Between tradition and transition: The dynamics of cultural and religious identity, mental health, and coping strategies among arab immigrants in Turkey

There is a limited focus on the lived experiences of Arab immigrants negotiating cultural and religious identities in Muslim-dominant but culturally distinct societies such as Turkey. Although such research has pointed to the difficulties of acculturation, less research has examined how these individuals reconcile their religious identities across cultural differences. The present study investigates the cultural-religious identity interaction among Arab immigrants in Turkey and its psychological consequences. The research design was qualitative and phenomenological in nature, as it sought to understand how 12 Arab immigrants living in Istanbul experience their identities and the plurality of these experiences. Using Acculturation Theory (AT), Social Identity Theory (SIT), and the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, we investigated participants' narratives about cultural and religious identity conflicts, their psychological impact, and coping strategies. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify commonalities and distinctions in their experiences. Arab Immigrants highlighted Core Themes central to their experiences in Turkey; Participants grappled with reconciling differing interpretations of Islam and cultural expectations while managing feelings of displacement and alienation. The coping strategies were created from social support networks, Knowledge-seeking, and religious practices. These results shed light on the complex process of negotiating a cultural-religious identity for Arab immigrants in Turkey, complicated by intra-religious differences due to each region's culture. The findings characterize the crucial need for culturally sensitive mental health services. Interventions should provide services that treat cultural adjustment, religious identity, and mental health as interrelated factors and address how host and origin cultures relate to the youths' identity construction.