Does spiritual coping help families of international migrants thrive? A qualitative study of social work practices in Kerala
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol37iss2id1241Keywords:
Spiritual coping, social work interventions, emotional wellbeing, cultural continuityAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Spiritual coping strategies have been increasingly recognised for supporting emotional wellbeing among families of migrants experiencing prolonged separation. This study investigates the role of spiritual coping mechanisms implemented by professional social workers to help families of international migrants in Kerala, focusing on their effectiveness and associated challenges.
METHODS: The study involved two groups of participants: 12 social workers with at least 2 years of experience supporting families of international migrants and 10 individual members of families of international migrants who had received social work interventions incorporating spiritual coping strategies over a minimum period of 6 months. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with social workers and families, focusing on their lived experiences and the integration of spiritual coping practices. Thematic analysis was used to identify core themes and insights.
FINDINGS: Three key themes emerged: (1) spiritual coping and resilience, where spiritual practices regulate emotions and provide reassurance; (2) challenges in integrating spirituality, involving ethical dilemmas and balancing professional boundaries; and (3) outcomes of spiritual coping, where shared faith strengthened bonds and offered long-term stress relief.
CONCLUSIONS: Spirituality is a practical support tool for such families. However, overreliance and ethical concerns highlight the need for a balanced integration into social work practice.
Downloads
References
Aggarwal, S., Wright, J., Morgan, A., Patton, G., & Reavley, N. (2023). Religiosity and spirituality in the prevention and management of depression and anxiety in young people: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05091-2
Ahad, A. A., Sanchez-Gonzalez, M., & Junquera, P. (2023). Understanding and addressing mental health stigma across cultures for improving psychiatric care: A narrative review. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.39549
Alkholy, R., Lovell, K., Bee, P., & Pedley, R. (2022). Barriers and enablers to help-seeking behaviour for mental health reasons among community-dwelling older adults with anxiety: A mixed-methods systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2022.100440
Andersen, L. M. B., Rasmussen, A. N., Reavley, N. J., Bøggild, H., & Overgaard, C. (2021). The social route to mental health: A systematic review and synthesis of theories linking social relationships to mental health to inform interventions. SSM - Mental Health, 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2021.100042
Andrade, A. S., Roca, J. S., & Pérez, S. R. (2023). Children’s emotional and behavioural response following a migration: A scoping review. Journal of Migration and Health, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmh.2023.100176
Appiah, R., Raviola, G., & Weobong, B. (2024). Balancing ethics and culture: A scoping review of ethico-cultural and implementation challenges of the individual-based consent model in African research. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 19(3), 143–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/15562646241237669
Asadzadeh, A., Kötter, T., Fekete, A., Moghadas, M., Alizadeh, M., Zebardast, E., Weiss, D., Basirat, M., & Hutter, G. (2022). Urbanisation, migration, and the challenges of resilience thinking in urban planning: Insights from two contrasting planning systems in Germany and Iran. Cities, 125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103642
Banerjee, S., Santos, L. L. D., & Hulgård, L. (2021). Intersectional knowledge as rural social innovation. Journal of Rural Studies, 99, 252–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.04.007
Bjørlykhaug, K. I., Karlsson, B., Hesook, S. K., & Kleppe, L. C. (2021). Social support and recovery from mental health problems: A scoping review. Nordic Social Work Research, 12(5), 666–697. https://doi.org/10.1080/2156857x.2020.1868553
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Celano, T., Harris, S., Sawyer, A. T., & Hamilton, T. (2021). Promoting spiritual well-being among nurses. Mental Health Nursing, 42(4), 214–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2021.08.002
Ciaramella, M., Monacelli, N., & Cocimano, L. C. E. (2021). Promotion of resilience in migrants: A systematic review of study and psychosocial intervention. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 24(5), 1328–1344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01247-y
Coope, J., Barrett, A., Brown, B., Crossley, M., Raghavan, R., & Sivakami, M. (2020). Resilience, mental health and urban migrants: A narrative review. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 16(2), 137–159. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijmhsc-04-2019-0048
De Haene, L., & Rousseau, C. (2020). Working with refugee families: Trauma and exile in family relationships. Cambridge University Press.
Drisko, J. W., & Grady, M. D. (2019). Evidence-based practice in clinical social work. Springer.
Duplantier, S. C., & Williamson, F. A. (2023). Barriers and facilitators of health and well-being in informal caregivers of dementia patients: A qualitative study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054328
Ellis, H. M., Hook, J. N., Zuniga, S., Hodge, A. S., Ford, K. M., Davis, D. E., & Van Tongeren, D. R. (2022). Religious/spiritual abuse and trauma: A systematic review of the empirical literature. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 9(4), 213–231.
https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000301
Ermansons, G., Kienzler, H., Asif, Z., & Schofield, P. (2023). Refugee mental health and the role of place in the Global North countries: A scoping review. Health & Place, 79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.102964
Firdaus, G. (2017). The mental well-being of migrants in the urban centre of India: Analyzing the role of the social environment. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 59(2). https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_272_15
Francoeur, R. B., Burke, N., & Wilson, A. M. (2016). The role of social workers in spiritual care to facilitate coping with chronic illness and self-determination in advance care planning. Social Work in Public Health, 31(5), 453–466. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2016.1146199
Frankl, V. E. (1946). Man’s search for meaning (IN. Lesch, Trans) Beacon Press. (Original work published 1946)
Greaves, L. M., Latimer, C. L., Li, E., & Hamley, L. (2023). Well-being and cultural identity for Māori: Knowledge of iwi (tribal) affiliations does not strongly relate to health and social service outcomes. Social Science & Medicine, 329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116028
Gümüsay, A. A., Smets, M., & Morris, T. (2019). God at work: Engaging central and incompatible institutional logics through elastic hybridity. Academy of Management Journal, 63(1), 124–154. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.0481
Hasan, S. I., Yee, A., Rinaldi, A., Azham, A. A., Hairi, F. M., & Nordin, A. S. A. (2021). Prevalence of common mental health issues among migrant workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE, 16(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260221
Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies. Behaviour Therapy, 35(4), 639–665. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7894(04)80013-3
Iyer, K., Gupta, P., Sapre, S., Pawar, T., Gala, P., Kapoor, H., Kalahasthi, R., Ticku, A., Kulkarni, S., & Iyer, P. (2023). Mental health resources, barriers, and intervention needs among women in rural Maharashtra, India: A qualitative study. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2023.78
Jones, R. A. (1986). Émile Durkheim: An introduction to four major works. Sage Publications.
Kienzler, H., Massazza, A., Kuykendall, R., Tamimi, N., Hammoudeh, W., & Giacaman, R. (2024). Uncertainty and mental health: A qualitative scoping review. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2024.100521
Kumar, P., & Pramod, S. K. (2016). Psychological problems of migrant labourers in Kerala: A study in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts. The Kerala Institute of Labour and Employment (KILE). https://kile.kerala.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sunilkumar.pdf
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing.
Liddell, B. J., Batch, N., Hellyer, S., Bulnes‐Diez, M., Kamte, A., Klassen, C., Wong, J., Byrow, Y., & Nickerson, A. (2022). Understanding the effects of being separated from family on refugees in Australia: A qualitative study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 46(5), 647–653. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13232
Lockhart, C., Houkamau, C. A., Sibley, C. G., & Osborne, D. (2019). To be at one with the land: Māori spirituality predicts greater environmental regard. Religions, 10(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10070427
Lusk, M., Terrazas, S., Caro, J., Chaparro, P., & Puga Antúnez, D. (2019). Resilience, faith, and social supports among migrants and refugees from Central America and Mexico. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 23(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2019.1620668
Mandelkow, L., Frick, E., Büsing, A., & Reme, S. E. (2021). Norwegian psychotherapy: Religiosity gap and spiritual care competence. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 24(4), 359–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2021.1938343
Matlin, S. A., Depoux, A., Schütte, S., Flahault, A., & Saso, L. (2018). Migrants’ and refugees’ health: Towards an agenda of solutions. Public Health Reviews, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-018-0104-9
McLean, C., & Follette, V. M. (2016). Acceptance and commitment therapy as a nonpathologizing intervention approach for survivors of trauma. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 17(2), 138–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2016.1103111
Olcese, M., Cardinali, P., Madera, F., Camilleri, A. P., & Migliorini, L. (2023). Migration and community resilience: A scoping review. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101924
Omelchenko, D., Maximova, S., & Molodikova, I. (2018). Risks of international migration and integration policy Asian borderland (On the results of sociological research in the Altai Territory). Society and Security Insights, 3, 53–77. https://doi.org/10.14258/ssi(2018)3-03
Rajan, S. I. (2023). India migration report 2020: Kerala model of migration surveys. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/India-Migration-Report-2020-Kerala-Model-of-Migration-Surveys/Rajan/p/book/9780367625696.
Sari, R. Y., Muhith, A., Rohmawati, R., Soleha, U., Faizah, I., Afiyah, R. K., & Rahman, F. S. (2021). Spiritual emotional freedom technique against anxiety and psychological well-being of Type 2 DM patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 9(G), 260–265. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021.7217
Shen, R. (2023). The effects of psychosocial factors on international students’ mental health and relevant interventions. SHS Web of Conferences, 157. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202315701021
Tabor, W., Madison, K., Marler, L. E., & Kellermanns, F. W. (2019). The effects of spiritual leadership in family firms: A conservation of resources perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 163(4), 729–743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04379-2
Taha, S., Anabtawi, M., & Wreidat, T. A. (2024). Silent suffering: The hidden challenges confronting unaccompanied refugee children through the eyes of social workers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106868
Taute, N., Morgan, T. K. K. B., Ingham, J., Archer, R., & Fa’aui, T. (2023). Cultural sustainability thresholds to measure the mauri of Indigenous Māori values impacted by geothermal engineering projects. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 20, 100303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2023.100303
Tavares, A. P., Martins, H., Pinto, S., Caldeira, S., Sousa, P. P., & Rodgers, B. (2022). Spiritual comfort, spiritual support, and spiritual care: A simultaneous concept analysis. Nursing Forum, 57(6), 1559–1566. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12845
UNESCO. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education. UNESCO Publishing.
Willemse, S., Smeets, W., Van Leeuwen, E., Nielen-Rosier, T., Janssen, L., & Foudraine, N. (2020). Spiritual care in the intensive care unit: An integrative literature research. Journal of Critical Care, 57, 55–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrc.2020.01.026
Williams, A. D., Clark, T. C., & Lewycka, S. (2018). The associations between cultural identity and mental health outcomes for Indigenous Māori youth in New Zealand. Frontiers in Public Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00319
Wilson, D., Moloney, E., Parr, J. M., Aspinall, C., & Slark, J. (2021). Creating an Indigenous Māori‐centred model of relational health: A literature review of Māori models of health. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(23–24), 3539–3555. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15859
World Health Organization. (2023). Mental health of refugees and migrants: Risk and protective factors and access to care. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240081840.
Yantzi, R., Hadiuzzaman, M., Gupta, P. K. S., Lamrous, A., Richardson, K., Pringle, J., Schwartz, L., Hossain, P., Kizito, D., & Burza, S. (2023). Doing our best and doing no harm: A focused ethnography of staff moral experiences of providing palliative care at a Médecins Sans Frontières pediatric hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. PLoS ONE, 18(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288938
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
By completing the online submission process, you confirm you accept this agreement. The following is the entire agreement between you and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) and it may be modified only in writing.
You and any co-authors
If you are completing this agreement on behalf of co-authors, you confirm that you are acting on their behalf with their knowledge.
First publication
By submitting the work you are:
- granting the ANZASW the right of first publication of this work;
- confirming that the work is original; and
- confirming that the work has not been published in any other form.
Once published, you are free to use the final, accepted version in any way, as outlined below under Copyright.
Copyright
You assign copyright in the final, accepted version of your article to the ANZASW. You and any co-authors of the article retain the right to be identified as authors of the work.
The ANZASW will publish the final, accepted manuscript under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows anyone – including you – to share, copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make commercial use of the work without needing additional permission, provided appropriate attribution is made to the original author or source.
A human-readable summary of the licence is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which includes a link to the full licence text.
Under this licence you can use the final, published version of the article freely – such as depositing a copy in your institutional research repository, uploading a copy to your profile on an academic networking site or including it in a different publication, such as a collection of articles on a topic or in conference proceedings – provided that original publication in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work is acknowledged.
This agreement has no effect on any pre-publication versions or elements, which remain entirely yours, and to which we claim no right.
Reviewers hold copyright in their own comments and should not be further copied in any way without their permission.
The copyright of others
If your article includes the copyright material of others (e.g. graphs, diagrams etc.), you confirm that your use either:
- falls within the limits of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism and review or fair use; OR
- that you have gained permission from the rights holder for publication in an open access journal.
