Anticipatory Traumatic Reaction: A Framework for Understanding Northern Nigerians’ Outcry Against ECOWAS’ Military Option in Niger

Abstract

Research suggests strong links between threat-related media exposure and adverse psychological effects. Given the ubiquitous access to news and real-time events in society and the propensity for disaster-related news to include numerous scenes and detailed descriptions of human suffering, consumers of media reports are often exposed not only to distressing material but also threats of future disasters, and they may react in ways that mimic responses to trauma. Anticipatory traumatic reaction (ATR) describes how individuals may respond to imminent danger to which they are exposed by consuming disaster-related news. This interpretive position paper used the ATR framework to provide insight into northern Nigerians’ perception of media stories about the possibilities of a military engagement between ECOWAS’ standby force and the coup leaders in neighbouring Niger, and their subsequent outcry against ECOWAS’ military option in Niger. Because individuals depend on news media for information during crises, this paper suggests that ethically motivated constructive journalism must be sensitively balanced with productive and engaging rolling coverage of real-time threat-related events to prevent traumatization through media exposure to large-scale threats. It might be beneficial for mental health practitioners to recognize ATR symptoms and integrate them into therapy approaches to help their clients. Further research is necessary to expand the toolkit of clinical psychology to mitigate and treat this subclinical phenomenon among individuals and communities.