Fifty Years After Nigerian Civil War: Social Support Is Associated with PTSD Symptoms Through Increased Self-Efficacy Among Biafran Veterans.

The Nigerian Civil War (or Nigerian-Biafran War, 1967-1970) was fought between the Nigerian federal government and the defunct Republic of Biafra. Biafra recruited young men and boys (child soldiers) to fight the war, but little attention has been given to understanding the mental health outcomes of the War on Biafran veterans. Although there are few studies on social support in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in this older veteran population, the mechanism through which social support influences PTSD has not received much attention. Hence, we investigated whether self-efficacy explains the association between social support and PTSD symptoms in a sample of Biafran War veterans. They were recruited from the Veterans' association in south-east Nigeria (N = 250; Mage = 71.33 years, SD = 7.11), and completed self-report measures of social support, self-efficacy, and PTSD symptoms. Results showed that veterans with greater social support (ß = -.49, p < .001) and high self-efficacy reported less PTSD symptoms (ß = -.55, p < .001). Above all, social support predicted decreased PTSD symptoms risk through increased self-efficacy, 95% CI [-0.53, -0.29]. By implication, social support may be associated with lower PTSD symptoms because it enhances efficacy beliefs, and thereby leads to less PTSD symptoms.

Emotion regulation strategies on psychological distress and psychological well-being of caregivers of mentally challenged children: moderating role of social support.

This study investigates the moderating role of social support in the relationship between emotion regulation, psychological distress, and psychological well-being of caregivers of mentally challenged children. A total of 315 caregivers aged 18-62 (Mage = 36.99, SD = 9.90; 38.7% male, 61.3% female) completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and Psychological Well-being Scale. The results indicated that social support significantly moderated the relationship between cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and psychological well-being. However, the moderating effect of social support in the relationship between cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and psychological distress was insignificant. The findings suggest that caregivers of mentally challenged children with high social support will report higher psychological well-being when they adopt cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies.