Mediating effects of religious coping on acculturative stress and life satisfaction: Focus on Sri Lankan migrant workers in Korea

Abstract

Considering the increasing numbers of migrant workers in the Republic of Korea and the challenges faced by migrant workers in adapting to their new environment, this study investigates how religious coping mediates acculturative stress and life satisfaction. Based on data collected from 106 Sri Lankan migrant workers, the study found that both internal and external religious coping styles significantly mediated acculturative stress and life satisfaction, with the external style affecting life satisfaction more significantly than the internal one. Religious coping styles were significantly and positively correlated with life satisfaction, which could help reduce acculturative stress. Factors, including age, gender, marital status, religious visits and working hours contribute to understanding the role that religious coping mechanisms play in the lives of migrant workers. Accordingly, the study suggests supporting religious communities and activities of migrants, and upgrading the social, cultural and educational services they receive, as well as the policies of the Korean government directed toward them.

Keywords

migrant workers religion religious coping acculturative stress life satisfaction Korea

Introduction

An increasing number of people are migrating from their home countries in search of good education, a better life/job, or marriage. Because of this trend, the Republic of Korea (hereafter, Korea) has become a popular migration destination. In 2020, more than two million resident immigrants lived in Korea and approximately 20 percent of them were immigrants in an irregular situation. Of the total, nearly 450,000 migrant workers mainly worked in industrial and agricultural fields (Hwang and Shin, 2020; MOJ, 2020).

During the acculturation process, most migrant workers in Korea tend to have difficulties because of language barriers, cultural differences, unfamiliar work systems and living alone. Moreover, they face discrimination and exclusion from workplaces and public spaces, which are mostly mono-cultural environments that enforce traditional Korean culture (Kim and Choi, 2017; Lee, 2016). However, migrant workers’ stress decreases and their life satisfaction increases when they are among supporters/friends or when they participate in religious/cultural activities related to their countries of origin (Farah and Choi, 2019; Jeon et al., 2018; Lee, 2016; Shin, 2017; Yu, 2020).

In Korea, immigrants themselves or religious leaders have founded many Christian, Catholic, Buddhist and Islamic communities to maintain their particular cultural and religious identities (BBS News, 2019; Yonhap News, 2020). Most migrants from Asian countries retain their religious orientation and they continue their religious practices in Korea. Migrant workers lacking a support network and/or a family in Korea become involved in their respective religious communities. Participating in activities with co-nationals or co-ethnics who share the same faith can provide social, psychological or emotional support (Farah and Choi, 2019; Shin, 2017; Yu, 2020). Some studies found that migrant workers could cope with acculturative stress, improve networking and better adjust to Korean society through participation in religious activities (Farah and Choi, 2019; Lee and Joh, 2012; Shin, 2017). Indeed, their religious practices help relieve the stresses of living in new countries (Adam and Ward, 2016; Farah and Choi, 2019; Kim and Kim, 2019; Lee and Joh, 2012; Pargament et al., 1998; Singh and Madan, 2017).

In Western societies, numerous studies have evidenced the role of religion and religious coping in reducing acculturative stress and enhancing life satisfaction and mental health (Abu-Raiya et al., 2019; Adam and Ward, 2016; Chai et al., 2012; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Le and Snodgrass, 2019; Park et al., 2012; Silva et al., 2017; Sanchez et al., 2012). By comparison, immigrants who have limited involvement in religious activities suffer from high levels of anxiety and depression, and have a low sense of life satisfaction (Amit and Bar-Lev, 2015; Hovey and Magaña, 2000).

According to Berry and Hou (2019), immigrants’ religious identities could be the primary factor promoting their emotional well-being and easy acculturation in their new countries. In this respect, with the increasing numbers of diverse migrant workers and religious communities in Korea, discovering how the religious coping styles of migrant workers affect their acculturative stress and life satisfaction will help improve their quality of life. However, previous studies are limited and have not clarified whether or how the religious coping of migrant workers from different cultures or backgrounds affects their acculturative stress and life satisfaction in the Korean society (Farah and Choi, 2019; Jeon and Lee, 2015; Shin, 2017). Religious coping involves two styles: Internal and external. Internal religious coping implies cognitive or private spiritual practices and prayers, whereas external religious coping involves social dimension, observable practices, participation in religious activities or seeking assistance from religious leaders or organizations (Chatters, 2000; Hill and Pargament, 2008).

This study focuses on the religious coping of Sri Lankan migrant workers who mostly practice Theravada Buddhism (South Asian Buddhism). As it is very difficult to find research on this topic in Korea, the study aims to provide specific information about the roles of religion and the functions of religious coping styles in the lives of Sri Lankan migrant workers practicing this type of Buddhism in Korea. This study specifically explores three questions: (1) how does the migrant workers’ acculturative stress, life satisfaction and religious coping styles differ according to demographic variables; (2) how do these variables correlate; and (3) how does religious coping mediate their acculturative stress and life satisfaction. This study ultimately aims to improve multicultural policies and social services for migrant workers and immigrant religious communities in Korea.

Literature review

Migrant workers in Korea

Most Asian migrant workers enter Korea under the employment permit system from 16 Asian countries that have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean government. The employment permit system started with 92 Filipino workers in 2004, and an average of 50,000 individuals a year came to Korea until 2019. Migrant workers who come to Korea as nonprofessional employment visa (E-9) holders are not allowed to stay longer than four years and 10 months, to bring family members and to change their workplaces more than three times without permission. However, diligent migrant workers may extend the time limit once more and remain in Korea for up to nine years and eight months of their employment. Migrant workers are employed in varied industrial sectors in Korea, including manufacturing, construction, livestock and fishery (Hwang and Shin, 2020).

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, approximately 6,000 migrant workers entered Korea, and the total number of migrant workers staying also declined by approximately 450,000 individuals, including nearly 10 percent of illegal workers. Among them, 236,950 workers have E-9 visas. Sri Lankan migrant workers numbered 22,466, of whom 97 percent were migrant workers in their 20s, 30s and 40s (MOJ, 2020).

In Korea, migrant workers’ acculturative stress and depressive symptoms are highly related to their work conditions and social discrimination. They lack support from co-workers and have demanding jobs with insufficient job control and a high degree of interpersonal conflicts (Kim and Choi, 2017; Jeon and Lee, 2015; Lee, 2016). These problems were the main factors contributing to their acculturative stress and reducing their life satisfaction. Moreover, low-skilled, young migrants experienced severe loneliness and homesickness, which negatively affected their mental health and productivity (Kim and Choi, 2017; Jeon and Lee, 2015; Lee, 2016; Yu, 2020). Vietnamese workers’ acculturative stress, especially homesickness, was comparatively higher than that of other migrant workers. This was implied because working on weekends prevented contact with their religious community, eventually increasing their stress (Jeon and Lee, 2015). Migrant workers find it difficult to adapt to Korean lifestyles, society and culture. The Korean society is generally patriarchal and not very open to other cultures (Kim and Choi, 2017; Lee, 2016; Yu, 2020).

Sri Lankan migrant workers in Korea

Sri Lanka had passed through 400 years of colonial rule (Portugal in 153, Secession in 138, England in 152) since the early 1500s. Finally, in 1948, it was independent of British colonial rule, and the country’s long-used “Ceylon” was changed to the current country’s name, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. At that time, the percentage of Buddhists who came to Sri Lanka via India in the third century BC was about 70 percent, the highest Buddhism became a major religion. A constitutional amendment in 1972 declared Buddhism the official state religion. The politically accepted transmission of Buddhism became the cornerstone of national unity and national development (BBC, 2019).

Sri Lanka is a multicultural country with diverse cultural, racial, linguistic and religious forms. Sinhalese make up 74 percent, Tamils 18 percent, Moors seven percent, and a small number of Malays and Burgers. Because of their diverse races, their religions and traditional languages are also different. The Sinhalese are mostly Buddhists and the Tamils are primarily Hindus. More specifically, Buddhists who believe in Theravada Buddhism reach 70 percent, Hindus 15 percent, other Muslims 7.6 percent and Christians 6.2 percent (Ahn, 2013; BBC, 2019).

Since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, however, every government that has come to power over the past 70 years has failed to provide adequate resources to improve the lives of its people. The political problems and economic crisis of Sri Lanka have only resulted in lots of conflicts and hostilities among ethnic or religiously dissimilar people. As a result, Sri Lanka has been experiencing a severe economic crisis and increasing snowballing foreign debt. Sri Lanka has a structure in which more than 30 percent of its economy is covered by tourism income and remittances from overseas workers amidst the economic crisis. Currently, unable to obtain even fuel and daily necessities, the people are finally taking to the streets and calling for a step down the government regime (Dhamma Kitti, 2023).

Structurally, in Sri Lanka, there is a clear separation between five to 10 percent of the upper class and the rest of the people who make up a household with an income of less than USD 200 per household per month. Then, Sri Lanka dispatched many workers abroad to overcome economic poverty, and most of them are flowing into Korea (World Korean, 2022).

Korea and Sri Lanka have an “employment cooperation” relationship. Between 2,000 and 7,000 Sri Lankan workers have been employed in Korea every year since 2004 through the Employment Permit System (EPS) between the two countries. The number of Sri Lankan migrants staying in Korea was 25,064 in 2019, reduced to 20,291 in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 26,780 in April 2023. Foreign workers who came to work accounted for more than 90 percent of them (MOJ, 2023).

During the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lankan youth could not go to work in Korea. As of the end of 2021, the number of Sri Lankan people who passed the “Employment Permit System Test of Proficiency in Korean” (EPS-TOPIK) but failed to go to Korea increased to 5,000. However, from January 2022, worker dispatch resumed, and by April 2022, about 1,000 workers were to be dispatched. The remaining 4,000 workers were to be sent to Korea sequentially. The Sri Lankan government is making efforts to continuously increase the number of workers being sent to Korea. Thousands of people gathered to take the Korean language test to find a job in Korea. In Sri Lanka, interest in Korea is growing, and Korea is considered a very “rich country” (World Korean, 2022).

Migration and religious coping

As an integral part of peoples’ lives, religion is defined as a set of beliefs, attitudes and practices pertaining to supernatural powers, such as gods or spirits. Immigrants, depending on their religion, bring their original religious cultures into their new homes (Hirschman, 2004). Indeed, religious communities play a significant role in immigrants’ lives as they help immigrants retain their identities and cultures in the host country; religious communities can be considered as social, educational and spiritual resources. Additionally, immigrants often practice religious coping to relieve the stresses of living in new countries (Connor, 2010; Hirschman, 2004; Kim and Kim, 2019; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Pargament et al., 1998; Sanchez et al., 2012).

In general, religious coping involves both internal and external coping styles. Internal religious coping primarily involves cognitive individual private practices of thoughtful prayer (or looking toward a higher power) to restructure and meaningfully interpret a stressful situation or event. It also involves re-evaluating the meaning of problematic conditions, reframing them as opportunities for spiritual growth or learning and being part of a broader religious plan (Hill and Pargament, 2008). Some studies have found that internal religious coping can enhance social ties and positively impact individuals’ mental health and subjective well-being (Amit and Bar-Lev, 2015; Connor, 2010; Ellison and George 1994; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Levin, 2013).

External religious coping involves social and behavioral coping practices, such as seeking assistance/support from religious leaders and participating in religious activities/ceremonies. This style also facilitates an individual’s ability to tap into external religious resources, such as pastoral counseling and church programs (Chatters, 2000; Hill and Pargament, 2008). External religious coping styles can, therefore, provide individuals with access to social support and integration, instrumental aid (e.g., goods and services) and socio-emotional assistance (Adam and Ward, 2016; Chatters, 2000; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Levin, 2013; Park et al., 2012; Sanchez et al., 2012; Chun Tat Shum, 2021). Immigrants who practice internal cognitive religious coping also participate in external social religious coping. Internal or cognitive religious coping was usually accompanied by external or social religious coping in their new countries (Lee and Hwang, 2014; Park et al., 2012; Sanchez et al., 2012).

Religious coping, acculturative stress and life satisfaction of migrants

In considering immigrants’ acculturation and life satisfaction, researchers have examined religious coping and its relationship with religious practices, mental health, social support and/or identity. Many immigrants who continue to practice religious coping based on their religious identities and culture tend to have positive mental health and life satisfaction in host countries (Berry and Hou, 2019; Chai et al., 2012; Kim et al., 2015; Levin, 2013; Park et al., 2012; Pargament et al., 1998; Singh and Madan, 2017).

However, because of other related issues (e.g., racism/discrimination against ethnic minorities, socio-economic background and immigration processes), immigrants’ religious coping does not always result in positive psychological health/well-being (Silva et al., 2017; Kim et al., 2015; Kim and Kim, 2019; Sanchez et al., 2012; Safi, 2010). Strong religious attachments can be a barrier for immigrants from non-Christian origins in Western European and North American nations, often because they face prejudice and social isolation and feel unwelcome (Safi, 2010). Their religious coping styles may stigmatize them as a minority religious group in the host country (Adam and Ward, 2016; Caplan, 2019; Hirschman, 2004; Kim and Kim, 2019; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Park et al., 2012; Safi, 2010).

For Muslims in New Zealand, cognitive, behavioral and/or social religious coping styles positively and significantly affected life satisfaction regardless of stress. Specifically, Muslims engaging in high levels of behavioral religious coping have reduced acculturative stress and increased life satisfaction (Adam and Ward, 2016). Christian asylum-seekers who had support from the church also utilized religious coping to reduce emotional insecurity, psychological distress and promote their well-being during long displacement (Chun Tat Shum, 2021). For Asian students, effective religious coping significantly predicted improved psychological and social quality of life, unlike in the case of European students (Chai et al., 2012).

In Israel, religious motivation was an important factor in immigrants’ life satisfaction and a sense of belonging. However, immigrants from the former Soviet Union had a lower sense of belonging and life satisfaction than other groups because they were less driven toward religious motivation and unique spiritual values (i.e., Zionistic motives) (Amit and Bar-Lev, 2015). On the other hand, Mexican migrant farmworkers’ lower religiosity seemed to exacerbate high levels of anxiety and depression (Hovey and Magaña, 2000). Conversely, the high involvement of Latino immigrants in external/social religious coping before immigration was associated with high levels of acculturative stress after their arrival in the United States of America (USA) because they were unable to participate in external/social religious activities (as they did in their home countries). Their internal religious coping before immigration was not associated with acculturative stress after their arrival in the USA. Meanwhile, undocumented Latino immigrants experienced higher rates of acculturative stress. Furthermore, Latino immigrants with lower income and/or education levels suffered more from acculturative stress than affluent and educated immigrants did, while the latter had higher life satisfaction (Sanchez et al., 2012). Moreover, immigrants who were highly attached to God used negative religious coping to handle difficult situations, resulting in high levels of acculturative stress and psychological depression. Negative religious coping is characterized as an imbalance between concerns about oneself and others, lacking the integration of personal belief in God, religious values and meanings, and secure relationship with God and others in a religious community. Additionally, negative religious coping makes people experience increased distress, anxiety, depression and spiritual struggle (Kim and Kim, 2019; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Pargament et al., 1998; Silva et al., 2017).

On the other hand, in Canada, an Islamic group had the highest level of mental health when compared with other religious groups. Specifically, even with three combined identities (i.e., ethnicity, religion and Canadian citizenship), this group reported the highest sense of belonging, indicating that immigrants’ religious identity could be the primal element aiding their emotional well-being and acculturation (Berry and Hou, 2019; Connor, 2010). In the same context, for first-generation Korean immigrants, both external and internal religious practices contribute to better mental health, positive social motives and life satisfaction (Park et al., 2012). Private/internal religious practices (e.g., praying alone or watching religious programs on the television/radio) were significantly associated with improved health status, higher vitality and greater social interaction. Religious coping, thus, was significantly associated with higher levels of general mental health among older Korean immigrants in the USA (Lee and Hwang, 2014).

Even in Korea, which has a different social, political and cultural context from that of Western countries or societies, religious communities of immigrants are growing and their activities are becoming more visible. Muslim migrant workers participating in regular gatherings and spiritual meetings with co-believers felt greater belonging in Korea (Lee and Joh, 2012). Another study reported about the higher life satisfaction among Indonesian migrant workers compared to other groups due to their participation in their own religious worship, even if they were severely depressed. This indicates that social religious coping helped in reducing acculturative stress and depression (Farah and Choi, 2019). A few studies (Farah and Choi, 2019; Jeon and Lee, 2015; Shin, 2017) have examined the role of being part of a religious community or religious coping in supporting migrant workers in Korea; what has been lacking is the role of religious coping and its links to acculturation stress and life satisfaction.

Methodology and data

Sample and procedure

This study focuses on the religious coping styles of Sri Lankan migrant workers who have their own religious community and participate in their community’s religious activities. The study’s purpose is to examine the effect of religious coping on their acculturative stress and life satisfaction in Korea.

The sample in this study consisted of 106 Sri Lankan migrant workers in Korea who practice Buddhism and belong to the Sri Lanka Temple (Mahavihara) in Asan City, Korea. The temple was started in 2014 with donations from some Korean Buddhists and Sri Lankan migrant workers to help the migrant workers in their struggles with hardships, such as accidents, health issues, unpaid wages or even death. It has been managed by Sri Lankan monks and supported by Korean Buddhists who contributed early assets. Currently, this temple is both a religious and a charitable organization that provides education and welfare for migrant workers from Asian countries. The temple’s public prayers are held regularly every Sunday morning as many workers work on Saturdays. After offering Sunday prayers, they share their traditional dishes as lunch and chat with friends from their home country. They also do volunteer work to help local senior residents and plant vegetables at the garden of the temple.

However, the temple has been unable to hold regular worship services for the past two years in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The regular worship, which all attended, had continued in spring of 2022 with masks on. The workers were only able to visit the temple to celebrate the Lunar New Year Day or participate in a few Buddhist ceremonies during the pandemic. In January and February 2021, collecting data from all of them directly was difficult. In addition, given their low level of Korean language proficiency, this study was conducted as a quantitative study using convenience sampling from the only migrant workers who visited the temple for a few ceremonies irregularly during the period. The leader of the temple and the researcher carefully explained the ethical and confidential issues. The purposes and procedures of the study with the consent form were translated to Sinhalese. Subsequently, the workers voluntarily participated in this study and responded to the translated version of a questionnaire. Approximately 70 percent of the participants who submitted the consent form completed the research questionnaire during that period.

Instrument

The questionnaire included demographic variables (11) and questions on acculturative stress (34), life satisfaction (5) and religious coping (10). The questionnaire was translated from English to Sinhalese (the language of Sri Lankan workers) by the leader of the temple and a student from Sri Lanka. They then back-translated the Sinhalese version into English and double-checked each sentence. Finally, some difficult words/sentences were revised so that the migrant workers could easily understand the questions.

Acculturative stress

The acculturative stress of Sri Lankan migrant workers was measured using the acculturative stress scale developed by Sandhu and Asrabadi (1994). The original scale consisted of 36 questions across seven subscales: Perceived discrimination (8), homesickness (4), perceived hate (5), fear (4), culture shock (3), guilt (2) and miscellaneous (10 questions, including social isolation, distrust, sense of inferiority, etc.). However, this study only used 34 questions because those pertaining to guilt showed low reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.14). The revised scale’s reliability estimate yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.92, which compared favorably to the original scale’s reliability of 0.91.

Life satisfaction

The study used the life satisfaction scale by Diener et al. (1985). The original scale included five questions ranked on a seven-point Likert scale. However, for the present study, a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) was used to allow the migrant workers to more easily respond in the same manner. The revised scale reliability estimate yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91, while the original scale’s reliability was 0.90.

Religious coping styles

The religious coping scale by Sanchez et al. (2012) was used for measuring migrant workers’ religious coping styles. The scale has two subscales consisting of five questions each for tapping internal and external from the original 25 questions (15 internal and 10 external) from Ways of the Religious Coping Scale by Boudreaux et al. (1995). The five questions of internal religious coping focused on cognitive and private coping styles (e.g., “I prayed for strength”), while the five external questions concerned social and behavioral styles (e.g., “I asked my religious leader for advice”). In this study, Cronbach’s alphas of 0.95 (internal scale) and 0.95 (external scale) were achieved, which were the same as those in Sanchez et al. (2012).

Processing and analysis

The collected data were analyzed using SPSS-18.0 statistical software. The mean differences in the variables related to acculturative stress, life satisfaction and religious coping styles (analyzed by demographic variables) were investigated using t-test or analysis of variance. Subsequently, if significant mean differences were found, the Scheffe test was conducted to determine their significance levels. Additionally, the relationships between each variable were tested using Pearson’s correlation analysis. Finally, mediation effects of the two religious coping styles were analyzed through multiple regression analysis between acculturative stress and life satisfaction.

Findings

Profile of respondents

Among the 106 Sri Lankan migrant workers (82.1 percent male; 17.9 percent female), 38.7 percent were in their 20s, 45.3 percent were in their 30s, and 16 percent were in their 40s or over. Most of the respondents, 85.8 percent, held an E-9 visa, signifying that they were legally working in Korea. In terms of marital status, 62.3 percent were married and 37.7 percent were unmarried. Approximately 77 percent earned more than USD 2,500 per month. The highest number of participants (32.1 percent) visited their temple whenever it presented a special ceremony/event. As for educational level, 69.8 percent had earned a high school diploma or higher. Regarding employment, 46.2 percent worked more than 50 hours a week. Moreover, 44.3 percent had resided in Korea for more than 10 years, 29.2 percent for five to 10 years and 26.4 percent for less than four years, while roughly 70 percent had none or lower than 3^rd level Korean language skills. Table 1 presents the demographic statistics of the migrant workers.

Table 1.

Socio-demographic profile of Sri Lankan migrant workers (N = 106).

Variable	N (%)
Gender
Male	87 (82.1)
Female	19 (17.9)
Age
20s	41 (38.7)
30s	48 (45.3)
40s and up	17 (16.0)
Education level
< Middle school	32 (30.2)
High school and up <	74 (69.8)
Type of visa
E-9	91 (85.8)
Others^a	15 (14.2)
Marital status
Married	66 (62.3)
Unmarried	40 (37.7)
Monthly wage
USD 1,500-2,500	24 (22.6)
More than USD 2500	82 (77.4)
Working hours
8 h/day or 40 h/week	25 (23.6)
10 h/day or 50 h/week	32 (30.2)
12 h/day or 50 h/week	49 (46.2)
Years in Korea
< 4 years	28 (26.4)
5–10 years	31 (29.2)
10 years <	47 (44.3)
Korean language proficiency^b
None or lower than 3^rd level	75 (70.8)
3^rd level	16 (15.1)
4^th–5^th level	15 (14.2)
Frequency of visit to the temple
None or < 2 times/month	27 (25.5)
1 time/month	27 (25.5)
Special ceremony	34 (32.1)
Many times a year	18 (17.0)

Note: ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

^aOthers: Undocumented worker = 2, F-4 Visa (five year visa with a sojourn period of two years) = 3, and no response = 10 workers.

^bKorean language score: None or lower than 3rd level = 1, 3rd level = 2, 4th level = 3, and 5th level = 4.

Acculturative stress

Age was the most significant factor that came out in the comparison of means of acculturative stress by socio-demographic variables (age, gender, working hours, marital status, years in Korea, Korean language proficiency and visits to the temple). There were also significant differences by age in perceived discrimination, hate and miscellaneous, as shown in Table 2. Workers in the over-40s group perceived discrimination (M = 2.53, p < 0.05, F = 4.64), hate (M = 2.27, p < 0.001, F = 9.00) and other stresses (M = 2.49, p < 0.05, F = 4.09) more than those in the younger age groups.

Table 2.

Acculturative stress and age of Sri Lankan migrant workers (N = 106).

Variable	Perceived discrimination			Perceived hate		Miscellaneous
Variable	N	M/SD	F	M/SD	F	M/SD	F
Age
20s	41	2.19/0.70		1.79/0.66		2.14/0.67
30s	48	1.94/0.72	4.64 *	1.48/0.63	9.00 ***	1.96/0.70	4.09 *
40s	17	2.53/0.66		2.27/0.82		2.49/0.50

Note: ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

Religious coping styles

Sri Lankan migrant workers’ religious coping styles were significantly associated with gender, age, working hours and marital status, as shown in Table 3. When compared with the women, the men were more than twice as likely to engage in internal (M = 3.52, p < 0.001, t = 5.81) and external (M = 3.69, p < 0.001, t = 6.31) religious coping. When compared with the other age groups, the participants in their 30s practiced higher religious coping in internal (M = 3.51, p < 0.05, F = 3.15) and external (M = 3.78, p < 0.001, F = 7.42) styles. Moreover, the migrant workers who worked eight hours a day and 40 hours a week practiced more internal (M = 3.90, p < 0.05, F = 4.26) and external (M = 3.90, p < 0.05, F = 3.50) religious coping than the other groups did. When compared with the married workers, the unmarried workers practiced more internal (M = 3.70, t = −2.94, p < 0.01) and external (M = 3.81, t = −2.74, p < 0.01) religious coping. In sum, the male migrant workers in their 30s who worked eight hours a day practiced more internal and external religious coping than members of all the other groups did.

Table 3.

Religious coping styles by socio-demographic characteristics of Sri Lankan migrant workers (N = 106).

Variable	Internal/cognitive religious coping				External/social religious coping
Variable	N	M	SD	t/F	N	M	SD	t/F
Gender
Male	87	3.52	1.02	5.81 ***	87	3.69	0.96	6.31 ***
Female	19	1.70	1.90		19	1.74	2.05
Age
20s	41	2.79	1.81		41	2.71	1.81
30s	48	3.51	0.85	3.15 *	48	3.78	0.82	7.42 ***
40s <	17	3.35	1.30		17	3.59	1.21
Working hours
8 h/day or 40 h/week	25	3.90	0.66		25	3.90	0.77
10 h/day or 50 h/week	32	2.99	1.28	4.26 *	32	3.40	1.36	3.50 *
12 h/day or 50 h/week	49	3.00	1.62		49	3.00	1.63
Marital status
Married	66	2.91	1.50	−2.94 **	66	3.05	1.56	−2.74 **
Unmarried	40	3.70	1.01		40	3.81	1.03

Note: ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

Life satisfaction

Sri Lankan migrant workers’ life satisfaction was significantly affected by their gender, age, religious visits and marital status. The results in Table 4 show that life satisfaction significantly differed between the male and female participants (Male: M = 3.56, p < 0.001, t = 6.66). The participants in their 30s (M = 3.74, p < 0.001, F = 11.56), those who were unmarried (M = 3.67, p < 0.01, t = −2.75) and those who visited their temple for special religious ceremonies (M = 3.67, p < 0.01, F = 4.98) had the highest life satisfaction when compared with the other groups.

Table 4.

Life satisfaction and socio-demographic characteristics of Sri Lankan migrant workers (N = 106).

Variable	Life satisfaction
Variable	N	M	SD	t/F
Gender
Male	87	3.56	0.79	6.66***
Female	19	1.72	1.96	6.66***
Age
20s	41	2.55	1.65	11.56***
30s	48	3.74	0.79
40s <	17	3.47	0.60
Visit religious place
> Two times a month	27	3.28	1.31	4.98 **
Once a month	27	2.49	1.82
Every special ceremony	34	3.67	0.63
A few times a year	18	3.48	0.77
Marital status
Married	66	2.97	1.42	−2.75 **
Unmarried	40	3.67	0.92	−2.75 **

Note: ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

Correlation analyses

The correlational analyses revealed that acculturative stress correlated negatively with life satisfaction but did not significantly correlate with internal and external religious coping, as shown in Table 5. Specifically, perceived discrimination (r = −0.22, p < 0.05) and hate (r = −0.19, p < 0.05) correlated most negatively with the migrant workers’ life satisfaction. However, their life satisfaction correlated positively and significantly with internal (r = 0.75, p < 0.01) and external (r = 0.81, p < 0.01) religious coping styles.

Table 5.

Means, standard deviations and correlations of variables.

Variable	Mean	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1. PD	2.13	0.73	1
2. HK	3.02	1.11	0.57 **	1
3. PH	1.72	0.72	0.81 **	0.44 **	1
4. FR	1.58	0.75	0.66 **	0.39 **	0.73 **	1
5. CS	1.92	0.89	0.65 **	0.37 **	0.53 **	0.63 **	1
6. MS	2.11	0.68	0.76 **	0.61 **	0.72 **	0.72 **	0.56 **	1
7. OAS	2.02	0.62	0.92 **	0.63 **	0.86 **	0.81 **	0.71 **	0.92 **	1
8. LS	3.24	1.30	−0.22 *	0.03	−0.19*	−0.09	−0.17	−0.02	−0.12	1
9. IRC	3.21	1.39	−0.12	0.09	0.05	0.05	−0.08	0.03	−0.03	0.75 **	1
10. ERC	3.34	1.43	−0.18	0.05	−0.13	−0.06	−0.14	0.02	−0.08	0.81 **	0.86 **	1

Note: ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

1. Perceived Discrimination (PD), 2. Homesickness (HK), 3. Perceived Hate (PH), 4. Fear (FR), 5. Culture Shock (CS), 6. Miscellaneous (MS), 7. Overall Acculturative Stress (OAS), 8. Life Satisfaction (LS), 9. Internal Religious Coping (IRC) and 10. External Religious Coping (SRC).

Mediating effects of religious coping on acculturative stress and life satisfaction

As demonstrated in Table 6, the mediating effects of internal and external religious coping styles were significant to the relationship between acculturative stress (as the independent variable) and life satisfaction (as the dependent variable). First, internal and external religious coping styles did not significantly affect acculturative stress. Second, acculturative stress did not significantly affect life satisfaction as the dependent variable. Third, when acculturative stress and religious coping (as a mediator variable) were handled together, both internal (ß = 0.68, p < 0.001, t = 11.33) and external (ß = 0.73, p < 0.001, t = 13.81) religious coping were significant in mediating acculturative stress and life satisfaction. The mediating effect of internal religious coping explained 56 percent (R² = 0.56) of acculturative stress and life satisfaction while external religious coping explained 65 percent (R² = 0.65). External religious coping (ß = 0.73) was even more significant than internal religious coping (ß = 0.68) in the migrant workers’ life satisfaction.

Table 6.

Regression analysis of religious coping in mediating acculturative stress and life satisfaction.

Variables	ß	SE	t	F	R ²	p
Step 1(a): Internal religious
Constant	3.33	0.47	7.09	0.07	0.001	0.792
Acculturative stress	−0.06	0.22	−0.26	0.07	0.001	0.792
Step 1(a’): External religious
Constant	3.70	0.48	7.72	0.62	0.006	0.434
Acculturative stress	−0.18	0.23	−0.79	0.62	0.006	0.434
Step 2(b): Life satisfaction
Constant	3.73	0.43	8.60	1.40	0.013	0.238
Acculturative stress	−0.24	0.21	−1.19	1.40	0.013	0.238
Step 3(c): Life satisfaction
Constant	1.37	0.35	3.93	65.06	0.561	0.000
Internal religious	0.68	0.06	11.33	65.06	0.561	0.000
Step 3(c’): Life satisfaction
Constant	1.03	0.32	3.18	97.39	0.654	0.000
External religious	0.73	0.05	13.81	97.39	0.654	0.000

Note: ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

The significantly increased level in beta value (ß) was assessed using the Sobel test to determine whether the indirect effect of acculturative stress and religious coping (i.e., the independent variable via the mediator variable) on life satisfaction (as the dependent variable) was significant. The Sobel test scores were Z = 1.99 (p < 0.05) on internal and Z = 2.01 (p < 0.05) on external religious coping styles. Thus, the mediating effects of both religious coping styles were significant, considering that the Z score was less than −1.96 and more than 1.96.

Discussion and conclusion

This study sought to determine how the religious coping of Sri Lankan migrant workers mediated their acculturative stress and life satisfaction in Korea. Based on a survey of 106 Sri Lankan migrant workers (mostly Buddhists), findings point to several interesting issues about migrant workers and Korean society.

Migrant workers’ age, gender, working hours and visits to the temple were associated with religious coping. Those who were male, unmarried and in their 30s practiced both internal and external religious coping more and felt more satisfied with their life than other groups did. Also, migrant workers working eight hours a day practiced both religious coping styles and had less acculturative stress. In general, migrant workers practiced more external than internal religious coping styles, which are similar to the findings of previous studies (Adam and Ward, 2016; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Sanchez et al., 2012). This means that external religious coping styles are more helpful in maintaining religious beliefs for those living in Korea. They may prefer to practice external religious coping with religious leaders or other believers.

The life satisfaction of the Sri Lankan migrant workers differs by age. The male migrant workers in their 30s who attended events at the temple had higher life satisfaction than the others. They may be more likely to enjoy a sense of comfort and belonging by regularly attending events and services in the temple, interacting with people from their home countries and speaking their own language (Lee and Hwang, 2014; Farah and Choi, 2019). Meanwhile, migrant workers in their 40s experienced the highest stress with respect to perceived discrimination and hate. This implies that older migrant workers may want more respect than their younger counterparts because they experienced more stress from working or living in Korea. Gender was also a factor in both life satisfaction and religious coping variables. The mean variable scores of female migrant workers were only half of those of the male participants, suggesting that female migrant workers did not enjoy a comfortable life in Korean society or in their religious communities.

In particular, the correlations between life satisfaction and perceived discrimination and hate among the acculturative stress variables were significantly negative. However, the correlations between life satisfaction and both internal and external religious coping styles were significant and highly positive. This implies that if migrant workers practice both religious coping in internal and external styles, they could improve their life satisfaction and reduce the acculturative stress of living in Korea.

As was reported by previous studies, the study found that religious coping and its internal and external expressions were important factors in increasing life satisfaction (Adam and Ward, 2016; Farah and Choi, 2019; Lee and Hwang, 2014; Sanchez et al., 2012). While both internal and external coping styles (as mediating factors) had significant effects on the relationship between acculturative stress and life satisfaction, the latter was a more significant factor in migrants’ life satisfaction in Korea.

The results of this study demonstrated that when a strong identity with a religious group is combined with both nationality and ethnic identity, these identities can play a positive role in immigrants’ life satisfaction and mental health, which is similar to what the results of the study of Berry and Hou (2019) indicated. Based on this study’s main findings, there are several suggestions.

First, as age was an important factor that affected the Sri Lankan migrant workers’ acculturative stress, life satisfaction and religious coping, support programs/activities need to consider the concerns and characteristics of younger and older age groups. Second, migrants should be encouraged to participate in religious/cultural activities and to share their religious traditions to promote awareness of social diversity and reduce social discrimination and/or prejudices in Korea. Third, religious communities/organizations and their leaders should strive to provide support to migrant workers, particularly women migrants, who may struggle to adjust and face difficult situations. Fourth, the migrants’ working hours should be adjusted to universal working hours and be coordinated by company owners and the Korean government to reduce work-related stress and unnecessary work-related accidents. Fifth, since the religious community functions as a distinctive social, educational and spiritual resource for immigrants and migrant workers, religious and cultural leaders must be educated to guide their members on counseling, cultural conflicts, human rights issues, immigration policies and laws, and workplace problems. In this regard, religious leaders’ proper roles can positively affect migrant workers, immigrants and Korean society as a whole.

Limitations and future studies

Although this study revealed some meaningful and novel information about migrant workers in Korea, it includes several limitations. First, since the participants were recruited by convenience sampling from only one religious community, the results cannot be generalized to all migrant workers. Future studies need to compare migrant workers from more diverse religious backgrounds to obtain a more comprehensive picture. Second, since this study did not consider the social, political, economic context and work culture of Korea or the participants’ culture of origin, the interpretation of the statistical data is limited. Third, researchers must include diverse immigrant or migrant populations with different legal statuses to compare life satisfaction and acculturative stress levels. Fourth, this study did not consider human interactions or social support among members of the religious community. Fifth, this study did not consider the Korean government’s policies/systems related to migrant workers or religious institutions. Therefore, future research must consider how migrant workers’ acculturation, life satisfaction and religious coping of different groups of migrants are in relation to the Korean government’s policies. The use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods is recommended.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge the support of the leader, Dhamma Kitti of Sri Lanka Temple (Mahavihara) in Asan City, which made data collection possible. I am also thankful to the migrant workers who voluntarily participated in this study.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by Sun Moon University, Korea.

ORCID iD

Bu-Hyun Nam

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