Banditry and Psychological Wellbeing of Students in Catholic Secondary Schools in Shiroro Local Government, Niger State Nigeria

This study addressed banditry and the psychological well-being of students in Catholic secondary schools in Shiroro LGA, Niger State, Nigeria. The study had three research objectives: to explore the prevalence of banditry incidents affecting Catholic secondary schools; to assess the psychological wellbeing of students; and to examine the relationship between banditry and psychological wellbeing of students in Catholic secondary schools in Shiroro LGA respectively. The Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems and Judith Herman’s Trauma Theories were adopted. The correlational design and the multistage sampling technique were employed to sample 262 research participants. The Carol Ryff and Ritcher and Martinez instruments were adapted for data collection. Descriptive data from 240 retrieved questionnaire was analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviations, while relationship between dependent and independent variables was determined using Pearson’s correlation. The study found that: banditry activities are prevalent; students have low level of psychological wellbeing as a result of exposure to banditry; and there is no linear correlation between between exposure to banditry and the psychological wellbeing of students in the study area. The study recommends the deployment of security apparatus and enactment of policies to put an end to banditry; establishment of counselling units in all schools; and regular assessment of students to determine their psychological wellbeing for early interventions. Base on the limitations of this study, future research directions suggested are: use of ethnographical design to assess the lived experiences of students in conflict zone; using the qualitative method and larger sample of interviewees to generate robust primary data that can be generalized on the population.

Banditry, Psychological Wellbeing, Shiroro, Insecurity, Religious Schools

1. Akpa-Achimugu, J., & Ibeh, C. (2023). Implications of armed banditry for education in Nigeria’s North West region. Alumni Note. Geneva Centre for Security Policy. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 723–742. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.22.6.723 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Danjuma, M., Aliyu, A., & Aliero, H. S. (2024). Effect of banditry on school attendance among students in Sakaba Local Government Area, Kebbi State, Nigeria. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Sciences, 2(2), 91–104. https://doi.org/10.59890/ijeps.v2i2.1483 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Garba, S. M. (2024, December). Assessment of the influence of banditry and kidnapping on school attendance and academic performance of secondary school students in Niger State. Minna Journal of Educational Studies, 9(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence—from domestic abuse to political terror. Basic Books. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Ogunbiyi, A. B. (2021). Psychological impact of prolonged exposure to violence in rural communities. Journal of Trauma Studies, 15(2), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. UNESCO. (2022). Protecting education from attack: Global education monitoring report 2022. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. (2024). Education under Attack 2024: Nigeria. Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. https://protectingeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/eua_2024_nigeria.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. UNICEF. (2021). Education under attack in Nigeria: Impact of violence on children and learning. https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/reports [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. UNICEF. (2022). The state of the world’s children 2022: Children, conflict, and mental health. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study