Correlates of Psychological Distress among Liberian Migrants in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Migrant presence is a social reality in most societies of today. Most of the research on migrant health comes from countries popular for migration. Thus, research on migrant health is less available in developing worlds. This study, therefore, investigated psychological distress among Liberian migrants in Nigeria with shame and social supports as correlates. Participants were Liberian migrants residing in a refugee camp in Nigeria. With a quantitative research approach, data were collected via the use of questionnaires from 520 participants, 64.2% men and 35.8% women. Findings revealed that psychological distress is heightened by a predisposition to experience shame. On the other hand, social support was associated with less psychological distress. The implications of these findings were discussed and emphasis was placed on committing more effort to research on migrant health in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS:

• Shame
• social support
• psychological distress
• mental health
• Liberia
• Nigeria

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability

The data associated with this research is available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

Notes on contributors

Tosin Tunrayo Olonisakin

Dr. Olonisakin is a Social Psychologist and a Lecturer in the Department of Social Justice, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. She is also a Post-Doctoral Fellow at North-West University, South Africa. Olonisakin formerly worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology and Behavioural Studies at Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. She has Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees in Psychology. Her research interests include intergroup relations, social justice, gender and sexuality, crime and deviancy, criminal justice and paranormal beliefs. She is a member of Nigerian Psychological Association and Nigerian Association of Social Psychologists.

Alphonso Yarseah

Alphonso Yarseah is a Liberian refugee who arrived in Nigeria in the late 1990s due to the lingering Liberian civil wars. Mr Yarseah is currently a doctoral student in Counselling Psychology at Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He holds Master degrees in Guidance and Counselling Psychology and Personnel Psychology from Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Education. Mr Yarseah currently researches on posttraumatic disorder, posttraumatic growth, shame, scattered assumptions, attribution styles, psychological flexibility, and optimism among Liberian refugees in Nigeria.

Sulaiman Olanrewaju Adebayo

Sulaiman Olanrewaju Adebayo is a Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Psychology and Behavioural Studies at Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He holds Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees in Psychology. Adebayo’s research interests span intergroup relations, moral psychology, political behaviour, environmental psychology, human sexuality, paranormal beliefs and industrial psychopathology. Adebayo is a past Director of Institute of Peace, Security and Governance, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He is also the current Editor-in-Chief of Nigerian Journal of Social Psychology, a Journal of Nigerian Association of Social Psychologists. He is a member of Nigerian Association of Social Psychologists and a Fellow of Nigerian Psychological Association.

Olasupo Augustine Ijabadeniyi

Dr. O. A. Ijabadeniyi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Justice, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He is a polyvalent scholar with degrees that cut across various academic disciplines. He has a Doctorate degree in Medical Sociology; a Master’s degree in Community Health; a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, and a Bachelor of Law degree (LL.B). He is a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He is an author to several books and has published several articles in both national and international journals. He has served as a resource person/guest lecturer at various seminars, workshops and conferences.