EXPLORING MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS’ EXPERIENCE IN INTERACTING WITH ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN MACAU

ABSTRACT

THE RESEARCHER AIMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN  EAST TIMOR COPE WITH AND RECOVER FROM TRAUMA ARISING FROM WAR, VIOLENCE, AND CONFLICT.  THE RESEARCH SEEKS TO IDENTIFY CRITICAL SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS COPING MECHANISMS AS  PRESENT IN EAST TIMOR (TIMOR LESTE) THAT COULD HELP VICTIMS HEAL AND RECONSTRUCT THEIR  LIVES AFTER A WAR TRAUMA EXPERIENCE.  THE STUDY USES A MIXED METHOD, FIRST DEPLOYING A QUANTITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF  CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN EAST TIMOR. THE QUESTIONNAIRE AIMSTO UNDERSTAND  HOW RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY FEATURE IN INDIVIDUALS' COPING WITH TRAUMA AND THE HEALING  PRACTICES PRESCRIBED OR ENCOURAGED BY RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES. IN ADDITION,  A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND THEMATIC ANALYSES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED AND ADDED WITH THE  FACILITATION OF 6 INTERVIEWEES, 3 MUSLIMS, AND 3 CHRISTIANS.  THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE TRAUMA LEVELS AND RELIGIOUS COPING STRATEGIES  AMONG PARTICIPANTS FROM EAST TIMOR. THE QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS INDICATED THAT THE  PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED A MODERATE LEVEL OF TRAUMA, WITH TROUBLE SLEEPING BEING THE  MOST SIGNIFICANT SYMPTOM. THE QUALITATIVE FINDINGS REVEALED IN SOME PARTICIPANTS A HIGH  LEVEL OF TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES. RECURRENT THOUGHTS OF TRAUMATIC EVENTS AND FEELING  JUMPY WERE ALSO PREVALENT. HOWEVER, FEELING STRANGE AROUND PEOPLE OR OBJECTS AND  FEELING PERSONALLY DAMAGED BY THE TRAUMA WERE LESS COMMON. REGARDING COPING  STRATEGIES, PARTICIPANTS TENDED TO RELY ON POSITIVE RELIGIOUS COPING, SEEKING A STRONGER  VIII CONNECTION WITH GOD, FINDING COMFORT IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES AND BELIEFS, AND USING  SPIRITUAL INTERVENTIONS TO MANAGE EMOTIONS AND WORRIES, FINDING HEALING AND A PATH  TOWARD THE FUTURE. BOTH CATHOLICS AND MUSLIMS EMPLOYED POSITIVE RELIGIOUS COPING STRATEGIES, WITH  CATHOLICS SHOWING A SLIGHTLY HIGHER LEVEL IN THEIR UTILIZATION. HOWEVER, THE DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS WAS MINIMAL. POSITIVE COPING STRATEGIES WERE MORE FREQUENTLY  USED BY PARTICIPANTS FROM BOTH RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS, HIGHLIGHTING THEIR IMPORTANCE IN  DEALING WITH TRAUMA. POSITIVE RELIGIOUS COPING DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT TRAUMA SYMPTOMS,  SHOWING NO DECREASE OR INCREASE. HOWEVER, A NOTABLE POSITIVE CORRELATION EXISTED  BETWEEN NEGATIVE RELIGIOUS COPING AND MORE SEVERE TRAUMA SYMPTOMS. INDIVIDUALS  RELYING ON NEGATIVE COPING STRATEGIES WERE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE HEIGHTENED TRAUMA  SYMPTOMS. THESE FINDINGS ALIGN WITH PREVIOUS RESEARCH, EMPHASIZING THE POSITIVE  ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ISLAMIC APPRAISALS AND RELIGIOUS COPING WITH BETTER POST-TRAUMATIC  ADJUSTMENT, WHILE TRAUMA-RELATED APPRAISALS ARE LINKED TO WORSE ADJUSTMENT. THE STUDY  UNDERSCORES THE NEED TO RESPECT INDIVIDUAL COPING VARIATIONS AND RECOGNIZES THE IMPACT  OF NEGATIVE RELIGIOUS COPING ON TRAUMA EXPERIENCES