Family Structure and Literacy Level as Correlates of Post-traumatic Stress among Victims of Human Trafficking in Nigeria

Abstract

Victims of human trafficking suffer a plethora of psychological problems and it has been one of much deliberation by governments and other human rights organizations. Thepresent study examined the family structure and literacy levels as predictors of Post-Traumatic stress among a group of selected victims of human trafficking. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted in the study. Accidental sampling technique was performed to select seventy-eight (78) victims of human trafficking who were in different zones of the National Agency for Trafficked Persons (NAPTIP). Post-traumatic Stress Scale, developed by Keane et al (1984) was used to gather necessary information for the study with Cronbach’s Alpha of .92. Three hypotheses were formulated as well as tested by using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and independent t-test analysis. The results showed that literacy level, [r (78) = .24; p > 0.05] and family structure [r (78) = .31; p > 0.01] were significantly correlates with Post-Traumatic Stress. Based on the findings, it is recommended that National Agency for Trafficked Persons should engage victims into therapeutic and educational programmes and using clinical interventions to help boost self-esteem, self-awareness and psycho-emotional development of these victims to reduce trauma-related problems associated with activities of human trafficking.