Bashir Adam Yakasai¹*, Mr Hafiz Ayinla² and Hassana Bashir Yakasai³

¹Department of Psychiatry, Kaduna State University, Nigeria
²Department of Psychology, Nigeria Defense Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria
³461 Nigerian Airforce Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: Bashir Adam Yakasai, Department of Psychiatry, Kaduna State University, Nigeria.

Received: September 16, 2022; Published: November 10, 2022

Abstract

A rising insecurity problem in many parts of Nigeria presently is the organised crime of kidnapping. It is very pertinent to understand that kidnapping in Nigeria is not a new phenomenon in the country and, unfortunately, has of recent become a business for ransom that began in the Niger Delta region and has since then gradually grown roots into other states. The demeanour of kidnapping has impeded the country's development as a standard viable tourism attraction. Many intending visitors are constantly warned by their governments to be wary of visiting Nigeria. Episodes of kidnapping in northern Nigeria, especially in Kaduna state, have become alarming. Most victims of such kidnapping attacks have been students from primary to tertiary levels, among others. The students face various degrees of traumatic and life-threatening experiences in the hands of the kidnappers. The school, the parents or the Kaduna state government pay a ransom before the students are released. Afterwards, such students are taken to a nearby hospital for physical examination and treatment of injuries with little or no regard for the psychological and mental health well-being of such unfortunate victims. Thus, the research aimed to critically investigate the psychological and mental health problems associated with kidnap experiences in Kaduna state. This was achieved by documenting the experiences of kidnap victims, identifying their mental health problems and reviewing their coping mechanisms, which will form the basis for the study's recommendations. To achieve this, the researchers undertook a retrospective cross sectional survey. The authors identified a sample of 32 participants for the interview, but only 27 participants voluntarily consented to participate in the research. The data generated from the interview session was transcribed and subjected to content analysis resulting in some unique findings. The outcomes showed that kidnapped children were exposed to the wild, forced to live in unhealthy conditions and terrorised during such episodes. Those released were found to have comorbidities of depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among others. The findings also showed that an effective coping mechanism does not exist, allowing victims to take responsibility for their psychological well-being. The Outcome of the interview with key informants showed good knowledge of the menace of kidnapping and ways to protect the schools and prevent future occurrence. These insights formed the basis for the recommendations, which includes that psychosocial support services be provided for victims and available to schools who may have suffered such incidents while helping to create safe spaces or strong coping mechanism for enabling psychological healing.

Keywords: Kidnapping; Mental Health; School Children; PTSD

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Citation

Citation: Bashir Adam Yakasai., et al. “Psychological Impact of Kidnapping on Mental Health and Well-being of Abductees: A Study of Abducted School Children in Kaduna State, Nigeria". Acta Scientific Women's Health 4.12 (2022): 08-19.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Bashir Adam Yakasai., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.