Assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological well-being of Military Personnel in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological well-being of military personnel in Kaduna, Nigeria. A total of 268 (239 = male; 29 = females) participants from active-duty military personnel serving across the Nigerian Air Force Base, First Mechanised Division, and Nigerian Defence Academy all in Kaduna were employed in carrying out this study.  Results of Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson’s r) showed that the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and the psychological well-being of military personnel was not significant. The result of a T-test indicated that there was no significant difference in the psychological well-being of military personnel who have been exposed to combat and those who have not. Although these results were not significant, it is worthy of note that military personnel whether exposed to combat or not find their job very stressful and hazardous, which makes them to be at high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, military personnel should be exposed to psychological training to manage the risk of PTSD. In addition, the military authority should employ the services of trained psychologists to help the personnel to effectively deal with or manage the challenges of PTSD.