Empirical Study of Social Exclusion and Mental Health Outcomes Among Internally Displaced Youth in Northeastern Nigeria

The mental health consequences of social exclusion experienced by conflict-displaced youth in Nigeria's North East have been documented clinically but rarely examined through a sociological lens that situates psychological outcomes within structural exclusion processes. This study empirically examines the relationship between social exclusion dimensions and mental health outcomes among internally displaced youth in Borno State, filling this interdisciplinary gap. A cross-sectional empirical design was employed, with structured questionnaires measuring social exclusion across educational, economic, relational, and civic dimensions, alongside standardized mental health screening using the Youth Self-Report and PHQ-A instruments, administered to 340 displaced youth aged 14 to 24 at three IDP settlements in Maiduguri. Structural equation modelling tested the mediated pathways between exclusion and mental health outcomes. Results indicate that cumulative social exclusion score was the strongest predictor of both internalizing and externalizing mental health problems, explaining 38% of outcome variance. Educational exclusion demonstrated the most direct pathway to internalizing problems including depression and anxiety. Relational exclusion, measured by peer rejection and social isolation, was the strongest predictor of externalizing behavioral problems. Gender moderated multiple pathways, with female youth more strongly affected through relational exclusion and male youth through economic exclusion. Peer mentorship programmes within displacement settings significantly buffered the exclusion-mental health relationship. The study advances sociological understanding of how structural exclusion operates as a mental health determinant in conflict displacement contexts and identifies entry points for socially-oriented intervention. Keywords: social exclusion, mental health, internally displaced youth, Borno State, structural determinants.