EFFECT OF DIDACTIC COUNSELLING STRATEGIES ON ANXIETY AND AGGRESSION DISORDERS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN CENTRAL ZONE OF ADAMAWA STATE

This study investigated the effect of didactic counselling on anxiety and aggression disorders of Internally Displaced Persons in Camps in Central Zone of Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study was guided by four research questions and four research hypotheses. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design; with two experimental group (camp A and B) and a control group named, Camp C. The population of the study consists of 1,761 IDPs in Central Senatorial Zone in Adamawa State. To arrive at the sample size for the study; purposive sampling technique was used to select 60 IDPs who score 40% on PTSD. The instrument was validated and trial tested using Cronbach Alpha, that revealed an internal consistency for Cluster A as 0.925; Cluster B as 0.861; Cluster C as 0.846; Cluster D as 0.784. The sampled respondents were divided into three groups that is two experimental group (camp A and B) and control group (camp C). The research was then carried out in three phases: Phase 1: Pre-test Phase; Phase 2: Treatment Phase; and Phase 3: Post-treatment Phase. The data gathered were analysed using both descriptive statistic of mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of one-way ANOVA and t-test. The findings revealed that: anxiety disorder (3.20) and aggression (2.96) are the major PTSDs experienced by IDPs in Central Zone of Adamawa State, Nigeria. The hypotheses also revealed that there is no significant difference in the pre-test mean scores between the control and experimented groups, since F (2, 59) = 3.008, p=0.057. Thus, the study concludes that there is a significant effect of didactic counselling in treating anxiety disorder and aggression among IDPs living in camps in the Central Zone of Adamawa State. The study recommends amongst others that camp authorities and humanitarian organizations should integrate didactic counselling services into their mental health support programs for IDPs.