Religion, Coping, and Psychological Health in Refugee Experience: An Integrative Perspective
Öz
This study aims to combine religious coping, religious styles, and post-traumatic growth models within an integrative perspective. The analytical framework brings together Streib’s religious styles model, Pargament’s theory of religious coping, and Tedeschi and Calhoun’s post-traumatic growth approach as mutually complementary tools. Drawing on the growing literature on the relationship among forced migration, religion, and psychological health in Germany, the study examines the life story of a young refugee within the framework of this theoretical integration. The participant, pseudonymized as “Anas,” witnessed his father’s arrest in Syria, lost his younger brother in an accident during the migration process, and assumed family responsibility at an early age. His narrative reveals that his perception of divine closeness as expressed in Surah ad-Duha and meaning-making processes based on the Quranic verse stating that “Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear” function together as a powerful source of religious coping that supports psychological resilience in the face of traumatic experiences. The analysis suggests that the transition from a traditional religious style to an individual-systemic religious style is closely associated with post-traumatic growth processes characterized by personal empowerment, existential reorganization, and the development of a more autonomous religious style. In this respect, the study offers both theoretical and qualitative insights for the literature on the contribution of religion to psychological well-being in the refugee experience by integrating religious coping, religious styles, and post-traumatic growth within a single analytical framework.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Psychology of Religion, Religious Coping, Religious Styles, Post-Traumatic Growth, Spiritual Care, Germany
Kaynakça
- Aggarwal, Shilpa et al. “Religiosity and Spirituality in the Prevention and Management of Depression and Anxiety in Young People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. BMC Psychiatry 23/1 (2023), 729. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05091-2
- Ahmadi, Fereshteh. Culture, religion and spirituality in coping: the example of cancer patients in Sweden. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis (AUU : Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, 2006.
- Ano, Gene G. - Vasconcelles, Erin B. “Religious Coping and Psychological Adjustment to Stress: A Meta-Analysis”. Journal of Clinical Psychology 61/4 (2005), 461-480. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20049
- Blackmore, Rebecca et al. “The Prevalence of Mental Illness in Refugees and Asylum Seekers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. ed. Paul Spiegel. PLOS Medicine 17/9 (2020), e1003337. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003337
- Boettcher, Victoria Sophie - Neuner, Frank. “The impact of an insecure asylum status on mental health of adult refugees in Germany”. Clinical Psychology in Europe 4/1 (2022), e6587. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.6587
- Bonanno, George A. “The Resilience Paradox”. European Journal of Psychotraumatology 12/1 (2021), 1942642. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1942642
- Crumlish, Niall - O’Rourke, Killian. “A Systematic Review of Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Refugees and Asylum-Seekers”. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease 198/4 (2010), 237-251. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181d61258
- Cruz-Perez, Carolina et al. “Is Spiritual Well-Being a Protective Factor Against Stress? An Analysis in a Sample of Peruvian Christians”. Psychiatry Investigation 22/5 (2025), 504-512. https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2024.0146
- Daaleman, T. P. “The Spirituality Index of Well-Being: A New Instrument for Health-Related Quality-of-Life Research”. The Annals of Family Medicine 2/5 (2004), 499-503. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.89 Falsetti, Sherry A. et al. “Changes in Religious Beliefs Following Trauma”. Journal of Traumatic Stress 16/4 (2003), 391-398. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024422220163
- Fazel, Mina et al. “Prevalence of Serious Mental Disorder in 7000 Refugees Resettled in Western Countries: A Systematic Review”. The Lancet 365/9467 (2005), 1309-1314. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)61027-6