Influence of PTSD, psychological distress and posttraumatic growth on psychological wellbeing among internally displaced persons in Makurdi, Benue State

This study aims at examining the influence of posttraumatic stress disorder, psychological distress and posttraumatic growth on psychological wellbeing among internally displaced persons in Makurdi, Benue state. A cross-sectional research design  was adopted and a battery of psychological tests consisting of PTSD Diagnostic Scale for DSM-5, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory and Ryff’s Psychological-Well-Being-Scales-(PWB) was administered individually to the purposefully  selected one hundred and twenty-six (126) Internally Displaced Persons in Agan IDPs camp Makurdi Local Government, Area in Benue state. Five hypotheses were formulated Multiple Regression analyses; path model and factorial analysis of variance were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that that there was significant independent influence of PTSD, psychological distress and PTG on psychological wellbeing of IDPs in Makurdi, Benue State [F=4.814, R² = 0.106, P<.01]. The predictor variables accounted for 10.0% of the total variation on psychological wellbeing, no significant influence was established between posttraumatic stress disorders and psychological wellbeing (β= 0.070 t=.749; P>.05) but there was significant influence of psychological distress (β= .297 t=3.239; P<.01) and posttraumatic growth (β= -.200 t=-2.164; P<.05) on psychological wellbeing among the IDPs. Also using psychological distress as a mediator shows that posttraumatic stress disorder directly influence psychological distress and indirect through psychological distress as the mediator influence psychological wellbeing among IDPs in Makurdi. Likewise there was no significant main and interaction influence of sex and marital satisfaction on psychological wellbeing among the IDPs. Thus, the study concluded that posttraumatic stress disorder, psychological distress and posttraumatic growth predict psychological distress among internally displaced person in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Therefore, psychosocial intervention should be provided by mental health professional and sufficient support should be provided by the government, agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations and other private organization so as to diminish the negative effect of psychological distress faced by the IDPs and enhance or improve their mental health and psychological wellbeing.