Assessment of Post-Traumatic Growth Among Survivors of the Boko Haram Insurgency in North East Nigeria

Post-traumatic growth, the positive psychological change emerging from the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances, is an important counterpart to trauma symptomatology that can guide strength-based counselling approaches for conflict survivors in North East Nigeria. This study assessed post-traumatic growth and its predictors among survivors of the Boko Haram insurgency in Gwoza and Konduga Local Government Areas, Borno State. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 220 adult survivors aged 18 to 60 recruited through camp and community leader referrals. The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory and the Resilience Scale for Adults were administered in Hausa by trained research assistants. Results showed moderate to high post-traumatic growth in 52.3 percent of respondents, with the highest growth reported in the spiritual change (mean 3.8 out of 5) and new possibilities (mean 3.6) subscales. Resilience (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), social support (r = 0.54, p < 0.001), and time since displacement (r = 0.38, p < 0.001) were the strongest positive predictors of growth. Women showed higher PTG scores than men overall. Active religious engagement was significantly associated with spiritual growth scores. The study recommends incorporating post-traumatic growth-oriented counselling frameworks in rehabilitation programming for Borno State survivors, moving beyond symptom management to build positive meaning, purpose, and community reintegration as counselling goals. Keywords: post-traumatic growth, Boko Haram survivors, Borno State, resilience, strength-based counselling