School Kidnappings and Psychosocial Well-being: Emerging Public Health Concerns in Nigeria

The increasing targeting of educational institutions by armed bandits and criminal networks has transformed school kidnapping from a security challenge into a critical psychosocial and public health concern in Nigeria. Against this backdrop, this paper examined School Kidnappings and Psychosocial Well-being: Emerging Public Health Concerns in Nigeria. The paper specifically explored the psychosocial consequences of school kidnappings on students, assessed the effects of school kidnappings on the mental health and social well-being of teachers, parents and affected communities, and identified public health measures and intervention strategies for mitigating the psychosocial effects of school kidnappings in Nigeria. The paper was anchored on Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, which explains how individual well-being is shaped by interactions within interconnected social and environmental systems. A PRISMA-guided systematic literature review approach was adopted, involving the identification, screening, appraisal and thematic synthesis of relevant scholarly literature on school kidnapping, psychosocial well-being and public health. The paper revealed that school kidnappings expose students to anxiety, depression, fear, emotional instability, post-traumatic stress symptoms and educational disengagement. The paper further showed that teachers, parents and affected communities experience psychological distress, grief, social dislocation, reduced trust in institutions and heightened perceptions of insecurity. The paper also established that school-based psychosocial support services, trauma-informed mental health interventions, strengthened school security mechanisms and community-based support systems are critical for mitigating these adverse outcomes. The paper concluded that school kidnapping constitutes a significant public health challenge with far-reaching implications for mental health, educational participation and community well-being. The paper recommended among others, institutionalisation of school-based psychosocial support programmes, strengthening of safe school initiatives, and integration of mental health services into primary healthcare and community response systems.