Psychological Trauma Among Nigerian Undergraduates: The Role of Exposure to Crime and Fear of Crime

Chukwuemeka A F Okoye ,Harry Obi–Nwosu ,Chiamaka A Muodumogu ,Favour O Ezeodina

doi:10.7176/jep/10-24-10

Abstract

Studies on psychological health of undergraduate students across the world, including Nigeria shows prevalence of psychological trauma among the students. This study examined the correlation between undergraduate students’ exposure to violent crime and psychological trauma, and their fear of crime and psychological trauma. The participants were 505 undergraduates consisting of 226 (45.1%) males, 266 (55.1%) females and 11 (2.2%) who did not indicate their gender. The participants whose ages range from 18 to 32 years, with a mean age of 23. 47years and standard deviation of 2.31 were sampled through systematic random sampling from eight departments randomly drawn from the fourteen faculties in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The instruments used for data generation were: Measure for Exposure to Violence developed by Engelbrecht (2009); Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) developed by Harowitz, Wilner and Alvarez (1997) and fear of Crime Measure developed by Von-Klemperer (2009). The survey study employed a correlational design and used Pearson Product Momen Correlation Statistics for analysis of data. Two research questions were answered and two hypotheses tested at P<0.05 level of significance. The two hypotheses were confirmed. The result of the study showed a significant positive relationship between undergraduate students’ exposure to violence crime and psychological trauma, and between fear of crime and psychological trauma. The researchers made recommendations which include among others, generating employment as a measure for curbing violent crime, beefing up security and developing intervention programmes that will victims to cope with fear and psychological trauma. Keywords: Exposure, violent crime, fear, crime, psychological trauma. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-24-10 Publication date: August 31st 2019

Highlights

Several studies on psychological health of undergraduate students across nations of the world, including Nigeria, shows prevalence of psychological trauma (PT) or emotional trauma or distress among them (Muhammed, Jaffei, Ismail & Mahadevan, 2013; Geidam, Njoku & Bako, 2010; Oner, Ozeebe, Telta & Tezcan, 2008)
The results showed that fear of crime spread widely in the sample, at fairly high levels, with fear increasing markedly at night time
Purpose of the Study The major purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between exposure to violent crime, fear of crime and psychological trauma among undergraduate students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Nigeria

Summary

Introduction

Several studies on psychological health of undergraduate students (or the youths) across nations of the world, including Nigeria, shows prevalence of psychological trauma (PT) or emotional trauma or distress among them (Muhammed, Jaffei, Ismail & Mahadevan, 2013; Geidam, Njoku & Bako, 2010; Oner, Ozeebe, Telta & Tezcan, 2008). Some observed compulsive behaviour people live with may be the outcomes of psychological trauma Instances of this include where a person vows never to travel by night again or complains of inability to sleep in a moving vehicle, this simple reason being that he had been a victim of an armed robbery attack on a night bus. In parts of Nigeria by armed robbers, and or Kidnappers, or infested by Boko Haram Lethal activities, it is a common knowledge that people feel so insecure that many had fled their homes, business is affected, children boycott school, and the general tone of life is disturbed. These are behavioural signs of psychological trauma. Symptoms of psychological trauma commonly observed in victims can be cognitive, physical, emotional or behavioural or a combination of two or more

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