A Study On the Relationship Between Cultural Adaptation and Religious Coping of Refugee Students

Küçük Resim Yok

Tarih

2019

Dergi Başlığı

Dergi ISSN

Cilt Başlığı

Yayıncı

Cumhuriyet Univ, Fac Theology

Erişim Hakkı

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Özet

The aim of this study is to determine what kind of religious coping activities the refugee students forced to emigrate to Turkey due to the devastating reasons such as war and violation of rights apply in order to overcome their traumatic lives and the relationship between the use of these religious coping activities and their adaptation to the culture they live in. The fact that religion has important functions in dealing with all difficulties, especially forced migration, makes it a matter of interest about what kind of religious coping process refugees have experienced for making their lives bearable. Therefore, this research is based on the assumption that the refugees mostly struggle with difficulties by using positive religious coping methods and try to achieve cultural adaptation through this struggle. The sample was selected from the refugee students from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan continuing their education in different departments of Karabuk University and in different high schools of Karatbuk National Education Directorate in 2017-2018 academic year. Cultural Adaptation and Religious Coping Styles scales were applied to the sample with an average age of 18. According to the research findings, cultural adaptation and positive religious coping levels of the sample group arc above the average, and negative religious coping levels arc below the average. There was found a positive meaningful correlation between cultural adaptation and positive religious coping of which relation was determined through some independent and demographic variables (r =.269). Therefore, it is thought that providing spiritual care for refugee students might increase the level of cultural adaptation. Summary: The aim of this study is to determine what kind of religious coping activities the refugee students forced to emigrate to Turkey due to the devastating reasons such as war and violation of rights apply in order to overcome their traumatic lives and the relationship between the use of these religious coping activities and their adaptation to the culture they live in. The fact that religion has important functions in dealing with all difficulties, especially forced migration, makes it a matter of interest about what kind of religious coping process refugees have experienced for making their lives bearable. Therefore, this research is based on the assumption that the refugees mostly struggle with difficulties by using positive religious coping methods and try to achieve cultural adaptation through this struggle. The study that was conducted according to correlational survey model, used the questionnaire technique by implementing the Cultural Adaptation and Religious Coping Styles scales together with a personal information form. The sample of the study was chosen by random sampling, and consisted of 112 volunteer refugee students from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, studying at different departments of Karabuk University and different public high schools in Karabiik. While analyzing the data, firstly, averages were calculated by obtaining total scores of the scales. In order to reveal whether students' cultural adaptation levels differ by various variables or not, t-test (Independent Samples t-test), one-way analysis of variance (Oneway ANOVA) and Scheffc Test were applied. While analyzing relations related to religious coping, non-parametric 'Man Whitney U' and 'Kruskall Wallis H' tests were applied in accordance with the result of the normality test. In the study in which correlation test was applied to determine the relationship between cultural adaptation and religious coping, the lowest p value was predicated as.05 to determine the level of statistical significance. According to the findings, sample group's levels of cultural adaptation ((X) over bar =3,27) and positive religious coping ((X) over bar =3,42) were above the average, and the level of negative religious coping ((X) over bar =1,77) was below the average. Cultural adaptation levels of the sample group has shown significant statistical differences in terms of the nationality variable. Accordingly, Syrian students had higher cultural adaptation scores ((X) over bar =3,48) than Iraqi ((X) over bar =3,19) and Afghani students ((X) over bar =3,06), and the difference among them was statistically meaningful (p<.01). There wasn't detected any significant relationship between 'negative religious coping' levels of the sample and demographic and other independent variables; however, there were seen statistically significant differences just in terms of nationality, gender and age range among other demographic variables. Accordingly, female students scored higher (<(X)over bar> = 64,46) in positive coping than male students ((X) over bar = 47,32). The difference between them is statistically meaningful (p<.01). Students at the ages of 21-24 scored higher in positive religious coping (<(X)over bar> = 70,54) and the difference between them and the students at the ages of 14-16 ((X) over bar = 47,47) reached meaningful level, next to this Syrian students had higher levels of positive religious coping ((X) over bar = 62,91) and this reached a meaningful difference (p<.01) when compared with the averages of Afghani students (<(X)over bar> = 42,63). Moreover, there was a positive significant relationship between cultural adaptation and positive religious coping (r=.269, n=112, p=.004). Forced migration caused by wars is a traumatic experience including material and moral loss. The greatest contribution of spirituality in this kind of negative experiences causing severe stress is through positive religious coping. Hence, religious and spiritual beliefs not only enable cognitive satisfaction by offering the most satisfying answers to traumatic victims' search for meaning, yet also help them to accept the situation. This is caused due to a sense of devotion, and contribute to both their struggle with the trauma and their post-traumatic development. According to the research findings, there is a significant relationship between students' cultural adaptation and 'positive religious coping' tendency. Therefore, providing these students with spiritual care and counseling might contribute to their integration process. Moreover, it has been seen that it is important to conduct value-centered projects and activities which would prevent both refugee students and locals to marginalize each other, and would improve the culture of living-together. It is also important to provide governmental and nongovernmental support for these projects and activities. On the other hand, launching free language courses to resolve communication problems, which are obstacles for integration, and establishing socio-cultural networks in and around the campus for constituting more compatible relationships among the students would improve the students' integration capability.

Açıklama

Anahtar Kelimeler

Psyhology of Religion, Religious Coping, Cultural Adaptation, Migration, Refugee

Kaynak

Cumhuriyet Ilahiyat Dergisi-Cumhuriyet Theology Journal

WoS Q Değeri

N/A

Scopus Q Değeri

Q4

Cilt

23

Sayı

1

Künye