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

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2022 Mar 25

PMID 35329106

Authors

Kathrin Maier

Karol Konaszewski

Sebastian Binyamin Skalski

Arndt Bussing

Janusz Surzykiewicz

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

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 ( = 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.

Citing Articles

Role of resilience in general health and mental wellbeing among Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon: a mixed methods study.

Usta J, Janbek D, Abboud M, Antoun J, Al Ghrawi R, Onyango M Confl Health. 2025; 19(1):15.

PMID: 40082988 PMC: 11908023. DOI: 10.1186/s13031-025-00653-5.

Age modulates, religious coping mediates: the role of attitude to self in cancer patients' quality of life.

Onyedibe M, Chidebe R, Andersen B, Ugwoke U, Ugwu L Front Psychol. 2025; 16:1558236.

PMID: 40012942 PMC: 11860875. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1558236.

The Predictive Power of Religious Coping on Care Burden, Depression, Stress, and Anxiety of Parents of Pediatric Oncology Patients in Turkey.

Semerci R, Uysal G, Acikgoz A, Demirer P J Relig Health. 2024; 63(5):3618-3635.

PMID: 39127992 PMC: 11502589. DOI: 10.1007/s10943-024-02096-3.

Inclusive inquiry: a compassionate journey in trauma-informed qualitative research with GBV survivors from displaced communities.

Diab J, Al-Azzeh D Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1399115.

PMID: 39118846 PMC: 11307779. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1399115.

War-related stress scale.

Vargova L, Jozefiakova B, Lacny M, Adamkovic M BMC Psychol. 2024; 12(1):208.

PMID: 38622687 PMC: 11020644. DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01687-9.

References

Forouzi M, Tirgari B, Safarizadeh M, Jahani Y . Spiritual Needs and Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer. Indian J Palliat Care. 2017; 23(4):437-444. PMC: 5661348. DOI: 10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_53_17. View

Slewa-Younan S, Uribe Guajardo M, Heriseanu A, Hasan T . A Systematic Review of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Amongst Iraqi Refugees Located in Western Countries. J Immigr Minor Health. 2014; 17(4):1231-9. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-014-0046-3. View

Olson M, Trevino D, Geske J, Vanderpool H . Religious coping and mental health outcomes: an exploratory study of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients. Explore (NY). 2012; 8(3):172-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2012.02.005. View

Park C, Holt C, Le D, Christie J, Williams B . Positive and Negative Religious Coping Styles as Prospective Predictors of Well-Being in African Americans. Psycholog Relig Spiritual. 2018; 10(4):318-326. PMC: 6261495. DOI: 10.1037/rel0000124. View

Perez J, Smith A . Intrinsic religiousness and well-being among cancer patients: the mediating role of control-related religious coping and self-efficacy for coping with cancer. J Behav Med. 2014; 38(2):183-93. PMC: 6165843. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-014-9593-2. View

Buzgova R, Hajnova E, Sikorova L, Jarosova D . Association between unmet needs and quality of life in hospitalised cancer patients no longer receiving anti-cancer treatment. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2014; 23(5):685-94. DOI: 10.1111/ecc.12181. View

Lee M, Nezu A, Nezu C . Positive and negative religious coping, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in people with HIV. J Behav Med. 2014; 37(5):921-30. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-014-9552-y. View

Sherman A, Simonton S, Latif U, Spohn R, Tricot G . Religious struggle and religious comfort in response to illness: health outcomes among stem cell transplant patients. J Behav Med. 2005; 28(4):359-67. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-005-9006-7. View

Bekelman D, Dy S, Becker D, Wittstein I, Hendricks D, Yamashita T . Spiritual well-being and depression in patients with heart failure. J Gen Intern Med. 2007; 22(4):470-7. PMC: 1829421. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-006-0044-9. View

10.

Silove D, Ventevogel P, Rees S . The contemporary refugee crisis: an overview of mental health challenges. World Psychiatry. 2017; 16(2):130-139. PMC: 5428192. DOI: 10.1002/wps.20438. View

11.

Ghorbani N, Watson P, Tahbaz S, Chen Z . Religious and Psychological Implications of Positive and Negative Religious Coping in Iran. J Relig Health. 2016; 56(2):477-492. DOI: 10.1007/s10943-016-0228-5. View

12.

Fazel M, Wheeler J, Danesh J . Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review. Lancet. 2005; 365(9467):1309-14. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)61027-6. View

13.

Ai A, Park C, Huang B, Rodgers W, Tice T . Psychosocial mediation of religious coping styles: a study of short-term psychological distress following cardiac surgery. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2007; 33(6):867-82. DOI: 10.1177/0146167207301008. View

14.

Lee J, Choi J, Kwon J . Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Resilience as a Protective Factor in Patients with Internet Gaming Disorder: A Resting-State EEG Coherence Study. J Clin Med. 2019; 8(1). PMC: 6352195. DOI: 10.3390/jcm8010049. View

15.

Abu-Raiya H, Jamal H . The links between religious coping and subjective well-being among Israeli-Muslims who lost a beloved person through death. Death Stud. 2019; 45(4):296-304. DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2019.1626951. View

16.

Topp C, Ostergaard S, Sondergaard S, Bech P . The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: a systematic review of the literature. Psychother Psychosom. 2015; 84(3):167-76. DOI: 10.1159/000376585. View

17.

Bech P, Gudex C, Johansen K . The WHO (Ten) Well-Being Index: validation in diabetes. Psychother Psychosom. 1996; 65(4):183-90. DOI: 10.1159/000289073. View

18.

Markova V, Sandal G, Guribye E . What Do Immigrants From Various Cultures Think Is the Best Way to Cope With Depression? Introducing the Cross-Cultural Coping Inventory. Front Psychol. 2020; 11:1599. PMC: 7372913. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01599. View

19.

Stewart W, Adams M, Stewart J, Nelson L . Review of clinical medicine and religious practice. J Relig Health. 2013; 52(1):91-106. DOI: 10.1007/s10943-012-9578-9. View

20.

Lachowicz M, Preacher K, Kelley K . A novel measure of effect size for mediation analysis. Psychol Methods. 2017; 23(2):244-261. DOI: 10.1037/met0000165. View