Religious Orientation and Coping in Third Culture Kids

Religious Orientation and Coping in Third Culture Kids KAYLA ZERBE

Introduction: What is a Third Culture Kid(TCK)? TCKs TCKs are individuals who have spent more than three of their developmental years outside of their passport country (Pollok & Van Reken, 2001). Types of TCK Military Diplomat Business Missionary/Nonprofit Keywords: Passport Country (Or Home Country ) Host Country Young Adulthood Reentry (Repatriation)

Introduction: Challenges for TCKs Identity Development (Bikos et al., 2009; Marcia, 1980; Smith & Kearney, 2016) Reentry (Bikos et al., 2009; Smith & Kearney, 2016) Transition away from home Cultural adjustment Loneliness, depression, and anxiety (Bikos et al., 2009; Davis et al., 2010, 2013; Kim et al., 2017; Smith & Kearney, 2016). Previous Qualitative Research (Bikos et al., 2009; Smith & Kearney, 2016) Religion and Reentry (Bikos et al., 2009; Smith & Kearney, 2016)

Introduction: Religious Orientation Intrinsic Religious Orientation Intrinsic Religious Orientation: Religion as end in itself (Allport & Ross, 1967) Internalized, provides motivation and meaning Extrinsic Religious Orientation Extrinsic Religious Orientation: Religion as means to an end (Allport & Ross, 1967) Less reflection and integration of beliefs Extrinsic Personal versus Extrinsic Social Prejudice (Allport & Ross, 1967; Johnson-Kwochka, 2020; Park, 2021) Mental Health (Park, 2021; S zer & Eskin, 2022; You & Lim, 2019)

Introduction: Religious Coping Role of Religion in Coping (Pargament et al., 1990, 1992, 2000). Meaning Control Comfort/Spirituality Intimacy/Spirituality Life Transformation Positive and Negative Religious Coping (Pargament et al., 1998)

Introduction: Religious Orientation and Coping Mental Health Mental Health Intrinsic Religious Orientation: Intrinsic religious orientation and positive religious coping versus extrinsic religious orientation and negative religious coping. Spiritually oriented coping Opportunity for growth Resolution of stressful event Happier, less depressed, more functional Extrinsic Religious Orientation: Higher stress (Navara & James, 2005) Feeling unable to handle situation Lower depression and anxiety Feeling they could change situation Not Not as opportunity for growth (Amadi et al., 2016; Khan & Watson, 2006; Lewis et al., 2005; Navara & James, 2005). (Pargament et al., 1992)

Hypotheses: Hypothesis 1 Hypothesis 1 TCKs who have an intrinsic religious orientation will engage in more positive religious coping. Hypothesis 2 Hypothesis 2 TCKs with an extrinsic religious orientation will engage in more negative religious coping.

Method: Participants Procedures 48 TCKs Recruitment 47 missionary kids, 1 unknown Religiously Affiliated University Age: International Missions Organization Mean = 20.15 years old Online Survey via Qualtrics Range = 18-23 years old Years since repatriation: Data analyzed using SPSS Mean = 2.73 years Correlations Range = 0-8 years

Method: Materials Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) 14 items 2 subscales: Intrinsic (8 items) Extrinsic (6 items) 5-point Likert Scale Strongly disagree Strongly agree Cronbach s alpha: Intrinsic: 0.83 Extrinsic: 0.65 Brief RCOPE Brief RCOPE 14 items 2 subscales: Positive Religious Coping (PRC) Negative Religious Coping (NRC) 4-point Likert Scale Not at all A great deal Cronbach s alpha: PRC: 0.86 NRC: 0.85 (Allport & Ross, 1965) (Pargament et al., 2011 )

Results Table 1 Table 1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Study Variables Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Study Variables Variable Variable n M SD 1 2 3 4 1. Extrinsic Religious Orientation 48 2.72 0.65 - 2. Intrinsic Religious Orientation 48 4.15 0.66 -.24 - 3. Positive Religious Coping 48 2.75 0.51 -.02 .54** - 4. Negative Religious Coping 48 1.71 0.72 -.14 -.38** .12 - **p < .01 **p < .01 Significant Correlations: Positive: Intrinsic Religious Orientation & Positive Religious Coping Negative: Intrinsic Religious Orientation & Negative Religious Coping

Discussion: Hypothesis 1 Supported Supported TCKs who have an intrinsic religious orientation will engage in more positive religious coping. Identity Development: Developed religious/spiritual identity as source of stability in transition Use of positive religious coping facilitating intrinsic religious orientation Type of TCK: Primarily missionary kids Faith as Support: Religious security internal instead of on external circumstances

Discussion: Hypothesis 2 Not Supported Not Supported TCKs with an extrinsic religious orientation will engage in more negative religious coping. Lower scores for Extrinsic Religious Orientation Extrinsic Religious Orientation may be unrelated to religious coping and wellbeing (Park, 2021)

Discussion: Continued TCKs with an intrinsic religious orientation were less likely to engage in negative religious coping Application Application: Future Directions Future Directions Facilitating intrinsic religious orientation Mental Health Teaching positive coping strategies Cultural Identity & Transition Non-religious Coping Limitations Limitations: Types of coping Only missionary kids Quantitative research on TCKs Small sample size

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