Ebeveyn Kaybı Yaşamış Bireylerde Otobiyografik Bellek, Allah Tasavvuru Ve Dini Başa Çıkma
The Relationship Between Autobiographical Memory The God Image And Religious Coping In Individuals Who Lost A Parent
Yazar: Göcen, Gülüşan; Genç, Merve
Dergi: Bilimname, Vol. 2019 No. 40, 2019
Anahtar kelimeler: Din Psikolojisi,Allah Tasavvuru,Otobiyografik Bellek,Dini Başa Çıkma,Ebeveyn Kaybı.

Bu çalışmanın amacı, ebeveyn kaybı yaşamış üniversite öğrencilerinin otobiyografik anıları üzerinden nasıl bir Allah tasavvuruna sahip olduklarını ve yaşadıkları zorluklarda sahip oldukları Allah tasavvurunun dini başa çıkma süreçlerine olan etkisini ortaya koymaktır. Derinlemesine bir bilgi alınabilmesi için durum nitel modelinde tasarlanmış bu araştırmanın çalışma grubu, amaçlı örnekleme çeşitlerinden olan ölçüt, maksimum çeşitlilik ve kartopu yöntemleri kullanılarak belirlenmiştir. Yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile birlikte görüşme yöntemi uygulanmıştır 18-24 yaş aralığında (ortalama yaş: 20,7), 8’i (%40) anne kaybı yaşamış ve 12’si (%60) baba kaybı yaşamış (%60) olmak üzere toplam 20 kız üniversite öğrencisi, çalışma grubunu oluşturmuştur.  Araştırmacı tarafından yüz yüze yapılan görüşmeler sonrasında elde edilen veriler içerik analizi ile incelenmiştir. Sonuçta, katılımcıların paylaştıkları otobiyografik anılarda sırasıyla “Yakın”, “Affedici/Bağışlayıcı”, “Koruyan-Gözeten”, “Yaratıcı-Kudretli”, “Kural Koyan-Adaletli”, “Sabır Veren” Allah tasavvurları öne çıkmıştır. Ebeveyn kaybı yaşamış katılımcıların karşılaştıkları zorluklar, bu zorluklarla başa çıkma süreçleri veya hayatta kendilerini yalnız hissettikleri zamanlar düşünüldüğünde; Allah’ın en çok “Yakın” özelliğiyle tanımlanmış olması anlamlı bir durumdur. Ayrıca çoğu katılımcı için zorluk içeren yaşam olaylarında “Rahatlatıcı” Allah tasavvurunun dini başa çıkma süreçlerine dâhil olduğu kaydedilmiştir. Paylaşılan anılar otobiyografik belleğin işlevleri yönünden incelendiğinde ise ebeveyn kaybı yaşamış üniversite öğrencilerinin, Allah’ın da dâhil olduğu otobiyografik anılarını, çoğunlukla davranışlarını yönlendirmek ya da başkalarına öğüt vermek amacıyla hatırladıkları tespit edilmiştir. Katılımcıların, cezalandırıcı bir Allah tasavvuruna sahip olmadıkları ve ebeveyn kaybını olası bir ceza olarak değerlendirmedikleri gözlemlenmiştir.

From past to present, humankind’s search for God or ascribing divinity to various beings becomes one of the fundamental realities which shapes the individual and social lives. People have had a faith in a deity one way or the other from the most primitive ones to the Absolute One, and social systems have become prominent as the product of this faith. Islam which offers a way of life for all beings places the term Allah to the root of its life system. In this system, people who are disposed to establish relationships cultivate their own meaning and self-worth through their relationship with Allah. Therefore, the relationship between humankind and Allah have a prior significance for people who define themselves as Muslims.The term Allah identified by the revelation is reconceived on the individual ground by humans who have the ability of symbolic thinking. Humans bear the term Allah in accordance with their own experiences to their world of emotion, memory and image. Even though autobiographical memory may present a rich area to study the God image which is defined as “memory traces of individuals’ primary experiences with the God” in Psychology of Religion (Mehmedoğlu, 2011: 30), it has not been studied in the related fields. Also, as a reflextion of positivist paradigm, it has been observed that the term autobiographical memory is generally researched on the cognitive or behavioral ground, and isn’t related with the topics like religion or God. Thus, in this research it is aimed at studying what kind of God image people have through their autobiographical memories.Many studies have highlighthed the influences of early childhood experinces and parents on the formation and development of God image (Hayta, 2017; Yıldız, 2013; Subaşı, 2012), because children form a specific image by starting with their own parents. As the studies approaching the term God image within the scope of Attachment Theory have demonstrated that the relationship with God is affected by how people attach their parents (Hayta, 2017; Homan, Boyatis, 2010; Kirkpatrick, 1998). Because protective and reliable parents provide a basis for the healthy relationship with the God, it has been wondered how people having lost their parents form and develop the relationship with the God.It is thought that losing a parent as a traumatic experience has negatively or positively affected individuals’ God image, who try to make sense of the life in their early adulthood; because losing a loved one leads people to think metaphysical issues like death, life, existence, and enables people to experience the God more closely. Also it was predicted people securely attachted with their lost parent would establish a similar relationship with the God by imaging the God as protective and reliable, or would develop a conflicting image of the God due to their parental lost. Thus, within this research, it was studied how Muslim collage students losing their parent represent the God through their autobiographical memories about the God; whether they use their own God image to cope with difficult life situations; and the reason for recalling the autobiographical memories about the God regarding the functions of autobiographical memory. Primarily, the terms God image, autobiographical memory and parental loss were clarified with the help of Turkish and foreign literature; then deficiencies and problems of the related fields were revealed. Comparing with quantitative research methods, it was thought that interview technique as a qualitative research method which prioritizes meaning and uniqueness would be more feasible for the topic and goal of this study. Because this technique helps with understanding individuals’ feelings, thoughts, behaviours, wills and attitudes regarding the research topics (Yıldırım, Şimşek, 2016: 129-147). Therefore, 12 college students losing their fathers and 8 college studens losing their mothers, total of 20 college students were interviewed by using a semi-structured interview form which might be changed by the researcher for the purpose of clarifying and detailing what the participants have narrated. Also participants were specified through criterion, snowball, maximum variation sampling from purposive sampling methods according to the research topic. Recorded interviews were evaluated by content analysis providing multiple interpretation of similer cases. As a result, properties of the God like Close, Merciful, Protecter, Creator-All Mighty, Rule Maker-Just, Giving Patience became prominent, respectively. Also it was reveled that participants had an comforting God image functioning as a religious coping activity at the hard times Regarding the functions of shared autobiographical memories, it was identified participants mostly recalled the memories about the God with the purpose of directing their behavior or advising other people.