Electoral violence and psychosocial wellbeing of persons with disabilities in Nigeria

Abstract

Electoral violence, over the years, has become a severe threat to lives and property in most African countries. Persons with disabilities (PWD) are considerably more vulnerable to the overarching threats arising from electoral violence. PWD constitute a significant percentage of the Nigerian populations, yet limited attention has been given to their wellbeing in the increasing electoral violence. This critical population is repeatedly disenfranchised thereby alienating them from their civic and political rights. They are also victimized in a range of violence emanating from pre, in, and post-electoral processes, including harassment, physical assault, physical and emotional torture, abduction and sexual assault. This study sought to investigate the psychosocial impact of electoral violence on PWD. I adopted a quantitative design for the study. A sample of 83 PWDs and 83 persons without disability (PWOD) (comparable group) participated in the study. Three measures (Electoral Violence exposure questionnaire (EVEQ), Mental Health Continuum – Long form Form for adults (MHC-LF) and The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)) were uses to collect quantitative data. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and independent sample t-test. Results indicated that electoral violence exposure of PWD was not significantly different from that of the comparable group. Compared to PWOD, electoral violence had significantly elevated negative impacts on psychosocial well-being score of PWD as measured by MHC-LF. Specifically, the impacts were significant for all psychsocial wellbeing subscales: Psychological wellbeing subscale (MD =-1.22, t=-2.92, p<.001); emotional wellbeing subscale (MD =-1.21, t=-3.14, p<.001) and social wellbeing (MD =-1.09, t=-2.88, p<.001). Results from BSI showed significantly higher symptoms (somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoid ideation and a composite measure of General Symptom Index) among PWD than the comparable group. It was concluded that election violence not only disenfranchises PWD but negatively impacts on their psychological, emotional, social and physical well-being.

Key Words: Electoral violence, Psychosocial wellbeing, persons with disabilities