Theorising Collective Trauma in Nigeria: Developing a Framework for Understanding Group-Level Psychological Injury from Ethnic and Communal Violence

Collective trauma theory remains underdeveloped in the African psychology literature, despite decades of ethnic and communal violence in Nigeria producing group-level psychological injuries that cannot be reduced to individual PTSD symptomatology. This study develops an original Collective Trauma Framework for Nigeria through a mixed-methods investigation of group-level psychological injury and recovery in communities affected by ethnic violence in the Middle Belt region. Phase 1 conducts a community-based epidemiological survey of 600 adults from six violence-affected and six matched comparison communities using a battery of instruments including a novel Collective Trauma Scale developed for this study, community cohesion measures, and collective memory assessments. Phase 2 applies ethnographic fieldwork across three communities over 12 months using participant observation and narrative interviews. Confirmatory factor analysis establishes the Collective Trauma Scale's psychometric properties, and multilevel regression identifies community-level predictors of collective trauma severity. Qualitative ethnographic data are analysed using constructivist grounded theory. Alexander's Cultural Trauma Theory, Indigenous Healing Systems perspectives, and Becker's Transgenerational Trauma Model provide the multi-level theoretical framework. The original contribution is the first empirically validated Collective Trauma Framework and Scale developed from African community data. Findings will re-theorise trauma beyond the individual level in Nigerian psychology and inform community-level reconciliation and healing programme design. Keywords: collective trauma, ethnic violence, Nigeria, theoretical framework, community psychology.