Women in Refugee Camps: Which Coping Resources Help Them to Adapt?

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the coping resources and mental health of women who have fled Syria to a neighboring European country. To that end, we examined the roles of sociodemographic factors, situational factors, and personal and community sense of coherence (SOC and ComSOC, respectively) in mental-health outcomes. One hundred and eleven refugee women aged 19–70 filled out self-reported questionnaires during August 2018 in a refugee camp in Greece. The questionnaires asked the participants for demographic information (i.e., age, level of education level, and time spent in the camp) and also addressed the situational factors of having received aid from various organizations, appraisal of danger during the war in Syria, and exposure to war experiences, as well as the coping resources of SOC and ComSOC. The results show that time spent in the camp, appraisal of danger, SOC, and ComSOC all play significant roles in predicting the variance of various mental-health outcomes. Together, those factors predict 56% of anxiety, 53% of depression, and 58% of somatization. SOC was also found to mediate the relationships between time spent in the camp and outcome variables, as well as the relationships between the appraisal of danger and the outcome variables. This indicates that SOC is crucial for good adaptation. These results will be discussed in light of the salutogenic theory.

Factors associated with the mental health of adolescent university students during COVID-19 quarantine in Japan

“…The results of this study indicate that students' SOC effectively works as a type of resistance that maintains students' mental health in quarantine, as indicated by the negative correlation between SOC and GHQ scores. Similar results have been observed among people forced to adjust to new life settings, such as refugees [28], widows [29], and cancer patients [30]. In other words, SOC is a resistance strategy that helps individuals to adjust to new environments and reduces the risk of mental health deterioration, even in unfamiliar settings.…”

Sense of Coherence, Burnout, and Work Engagement: The Moderating Effect of Coping in the Democratic Republic of Congo

“…The results are likely to be explained by the fact that, participants with a strong SOC, who apply positive coping strategies, such as seeking support and problem-focus, are more likely to COP with stressful work environment. In contrast, participants with low level of SOC, are likely to experience threating situations, as they usually perceived stressors as a threat [43,44].…”

“…Coping strategies have been increasingly researched by scientific scholar during the past decade as important resources in challenging life situations [43]. To comprehend how people positively face adversity is crucial and important to know the factors that may contribute to or promote resilience [44].…”

Therapeutic Nature Activities: A Step Toward the Labor Market for Traumatized Refugees

“…The participants in the project showed different levels of generalized resistance, defined as the individual’s ability to cope effectively with stressors. The factors in the SOC model were found to be strongly related to perceived health, especially mental health, and the relationship was revealed in study populations regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, and nationality [ 51 , 52 , 53 ]. Looking at the themes in the present study from a salutogenesis perspective, a plausible explanation can be found: For some of the participants, the loss they experienced is huge and overshadows everything in their new life.…”