LIVED EXPERIENCES OF RECURRING TERRORIST ATTACKS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN KADUNA

Abstract

This study aimed to explore how young people in Southern Kaduna narrate the effects of recurring terrorist attacks on their psychological well-being. Using a qualitative narrative inquiry design, the article draws on six composite narrative accounts from young people aged 18 to 35 across selected conflict-affected Local Government Areas in Southern Kaduna. The narratives were examined thematically, with attention to fear, grief, displacement, disrupted education, altered relationships, coping, faith and resilience. Findings suggest that recurring attacks are not experienced only as security events but as continuing psychological conditions that shape sleep, movement, trust, schooling, belonging and future planning. The article argues that casualty figures
and displacement statistics, while important, cannot fully capture the emotional injuries carried by young people in affected communities. It recommends community-based psychosocial support, school counselling, youth-sensitive trauma education and faith-sensitive referral pathways for young people living with the psychological consequences of repeated violence.