the effect of childhood traumas on the purpose in life were mediated through lower intrinsic religious orientation and higher quest religious orientation. Based on the findings of the present study, we concluded that childhood traumas did not affect every aspect of an individual’s religiousness. We also concluded that childhood traumas might cause a sense of meaninglessness damaging the attitude of intrinsic devotion towards God and increasing a more questioning attitude towards religion.

Keywords

• Childhood traumas
• Purpose in life
• Religious orientation

Çocukluk Çağı Travmaları ve Hayatın Anlamı İlişkisi: Dindarlık Yöneliminin Aracı Rolü

Abstract

Çocukluk çağı travmalarının dindarlık yönelimi üzerindeki etkisini ele alan araştırmaların çok sınırlı olduğu ve tüm dindarlık yönelimi boyutlarını ele almadıkları görülmektedir. Oysa dindarlık yönelimlerinin her boyutunu araştırmaya dahil etmek, travmatik deneyimler sonucu ortaya çıkan birbirinden farklı dinsel tutumları anlamak açısından önem arz etmektedir. Ayrıca, ilgili alanyazında, çocukluk çağı travmalarının hayatın anlamı üzerine etkisinde dindarlık yöneliminin aracı rolünü inceleyen araştırmalara rastlanmamıştır. Bu nedenle, bu araştırmada, çocukluk çağı travmaları ile hayatın anlamı arasındaki ilişkide dindarlık yöneliminin (dışadönük, içedönük, arayış, fundamentalist) aracı rolü incelenmiştir. Bu amaçla, online anket yöntemi kullanılarak 421 Müslüman katılımcıya ulaşılmıştır. Uygunluk örnekleme yöntemi ile erişim sağlanan katılımcılara Çocukluk Çağı Travma Ölçeği-Kısa Formu, Hayatın Amacı Ölçeği ve Müslüman Dini Yönelim Ölçeği-Gözden Geçirilmiş uygulanmıştır. Araştırmanın verileri, IBM SPSS 22, PROCESS v3.5 macro uzantısı kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma bulguları, çocukluk çağı travmalarının hayatın anlamı düzeyini olumsuz yönde anlamlı olarak yordadığını göstermiştir. Ayrıca, çocukluk çağı travmalarının, dindarlık yönelimlerinden içedönük dindarlık yönelimini olumsuz yönde anlamlı, arayış dindarlık yönelimini ise olumlu yönde anlamlı olarak yordadığı gözlenmiştir. Çocukluk çağı travmaları ile dışadönük dindarlık yönelimi ve fundamentalist dindarlık yönelimi arasında anlamlı bir ilişki gözlenmemiştir. Paralel çoklu aracılık analizi ise, çocukluk çağı travmalarının hayatın anlamı düzeyini olumsuz yönde etkilediğini, bu etkinin bir kısmının düşük içedönük dindarlık yönelimi ve yüksek arayış dindarlık yönelimi aracılığı ile gerçekleştiğini göstermiştir. Bulgular ışığında, çocukluk çağı travmalarının bireyin dindarlığının her boyutunu etkilemediği, tanrıya içten bağlanma tutumuna zarar verip, dine karşı daha sorgulayıcı bir tutumu artırarak anlamsızlık duygusuna neden olabileceği çıkarımı yapılmıştır.

Keywords

• Çocukluk çağı travmaları
• Hayatın anlamı
• Dindarlık yönelimi

Supporting Institution

Herhangi bir kurumdan destek alınmamıştır

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