IMPACT OF HERDSMEN INSURGENCY ON THE PSYCHO-ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN BENUE NORTH-EAST SENATORIAL DISTRICT, NIGERIA

This study examined the impact of herdsmen insurgency on the psycho-academic adjustment of secondary school students in Benue North-East Senatorial District, Nigeria. Guided by two research questions and two hypotheses tested at the 0.05 significance level, the investigation employed an ex-post-facto design. The population comprised 54,209 students enrolled in 112 public and grant-aided secondary schools, from which a multistage sampling procedure produced a sample of 1,370 students drawn from the four most affected Local Government Areas; Kwande, Katsina-Ala, Logo, and Ukum. Data were collected using a researcher-developed instrument, the Herdsmen Insurgency and Students’ Psycho-Academic Adjustment Questionnaire (HISPAAQ), a ten-item Likert-type scale. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) addressed the research questions, while Chi-square (÷²) goodness-of-fit tests evaluated the hypotheses, using 2.50 as the criterion mean. Findings revealed that herdsmen insurgency significantly contributes to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and adversely affects school enrolment among students. The study recommends the deployment of professional trauma counsellors to secondary schools in the district to provide individual and group therapy aimed at fostering resilience and effective coping strategies.