Meaning-Making Coping Strategies in the Context of War and Anticipated War: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study in Ukraine, Iran and Sweden.
The project aims to deepen the understanding of the strategies people use to find meaning and cope with difficult emotional and existential situations during times of war or the threat of war.
Background and Rationale
The question of life’s meaning remains central to human existence, especially during crises such as wars and armed conflicts. While much is known about the psychological consequences of war, relatively little research has examined how individuals cope with such crises through meaning-making processes—both during and after these events. The role of spirituality, religion, and other ideological frameworks in coping warrants deeper investigation, particularly in terms of differences between religious and non-religious individuals and variations across cultural contexts.
Since 2013, our international research program Meaning-Making Coping with Crisis—involving professors, associate professors, and researchers from Sweden and 9 other countries—has investigated coping strategies in diverse crisis contexts. This collaboration has produced 4 books and 47 peer-reviewed articles in international journals.
As part of this program, we conduct extensive qualitative research in Ukraine, Iran and Sweden. Two scientific articles based on the Ukraine study have already been submitted to peer-reviewed journals. The findings of the qualitative studies will provide a strong empirical and theoretical foundation for the present project.