Coping Style, Social Support, And Resilience As Predictors Of Quality Of Life Among Combatant Officers In Nigeria

Abstract

The emergence of bandits, kidnappers, Boko Haram insurgents, separatists and other armed groups in Nigeria has warranted regular deployment of combatant officers to conflict zones with less attention paid to their quality of life. Studies linking psychological factors to quality of life among these officers in Nigeria are lacking. Therefore, this study investigated coping style, social support and resilience as predictors of quality of life among combatant officers in Nigeria. The study adopted cross-sectional survey design using purposive sampling technique to select cantonments in Abuja and Maiduguri, Nigeria. Data were collected from 207 combatant officers using validated questionnaires. Two hypotheses were tested and accepted at p =.001 level of significance. The results showed that coping style, social support and resilience jointly predicted quality of life among study participants (R² = .15, F(3, 203)= 12.17, p = .001). In addition, coping style (b=.22, t=3.40, p =.001), social support (b=.31, t =4.68, p = .001) and resilience (b=-.19, t =-3.00, p <.05) independently predicted quality of life among study participants. The study concluded that coping style, social support and resilience are excellent predictors of quality of life among combatant officers in the study population. It is recommended that the military authority should implement programmes to improve coping style and resilience and provide adequate social support for the combatant officers to improve their quality of life.