Abstract:
Exposure to intense psychological trauma is associated with significant emotional burden and stress. Trauma victims suffer from myriads of adverse psychological consequences, particularly Post -traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. This study examined resilience, social support and self-efficacy as predictors of PTSD symptoms among adult trauma victims. A cross-sectional design was adopted in the study. Two hundred and eighty-one (281) adults consisting of 131(46.6%) males and 150 (53.4%) females with age range of 18 to 64 years (M=29.62, SD=7.05) participated in the study. Samples were drawn from Odi and Biseni Communities in Bayelsa State and Okobe Community in Rivers State of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Resilience Scale (RS-14), Social Support Scale (SPS), Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) were used to collect data from the participants. Multiple regression analysis indicated no significant relationship between resilience and PTSD symptoms, whereas significant relationship was shown between social support and PTSD symptoms, as well as between self-efficacy and PTSD symptoms. This implies that resilience does not significantly predict PTSD symptoms, whereas social support and self-efficacy play significant predictive roles in the occurrence of PTSD symptoms. It is therefore recommended that elements of social support and self-efficacy should be considered and integrated into psychological intervention strategies for victims of trauma.
