ScholarOne - Rational and Irrational Beliefs and Coping Strategies Among
Palestinian Refugees: An Exploratory Analysis
Abstract
This study aimed to identify rational and irrational beliefs and coping
mechanisms that were expressed spontaneously by a sample of Palestinian
refugees (n = 35) during conditions of asylum and displacement after the
wars of 1948 and 1967. The participants ranged in age from 17 to 33
years when they sought refuge in Jordan and lived in camps. The coding
of the interviews into separate sentences and paragraphs showed that
93.8% of the participants expressed irrational beliefs while 51.3%
expressed rational beliefs. In addition, 78.2% of the participants used
and employed coping skills focused on emotions, while 49.8% used coping
skills focused on solutions. The most common irrational beliefs were
generalizations about others (85.5%) and exaggeration (63.7%). This
study provides the first information about the rational and irrational
beliefs of a sample of Palestinian refugees in Jordan in addition to the
coping strategies they employed to overcome the conditions of asylum,
which can be used in treating similar cases. This study is one of the
first studies worldwide to explore the extent of rational and irrational
beliefs among a sample of Palestinian refugees in Jordanian camps.
Keywords: rational, irrational, beliefs, coping strategies, refugees