Assessment of Resilience Levels and Coping Strategies Among Internally Displaced Persons in a Camp in Borno State

Internally displaced persons in North East Nigeria face extreme psychosocial stressors, and understanding their resilience capacities and coping approaches is essential for designing appropriate counselling and psychosocial support programmes. This study assessed resilience levels and coping strategies among IDPs in a UNHCR-supported displacement camp in Maiduguri, Borno State, North East Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 220 adult IDPs aged 18 to 60, recruited through systematic sampling from the camp registration list. The Brief Resilience Scale and the Brief COPE Inventory were administered through trained interpreters in Hausa and Kanuri. Results showed moderate resilience levels in 52.3 percent of respondents, with low resilience in 31.8 percent. Religious coping was the most commonly endorsed strategy (84.1 percent), followed by seeking emotional support (61.4 percent) and positive reframing (54.1 percent). Avoidant coping (substance use, denial, behavioural disengagement) was associated with significantly lower resilience scores (p < 0.001). Resilience was significantly higher in individuals with access to social support networks (p < 0.01) and lower in those with multiple displacement experiences (p < 0.01). Psychosocial support services had been accessed by only 23.2 percent of respondents. The study recommends resilience-building psychosocial support programmes, group counselling integrating religious coping frameworks, and trained IDP peer support counsellors as accessible intervention channels. Keywords: resilience, coping strategies, internally displaced persons, Borno State, psychosocial support