Relationship between Resilience and Gender on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) among Flood Victims in Awe Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Flooding has become one of the most devastating natural disasters in Nigeria, often resulting in severe psychological consequences among affected populations. This study investigated the relationship between resilience and gender on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among flood victims in Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, involving 379 flood victims randomly selected from eight flood-affected communities. Data were collected using the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS-14) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), both of which demonstrated satisfactory reliability. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and independent samples t-test were employed to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant moderate negative relationship between resilience and PTSD (r = –.463, p < .05), indicating that higher resilience was associated with lower levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms among flood victims. However, although male participants reported slightly higher mean PTSD scores than females, the observed gender difference was not statistically significant, t(378) = 0.842, p > .05. The study concludes that resilience serves as a significant protective factor against PTSD among flood survivors, whereas gender does not significantly influence PTSD in the study population. It is recommended that resilience-building interventions and psychological first aid be integrated into disaster management programmes to enhance the psychological recovery of flood victims in disaster-prone communities.