ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Descriptive & Survey Study

Authors

Babanazari   L. (*)
Taghavi   M.R. (1)






(*) Educational Sciences Department, Shahid Bahonar Faculty, Farhangian University, Shiraz, Iran
(1) Clinical Psychology Department, Education Science & Psychology Faculty, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Correspondence

Article History

Received:  October  1, 2016
Accepted:  June 14, 2017
ePublished:  May 30, 2017

BRIEF TEXT


Today, attention to the mental and objective issues about the sense of goodness has become very important, to the extent that some believe that the main motive of human beings at all times is how to achieve, maintain and promote it [1].

… [2, 3]. An overview of the little research done in the field of morale shows that sport activities [4], selflessness and forgiveness [5], disability, social protection, religion, and personality trait, open work environment, age and education [6], empathy, rationality, and belonging [7], sincerity, vitality, and trust [8], and financial, environmental, facilitative and educational welfare [9] are related to the level of morale of individuals. … [10, 11]. Most of the past research on hope has shown its relation to important variables such as social support, behavioral problems and personality traits [12, 13]. … [14, 15]. It has also been shown that happiness is associated with life satisfaction, optimism, family satisfaction, spouse's happiness, sport, job satisfaction, belief in God, artistic activity, study, travel, psychological problems and history of physical illness [16]. … [17-23].

A glimpse into the above-mentioned research on factors affecting morale, hope to life and happiness shows that in each research only one or more factors are mentioned, and none of the research has simultaneously considered number of factors that could affect the level of morale, hope to life, and happiness, and have not considered the impact of each of these factors on the level of morale, hope to life, and happiness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting the level of morale, happiness and hope to life in the families of martyrs and warriors.

This study is descriptive-correlational.

This research was conducted in 2014 among all the families of the warriors and martyrs in Fars Province.

593 people were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling in Shiraz, Marvdasht, Kazeroon, Abadeh, Darab, Arsanjan, Lar, and Neyriz cities. In the first stage, four regions (north, south, east, and west) of Fars Province were selected. In the next stage, these cities were matched according to the size of the martyrs and warriors population and were divided into two large and small population cities. Then, from each of these geographical regions, two densely populated and small populated cities were selected. By referring to the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of these cities, the subjects were randomly selected from each city. The sample size was determined in each city based on the population of the martyrs according the total population of martyrs and warriors of the Fars Province.

The research tool included Miller's Hope to life Questionnaire [24-27], Oxford Happiness Inventory [22, 28], Positive Affective Scale and Negative Affect [29-23], and Psychosocial Factors Questionnaire [32, 33]. Distribution of questionnaires for the families of martyrs and warriors was done in various ways such as Schools for the families of martyrs and veterans, visiting martyred foundation centers and affairs in the cities, religious and cultural centers of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, guidance and counseling classes for families of martyrs and veterans, referring to the martyrs` graveyards, and referring to the warriors` houses. To determine the difference between the level of morale, happiness and hope to life in terms of variables of gender, marital status, and difference in generations, the independent t-test was used. To determine the difference between the level of morale, happiness and hope to life in terms of family members (Martyr's wife, son or daughter of a martyr, veteran, veteran' spouse and veteran' son or daughter) one-way ANOVA and in case of meaningfulness, the LSD post hoc test was used to compare the bifurcation of the groups. Also, to examine the correlation between age, income, education level, attitude towards exercise, amount of study, religious commitment, social support, and acceptance of the place of sacrifice and martyrdom, with the level of morale, happiness, and hope to life, Pearson correlation coefficient was used.

The mean age of participants in the study was 37.30±7.64 years ranging from 15 to 65 years. Mean score of men's morale was significantly higher than women. However, the happiness scores and hope to life of women and men did not differ significantly. There was no significant difference between the mean scores of morale, happiness and hope to life of single and married members. However, the mean scores of the old generation and the new generation was significantly different. The new generation had higher morale, happiness, and hope to life meaningfully. Among the family members, the mean score of morale scores of veterans' children was significantly 3.38 higher than the martyrs' wives (p=0.0001), 2.71 higher than martyrs' children (p=0.001), 2.93 higher than veterans (p=0.0001) and 2.15 higher than veterans' wives (p=0.002). There was no significant difference in morale scores among other family members (p>0.05). The mean score of happiness in martyrs' wives was meaningfully 5.63 lower than martyrs' children (p=0.0001), 4.99 lower than veterans (p=0.033), 4.83 lower than veterans' wives (p=0.037) and 8.83 lower than veterans' children (p=0.045). Also, the happiness scores of veterans' wives was meaningfully 2.15 less than veterans' children (p=0.037). The mean scores of happiness did not differ significantly among other family members (p>0.05). Mean scores of hope to life of the children of veterans was meaningfully 11.63 higher than veterans’ wives (p=0.002), 7.78 higher than martyrs ' children(p=0.04), 8.11 higher than veterans (p=0.006) and 7.23 higher than veterans' wives (p=0.021). However the scores of hope to life was not significantly different in other members (p>0.05; Table 1). The level of morale, happiness, and hope to life had a negative and significant correlation with the age of the family members. However, it did not relate to the level of education and income. All components of sport tendency except sport tendency due to the role of the environment and surrounding people had significant correlation with the level of morale and happiness. Also, all the components of tendency to sport except the component of tendency to sport due to role of culture and media had positive correlation with the hope to life. All components of the study, except for the popularity of reading and library had significant correlation with the level of morale. All the components except for motivating component of reading and library had significant correlation with the level of happiness, and all the components except the components of motivating reading and library and time division for reading and library had meaningful correlation with hope to life. Regarding the rate of acceptance of the place of sacrifice and martyrdom, the morale variable of morale had meaningful correlation with the emotional dimension and the overall score of attitude toward sacrifice and martyrdom. The level of happiness had meaningful correlation with the dimensions of belief and behavior and the overall score of attitude toward sacrifice and martyrdom, and the level of hope to life had a significant correlation with the behavioral dimension and the overall score of attitude toward sacrifice and martyrdom (Table 2).

… [34-47].As age increased, morale, hope to life and happiness decreased significantly. This finding is in agreement with the results of the research by Keshazard and Vafaian [35] and is in disagreement with the findings of Safavi et al. [36]. … [48-50]. There was a significant correlation between the attitude to exercise and the variables of morale, happiness and hope to life which is consistent with the studies by Schneider et al. [14], Kieler et al. [4], and Neshatdoost et al. [16]. Also, Keshavarz and Vafaian [35], in line with the present study, showed the correlation between study and happiness. All components of religious commitment had a significant correlation with the variables of morale, happiness and hope to life. This finding is consistent with the results of studies by Valverupi et al. [51], Kazemian Moghadam and Mehrabi zadeh Honarmand [26], and Danesh [43]. There was a positive and significant correlation between all components of social support from family, friends, others and perceived social support with the level of morale, happiness, and hope to life. These findings are consistent with the results of studies by Dolan et al. [52], Matthew et al. [53], Muslim et al. [54], and Zahedi Asl and Saleh [55]. … [56-59].

It is suggested that in future researches, the role of various educational and interventional programs in increasing morale, happiness and hope in life of the warriors be studied. It is also necessary for authorities to take the necessary measures to ensure the institutionalization of the culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom as part of the duties of families, the education system, and the media system.

The sampling was mainly carried out through schools and Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. Therefore, the honesty of the respondents may have been affected by these factors. Therefore, it is necessary to generalize the results with caution. Also, the mention of income item in the demographic questionnaire was not welcomed by the respondents and the lack of responsiveness of many participants to this item caused the loss of a large amount of information in this regard. The lack of references related to morale, hope and happiness of the families of martyrs and veterans and the consequence of the impossibility of precise comparison of the results of the research with other studies, especially within the country were other limitations of the research.

Age factors, attitude toward exercise, amount of study, religious commitment, social support, and the acceptance of place of sacrifice and martyrdom have effect on the level of morale, happiness and hope to life of the members of the families of martyrs and warriors.

Thanks and gratitude to everyone who collaborated on this research.

Non-declared

Ethical supervision of the research was carried out by the vice chancellor of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of the Fars Province.

The financial resources of this research have been provided by the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of Fars Province.

TABLES and CHARTS

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