Social support and resilience to post traumatic stress disorder among children in eldoret sub-county, Kenya

Social support undoubtedly increases resilience following an adversity. This study examined the buffering effect of social support and resilience to post traumatic stress disorder among children in Eldoret Sub-County, Kenya. The study applied ex post facto correlational research design. The study drew its population from the 1,218 class eight children in 8 purposively selected public schools categorized as urban, peri-urban, rural and slum schools in Eldoret Municipality. Stratified random sampling method was utilized to give a sample of 192 pupils. Further, 32 teachers were purposively selected to participate in the study, making a total sample of 224 respondents. The instruments for data collection used in this study were the Impact of Event Scale Revised Version for the screening of PTSD in children, a Child Behavior Checklist for teachers and a social support tool. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows Version 17. The findings of the study indicated that approximately 5 years after exposure to post election violence in Eldoret, children were still exhibiting PTSD symptoms. The findings of this study showed that social support (especially from family, peers and school) played a pivotal role in building the capacity for resilience of the children. Consequently this study recommends formation of social support groups in schools, churches and the community as a trauma-focused psycho-therapeutic foundation for traumatized children.