Childhood Trauma and Emotional Regulation Difficulties Among Secondary School Students in Gombe State, North East Nigeria

Childhood trauma, particularly that arising from conflict exposure and family violence, significantly impairs emotional regulation development, with consequences for adolescent mental health and social functioning. In North East Nigeria, where prolonged insecurity has exposed many children to multiple traumatic events, this relationship has important clinical implications. This study examines the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and emotional regulation difficulties among secondary school students in Gombe State. A descriptive cross-sectional survey is applied to 265 students aged 12 to 18 years from five public secondary schools, recruited through cluster sampling. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale are administered alongside a demographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical regression are computed in SPSS. Literature from North East Nigerian adolescent psychology identifies conflict-related trauma, household violence, and emotional neglect as the trauma subtypes with the strongest associations with emotional dysregulation, with limited parental buffering worsening outcomes. Developmental Trauma Theory by van der Kolk and Polyvagal Theory by Porges provide the theoretical framework. Findings are expected to reveal significant positive associations between childhood trauma severity and emotional regulation deficits, informing school counsellor training and trauma-informed education policies in Gombe State. Keywords: childhood trauma, emotional regulation, secondary school students, Gombe State, North East Nigeria.