Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

A Psychosocial, Spiritual, and Physical Health Study among Assyrian-Syrian Refugees in Istanbul: Cultivating Resilience in the Midst of Hardship

Year 2017, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 227 - 255, 01.12.2017
https://doi.org/10.12738/mejrs.2017.2.2.0103

Abstract

This study aimed at describing the general health situation among Assyrian-Syrian refugees n = 171, 70.2% males, mean age 31.08 in Istanbul, during two separate time periods. Measures included The Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ , The Brief R-COPE, The General Self-Efficacy Scale GSE , The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale CD-RISC , The Primary Care Post Traumatic Disorder Scale PC-PTSD , together with a number of additional health items. The results showed that among the 52.4% of those who were found to have experienced some kind of trauma, 23.4% met the criteria for PTSD. Ratings of one’s own physical health p < .001 , one’s own psychological health p < .05 , and PHQ were statistically significant with PTSD. Females rated their own physical health p < .01 and own psychological health p < .01 worse than men. A paired-samples t-Test showed a significant increase from Time 1 to Time 2 for Positive R-COPE p < .08 , a decrease for Negative R-COPE p < .05 , and an increase for the GSE p < .05 . A paired-samples t-Test showed a significant gender difference for the PHQ p < .01 and GSE p < .01 . A mediation model, using a Sobel Test, showed that positive religious coping strategies reduced symptoms in male participants by improving their evaluations toward their own psychological well-being p < .001 .

References

  • Ahmadzadeh, H., Corabatir, M., Husseini, J. A., Hashem, L., & Wahby, S. (2014). Ensuring quality education for young refugees from Syria (12-25 years). A mapping exercise (Research report). Refugee Studies Centre. Oxford Department of International Development. University of Oxford.
  • Alpak, G., Unal, A., Bulbul, F., Sagaltici, E., Bez, Y., Altindag, A., … Savas, H. A. (2015). Post- traumatic stress disorder among Syrian refugees in Turkey: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 19(1), 45–50.
  • Aziz, I. A., Hutchinson, C. V., & Maltby, J. (2014). Quality of life of Syrian refugees living in camps in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. PeerJ, 2, e670.
  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research – conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
  • BetBasoo, P. (2013). Brief history of Assyrians. Retrieved from www.aina.org/brief.html
  • Campion, J., Bhui, K., & Bhugra, D. (2012). European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on prevention of mental disorders. European Psychiatry, 27, 68–80.
  • Cetrez, Ö. (2005). Meaning-making variations in acculturation and ritualization: A multi- generational study of Suroyo migrants in Sweden. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Psychologia et Sociologia Religionum 17. (Doctoral dissertation). Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala University.
  • Cetrez, Ö. (2017). The psychological legacy of the Sayfo: An inter-generational transmission of fear and distrust. In D. Gaunt, N. Atto, & S. O. Barthoma (Eds.), Let them not return: Sayfo – The genocide against the Assyrian, Syriac and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire. New York, NY: Berghahn Publishing House.
  • Çorabtır, M. (2016). The evolving response to refugee protection in Turkey: Assessing practical and political needs. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
  • Countries and their Cultures. (2015). Assyrians. Internet page. Retrieved from www.everyculture. com/Africa-Middle-East/Assyrians.html
  • DeMarinis, V. (2014). Public mental health promotion, meaning-making and existential meaning: Challenges for person-centered care of refugees in a secular, pluralistic context. In G. Overland, E. Guribye, & B. Lie (Eds.), Nordic work with traumatised refugees: Do we really care (pp. 316 –324). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
  • Directorate General of Migration Management. (2017). Geçici koruma [temporary protection]. Retrieved August 20, 2017 from http://www.goc.gov.tr/icerik3/temporary-protection_915_1024_4748
  • Eisinga, R., Grotenhuis, M. T., & Pelzer, B. (2013). The reliability of a two-item scale: Pearson, Cronbach, or Spearman-Brown? International Journal of Public Health, 58, 637–642.
  • El Chammy, R., Kheir, W., & Alaouie, H. (2014). Assessment of mental health and psychosocial support services for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from https:// data.unhcr.org, https://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/download.php?id=4575
  • Fetzer Institute, National Institute on Aging Working Group. (2003). Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/Spirituality for use in health research: A report of the Fetzer Institute/National institute on aging working group. Kalamazoo, MI: Fetzer Institute.
  • Gerring, J., & McDermott, R. (2007). An experimental template for case study research. American Journal of Political Science, 51(3), 688–701.
  • Hassan, G., Kirmayer, L. J., Mekki-Berrada, A., Quosh, C., el Chammay, R., Deville-Stoetzel, J. B., … Ventevogel, P. (2015). Culture, context and the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Syrians: A review for mental health and psychosocial support staff working with Syrians affected by armed conflict. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
  • Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2009). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Belmont, CA: Wadsword.
  • Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2002). The PHQ-15: Validity of a new measure for evaluating the severity of somatic symptoms. Psychomatic Medicine, 64, 258–266.
  • Pargament, K., Feuille, M., & Burdzy, D. (2011). The brief RCOPE: Current psychometric status of a short measure of religious coping. Religions, 2, 51–76.
  • Prins, A., Ouimette, P., Kimerling, R., Cameron, R. P., Hugelshofer, D. S., Shaw-Hegwer, J., … Sheikh, J. I. (2003). The primary care PTSD screen (PC-PTSD): Development and operating characteristics. Primary Care Psychiatry, 9, 9–14.
  • Quosh, C. (2014). Mental health, forced displacement and recovery: Integrated mental health and psychosocial support for urban refugees in Syria. Intervention, 11(3), 295–320.
  • Silove, D. (2013). The ADAPT model: A conceptual framework for mental health and psychosocial programming in post conflict settings. Intervention, 11(3), 237–248.
  • Sirin, S. R., & Rogers-Sirin, L. (2015). The educational and mental health needs of Syrian refugee children. Migration policy institute. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from www.migrationpolicy.org, http://www. migrationpolicy.org/research/educational-and-mental-health-needs-syrian-refugee-children
  • Thomas Reuters Foundations. (2014). Syria’s civil war. Retrieved September 24, 2014 from http:// www.trust.org/spotlight/Syrias-civil-war/?tab=briefing
  • Tufan, A. E., Alkin, M., & Bosgelmez, S. (2013). Post-traumatic stress disorder among asylum seekers and refugees in Istanbul may be predicted by torture and loss due to violence. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 67(3), 219–224.
  • UNICEF. (2015). Regional, Refugee & Resilience Plan for 2015-2016. In Response to the Syria Crisis. Turkey. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from http://www.3rpsyriacrisis.org/, http:// www.3rpsyriacrisis.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/3RP-Report-Overview.pdf
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2016). Syrian Regional Refugee Response. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
  • United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees & United Nations Development Programme. (2014). Squandering Humanity: Socioeconomic monitoring report on Syria. Syrian Center for Policy Research. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from http://www.unrwa.org/sites/ default/files/scpr_report_q3-q4_2013_270514final_3.pdf
  • Ziaian, T., de Anstiss, H, Antoniou, G., Baghurst, P., & Sawyer, M. (2012). Resilience and its association with depression, emotional and behavioural problems, and mental health service utilisation among refugee adolescents living in South Australia. International Journal of Population Research, 2012, Article ID 485956.

İstanbul’da Süryani-Suriyeli Mültecilerin Psikososyal, Manevi ve Beden Sağlığı Durumları: Zorluğun Ortasında Direnç Geliştirmek

Year 2017, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 227 - 255, 01.12.2017
https://doi.org/10.12738/mejrs.2017.2.2.0103

Abstract

Bu çalışma, İstanbul’daki Süryani-Suriyeli mültecilerin n = 171, %70,2 erkek, ortalama yaş 31,08 iki ayrı zaman dilimindeki genel sağlık durumlarını tanımlamayı amaçlamıştır. Çalışmada “Hasta Sağlığı Ölçeği PHQ ”, “R-COPE Kısa Formu”, “Genel Özyeterlilik Ölçeği GSE ”, “Connor-Davidson Psikolojik Dayanıklılık Ölçeği CD-RISC ”, “Birinci Basamak Post Travmatik Bozukluk Ölçeği PC-PTSD ” gibi ölçme araçları yanında bazı sağlık maddeleri de kullanılmıştır. Daha önce bir çeşit travma geçirmiş katılımcıların %52,4’ünün %23,4’ünde “Travma Sonrası Stres Bozukluğu TSSB ” kriterleri görülmüştür. Kişinin kendi bedensel sağlık düzeyi p < .001 , kendi psikolojik sağlığı p < .05 ve PHQ puanları TSSB ile istatistiksel olarak anlamlıdır. Kadınlar, kendi bedensel sağlıklarını p < .01 ve kendi psikolojik sağlıklarını p < .01 erkeklerden daha kötü olarak değerlendirmişlerdir. Eşleştirilmiş Örneklemler t-Testi neticesinde, Zaman 1’den Zaman 2’ye Pozitif R-COPE p < .08 için manidar bir artış, Negatif R-COPE için bir azalma p < .05 ve GSE için bir de bir artış p < .08 görülmüştür. Eşleştirilmiş örneklemler t-Testi, PHQ p < .01 ve GSE p < -.01 için anlamlı bir cinsiyet farkı göstermiştir. Sobel Testi kullanan bir arabulucu rolü, pozitif dinî başa çıkma stratejilerinin erkek katılımcıların kendi psikolojik iyi oluşlarına yönelik değerlendirmelerini geliştirerek erkeklerde semptomları azalttığını göstermiştir p < .001 .

References

  • Ahmadzadeh, H., Corabatir, M., Husseini, J. A., Hashem, L., & Wahby, S. (2014). Ensuring quality education for young refugees from Syria (12-25 years). A mapping exercise (Research report). Refugee Studies Centre. Oxford Department of International Development. University of Oxford.
  • Alpak, G., Unal, A., Bulbul, F., Sagaltici, E., Bez, Y., Altindag, A., … Savas, H. A. (2015). Post- traumatic stress disorder among Syrian refugees in Turkey: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 19(1), 45–50.
  • Aziz, I. A., Hutchinson, C. V., & Maltby, J. (2014). Quality of life of Syrian refugees living in camps in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. PeerJ, 2, e670.
  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research – conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
  • BetBasoo, P. (2013). Brief history of Assyrians. Retrieved from www.aina.org/brief.html
  • Campion, J., Bhui, K., & Bhugra, D. (2012). European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on prevention of mental disorders. European Psychiatry, 27, 68–80.
  • Cetrez, Ö. (2005). Meaning-making variations in acculturation and ritualization: A multi- generational study of Suroyo migrants in Sweden. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Psychologia et Sociologia Religionum 17. (Doctoral dissertation). Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala University.
  • Cetrez, Ö. (2017). The psychological legacy of the Sayfo: An inter-generational transmission of fear and distrust. In D. Gaunt, N. Atto, & S. O. Barthoma (Eds.), Let them not return: Sayfo – The genocide against the Assyrian, Syriac and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire. New York, NY: Berghahn Publishing House.
  • Çorabtır, M. (2016). The evolving response to refugee protection in Turkey: Assessing practical and political needs. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
  • Countries and their Cultures. (2015). Assyrians. Internet page. Retrieved from www.everyculture. com/Africa-Middle-East/Assyrians.html
  • DeMarinis, V. (2014). Public mental health promotion, meaning-making and existential meaning: Challenges for person-centered care of refugees in a secular, pluralistic context. In G. Overland, E. Guribye, & B. Lie (Eds.), Nordic work with traumatised refugees: Do we really care (pp. 316 –324). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
  • Directorate General of Migration Management. (2017). Geçici koruma [temporary protection]. Retrieved August 20, 2017 from http://www.goc.gov.tr/icerik3/temporary-protection_915_1024_4748
  • Eisinga, R., Grotenhuis, M. T., & Pelzer, B. (2013). The reliability of a two-item scale: Pearson, Cronbach, or Spearman-Brown? International Journal of Public Health, 58, 637–642.
  • El Chammy, R., Kheir, W., & Alaouie, H. (2014). Assessment of mental health and psychosocial support services for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from https:// data.unhcr.org, https://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/download.php?id=4575
  • Fetzer Institute, National Institute on Aging Working Group. (2003). Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/Spirituality for use in health research: A report of the Fetzer Institute/National institute on aging working group. Kalamazoo, MI: Fetzer Institute.
  • Gerring, J., & McDermott, R. (2007). An experimental template for case study research. American Journal of Political Science, 51(3), 688–701.
  • Hassan, G., Kirmayer, L. J., Mekki-Berrada, A., Quosh, C., el Chammay, R., Deville-Stoetzel, J. B., … Ventevogel, P. (2015). Culture, context and the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Syrians: A review for mental health and psychosocial support staff working with Syrians affected by armed conflict. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
  • Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2009). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Belmont, CA: Wadsword.
  • Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2002). The PHQ-15: Validity of a new measure for evaluating the severity of somatic symptoms. Psychomatic Medicine, 64, 258–266.
  • Pargament, K., Feuille, M., & Burdzy, D. (2011). The brief RCOPE: Current psychometric status of a short measure of religious coping. Religions, 2, 51–76.
  • Prins, A., Ouimette, P., Kimerling, R., Cameron, R. P., Hugelshofer, D. S., Shaw-Hegwer, J., … Sheikh, J. I. (2003). The primary care PTSD screen (PC-PTSD): Development and operating characteristics. Primary Care Psychiatry, 9, 9–14.
  • Quosh, C. (2014). Mental health, forced displacement and recovery: Integrated mental health and psychosocial support for urban refugees in Syria. Intervention, 11(3), 295–320.
  • Silove, D. (2013). The ADAPT model: A conceptual framework for mental health and psychosocial programming in post conflict settings. Intervention, 11(3), 237–248.
  • Sirin, S. R., & Rogers-Sirin, L. (2015). The educational and mental health needs of Syrian refugee children. Migration policy institute. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from www.migrationpolicy.org, http://www. migrationpolicy.org/research/educational-and-mental-health-needs-syrian-refugee-children
  • Thomas Reuters Foundations. (2014). Syria’s civil war. Retrieved September 24, 2014 from http:// www.trust.org/spotlight/Syrias-civil-war/?tab=briefing
  • Tufan, A. E., Alkin, M., & Bosgelmez, S. (2013). Post-traumatic stress disorder among asylum seekers and refugees in Istanbul may be predicted by torture and loss due to violence. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 67(3), 219–224.
  • UNICEF. (2015). Regional, Refugee & Resilience Plan for 2015-2016. In Response to the Syria Crisis. Turkey. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from http://www.3rpsyriacrisis.org/, http:// www.3rpsyriacrisis.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/3RP-Report-Overview.pdf
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2016). Syrian Regional Refugee Response. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
  • United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees & United Nations Development Programme. (2014). Squandering Humanity: Socioeconomic monitoring report on Syria. Syrian Center for Policy Research. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from http://www.unrwa.org/sites/ default/files/scpr_report_q3-q4_2013_270514final_3.pdf
  • Ziaian, T., de Anstiss, H, Antoniou, G., Baghurst, P., & Sawyer, M. (2012). Resilience and its association with depression, emotional and behavioural problems, and mental health service utilisation among refugee adolescents living in South Australia. International Journal of Population Research, 2012, Article ID 485956.
There are 30 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Cultural Studies
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Önver A. Çetrez This is me

Valerie Demarinis This is me

Publication Date December 1, 2017
Submission Date May 12, 2014
Published in Issue Year 2017 Volume: 2 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Çetrez, Ö. A., & Demarinis, V. (2017). A Psychosocial, Spiritual, and Physical Health Study among Assyrian-Syrian Refugees in Istanbul: Cultivating Resilience in the Midst of Hardship. Middle East Journal of Refugee Studies, 2(2), 227-255. https://doi.org/10.12738/mejrs.2017.2.2.0103