The Relationship Between Religious Health Fatalism and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Earthquake Victims: The Example of Türkiye

Abstract

Earthquakes are natural disasters that cause physical, psychological, social, and environmental damage. Due to the intense psychological impact, victims of earthquakes may associate a fatalistic approach with religion as a mechanism for seeking protection. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between religious health fatalism and healthy lifestyle behaviors among earthquake victims. A comparative analysis was conducted based on sociodemographic factors to compare average scores. A total of 175 individuals who were affected by the earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye in 2023 participated in this descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study. The total Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire score of the earthquake victims was 54.89 ± 14.68 and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale-II score was 130.14 ± 19.68. Significant correlations were found between religious health fatalism and healthy lifestyling behaviors of the participating individuals (p < 0.05). It was determined that the independent variables explained 35.7% of the RHFQ score (R2 = 0.357) and 16% of the HLBS-II scale score (R2 = 0.160). Earthquake victims were found to have higher than average levels of religious health fatalism