TRAUMA PROCESSING STRATEGIES AND POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH AMONG TERRORIST ATTACK SURVIVORS AT GARISSA UNIVERSITY, KENYA

Abstract

The rising number of traumatic events is a global disastrous phenomenon. There have been sparing psychological interventions to this menace with skewed emphasis on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and less focus on the transformational side of trauma. The purpose of this study was to investigate trauma processing strategies and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among the survivors of Garissa University terrorist attack. The study was guided by six research objectives namely to examine the prevalence of initial trauma processing strategies and symptoms, to explore the indicators of posttraumatic growth, to assess demographic differences in PTG, and to determine the relationship between initial trauma severity and PTG. Other objectives were to determine the relationship between cognitive trauma processing strategies and PTG, and to evaluate the role of counseling in PTG. The study was anchored on the organismic valuing theory after adversity, and adopted the explanatory sequential mixed method research design. The target population was 650 survivors of Garissa University terrorist attack who were transferred to Moi University main campus from which a total sample of 257 participants was selected using simple random sampling, extreme case sampling and automatic inclusion techniques. Quantitative data were collected using two standardized questionnaires namely Posttraumatic Growth Inventory with reliability coefficient 0.859, Cognitive Processing of Trauma Scale with reliability coefficient 0.769, and Initial Trauma Processing Scale with reliability coefficient 0.833 as validated by Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Qualitative data were collected using two interview guides for survivors and their parents. Data analysis was done using univariate analysis, correlation analysis and thematic analysis backed by narratives. The study established positive significant relationship between posttraumatic growth and initial trauma processing strategies, initial trauma severity, cognitive trauma processing strategies and number of counseling sessions attended after the terror attack. The study further established higher posttraumatic growth in the Garissa University terror attack survivors as compared to other global studies. The results further showed that there was no significant demographic difference in posttraumatic growth. These findings may be relevant in designing future interventions for trauma survivors that are growth focused as complementary approaches to the existing crisis-focused counseling approaches. The study recommended further research on critical incident debriefing as a dominant intervention commonly used in trauma counseling. The study also recommended dual dimension approach to trauma therapy that has both pathological and transformational focused interventions. The study further recommended regulation and coordination of counseling services to be conducted by the Ministry of Health as opposed to humanitarian organizations and the competing psychological professional bodies in Kenya.