Spiritual Needs, Religious Coping and Mental Wellbeing: A Cross-Sectional Study among Migrants and Refugees in Germany

Kathrin Maier, Karol Konaszewski, Sebastian Binyamin Skalski, Arndt Büssing and Janusz Surzykiewicz
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Kathrin Maier: Department of Educational Psychology in Social Work, Catholic University of Applied Sciences Munich, 80335 Munich, Germany
Karol Konaszewski: Faculty of Education, University of Bialystok, 15328 Bialystok, Poland
Sebastian Binyamin Skalski: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 00378 Warsaw, Poland
Arndt Büssing: Professorship Quality of Life, Spirituality and Coping, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, 58455 Herdecke, Germany
Janusz Surzykiewicz: Faculty of Philosophy and Education, Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, 85072 Eichstätt, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: It has been widely proven that resettlement is associated with negative psychological effects (e.g., increased depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder) among refugees. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the psychosocial functioning of migrants. This study assessed associations between negative dysfunctional appraisal (perceiving experiences as stressful), spiritual needs, religious coping and wellbeing. Data from paper-and-pencil questionnaires were collected from 744 refugees (69.8% male) aged 18–67 years ( M = 27.99) with diverse backgrounds (including from Mashreq countries) who were resettled in Germany. Bootstrapping mediation analysis revealed that the relationship of dysfunctional appraisal and wellbeing among refugees is mediated by spiritual needs (i.e., existential and religious needs). Additionally, negative religious coping mediates the relationship between spiritual needs and wellbeing. The data obtained suggest the need for practitioners to focus on psychological interventions that strengthen spiritual needs in order to improve mental health among refugees.

Keywords: refugees; negative dysfunctional appraisal; spiritual needs; religious coping; wellbeing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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