Combat Exposure and Peritraumatic Factors Predicting PTSD among Military Personnel Fighting Insurgency in Nigeria

Previous studies indicate that posttraumatic stress disorder is one of the major mental health challenges that affect military personnel who have experienced combat situations. However, there is still paucity of research on the factors that predict PTSD in Nigerian military setting despite increasing rate of Boko-Haram exposure. This study therefore examined the predictive influence of peritraumatic factors (combat exposure, number of deployments, duration of deployments and substance use) among Nigerian military personnel exposed to Boko-Haram insurgency in North-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires on a sample of 715 participants. Two hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation and hierarchical multiple regression, and results revealed a significant positive relationship between combat exposure (r= .36; p<.05), substance use coping (r= .14; p<.01) and PTSD. However, number (r= .07; p>.05) and duration of deployments (r= .04; p>.05) were found to have no significant relationship with PTSD. Additional findings indicated that combat exposure (β= .32, t= 9.10; p<.05) and using substance to cope with the experience of combat (β= -.11, t= 3.14; p<.05) independently and jointly [R= .36, F(4,707)= 15.13, P<.05] predicted PTSD, while the influence of duration and multiple deployments were statistically insignificant. Findings imply that Nigerian military personnel who experience combat and resort to substance use to cope stand a higher risk of developing PTSD. Thus, Military authority should give adequate attention on training to restrain its personnel from substance use coping during stressful encounters to prevent the development of posttraumatic stress disorder.