THE IMPACT OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR ON INTRAFAMILIAL RELATIONS AND THE PARENTAL FUNCTIONING OF SYRIAN REFUGEES

Abstract

The civil war in Syria that has been ongoing since March 2011 has caused millions of people to become forcibly displaced. By employing in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 37 female Syrian refugees in Turkey and adopting the social ecological model and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory as the theoretical framework, this study examines how the Syrian civil war and the refugees’ migrations to Turkey have affected their intrafamilial relations and parental functioning. The findings of this study show that living in overcrowded groups in Syria, the loss or leaving behind of beloved ones, the economic and emotional hardships experienced in Turkey, and the conflict between the co-viwes and their children in polygamous marriages deteriorated the intrafamilial relations of Syrian refugees. Increase in marital conflicts, domestic violence, divorce, and family violence toward children were found to be the main impacts of the war and migration on Syrian refugee families in Turkey.

Keywords

• Intrafamilial Relations
• Domestic Violence
• Marital Conflict
• Syrian Refugees
• Turkey

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