Influence of General Anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Self- Esteem and Coping Strategies Among Internally Displaced Persons in Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

This research investigated the influence of general anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), self-esteem and coping strategies among Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) in Benue State. The researcher used a cross-sectional survey where four hundred (400) internally displaced persons in Benue State participated in the study. The researcher employed a purposive sampling technique in drawing the sample for the study; the respondent’s ages ranged from 18-51 years and above with mean age of 2.93 years (SD=1.029) where 191 (47.8%) were males and 202 (50.5%) were females. The data for the study were collected using Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Posttraumatic checklist 5 (PCL-5), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) and the Brief Cope Inventory (BCI). All four hypotheses were tested using Multiple Regression Analysis. Findings indicated that general anxiety, PTSD, and self-esteem independently and jointly influenced the coping strategies adopted by the internally displaced persons in Benue State. The study recommended among others that, community-based anxiety management programmes be implemented across IDP camps in Benue State, and a holistic, multi-layered approach should be adopted, blending components of anxiety regulation, trauma recovery, and self-esteem enhancement into a single intervention model.