Abstract
This paper examined gender (N = 1406;77.7% women) patterns of religious coping and psychological impact following the devastating 2023 Syrian earthquakes. Measures in this nation-wide convenience sample study included positive religious coping (PRC) and negative religious coping (NRC) using the Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE), and probable PTSD, depression, and anxiety, using the PCL-5, PHQ-9, and GAD-7, respectively. Women reported higher endorsement of PRC items while men higher endorsement of NRC items. Within the women only sample, lower education and lower income, education and younger age predicted PRC and NRC, respectively. NRC was strongly positively associated with PTSD, depression and anxiety; while, PRC was positively associated only with PTSD. These vulnerable women require targeted support to adopt more adaptive religious coping strategies.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Hussein Najjar and Bilal Aljebbeh from Samaat Hakeem, Muhammad Akram Alsharaa from Hakemak Dalelak, Ahmad Mohammad and Aya Marwa from Med Dose, and Abdullah Hadakie and Jamal Ataya who all helped us to distribute the survey and acknowledge their contribution.
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The study was approved by the local ethics committee of Damascus University, Faculty of Medicine. All participants agreed to participate, and informed consent was obtained from all subjects. This study did not include participants younger than 18 years old. The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008. All procedures involving human subjects/patients were approved by Damascus University, Faculty of Medicine.
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Alsamara, K., Kakaje, A., Soqia, J. et al. Exploring Women’s Religious Coping Strategies and Psychological Impact After the 2023 Earthquake in Syria. J Relig Health 63, 2314–2326 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02005-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02005-8