Prolonged grief disorder symptoms in bereaved internally displaced Tiv persons in Nigeria: associations with rumination, rebirth concerns and gender

ABSTRACT

There is burgeoning research on prolonged grief disorder (PGD) among several vulnerable populations but PGD symptoms have been scarcely examined among bereaved internally displaced persons (IDPs). This study investigated the associations of rumination, rebirth concerns and gender with symptoms of PGD following conflict-related bereavement. Participants were 379 Nigerian IDPs who were of the Tiv ethnic group. They provided demographics and completed self-report measures grief and rumination, while concern about rebirth status of the deceased was assessed using a single item which requested participants to indicate whether they had any concerns about the re-incarnation of the deceased. Results showed that gender was not associated with PGD symptoms. High intrusive rumination and high deliberate rumination were associated with increased PGD symptoms in males and females. Rebirth concern was associated with high PGD symptoms in males but not in females. Findings highlight the need for socio-culturally-informed screening/intervention in the wake of conflict-related bereavement.

KEYWORDS:

• Bereavement
• gender
• grief
• internal displacement
• rebirth concern
• rumination

Acknowledgements

We thank Mr Tochukwu Charles Orjiakor, and Steven Kator Iorfa for their helpful feedback on an earlier draft of the manuscript. We also thank Rev Fr John Asen, Cssp, Mr Joseph I. Ubullaun, Mr Terver Ubullaun, and Mr Jacob for their help at the planning and initiation stage of the research project. We are grateful to Professor Driss Moussaoui whose interview in British Journal of Psychiatry Bulletin (30 January 2009) motivates us to do research on conflicts and mental health in Africa.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

JohnBosco Chika Chukwuorji http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4065-4327