Department of Government and Justice Studies, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA.
Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023;14(2):2277505. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2277505. Epub 2023 Nov 27.
Persons displaced by conflict often consider returning to their area of origin. Lack of reliable information about conditions in the area of origin makes this decision more difficult. Displaced persons address this by seeking information from other sources, but must then assess the credibility of these sources. This study examines the role of symptoms of posttraumatic stress as a moderator of how information from a trustworthy source influences return intentions among displaced persons.: We test our hypotheses with a factorial survey experiment, drawing participants ( = 822) from residents of internally displaced person (IDP) camps in northeastern Nigeria. Information from a more trustworthy source led to increased return intentions. However, the more participants reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress, the smaller the effect source trustworthiness had on their return intentions. Findings highlight how traumatic experiences during wartime can undermine the effectiveness of the provision of information from a trustworthy source about good conditions in displaced persons' areas of origin, and suggest that interventions addressing posttraumatic stress could have downstream effects on safe, durable, and dignified return.
冲突导致流离失所的人常常考虑返回原籍地区。由于缺乏原籍地区情况的可靠信息，这一决定更加困难。流离失所者通过从其他来源获取信息来解决这个问题，但随后必须评估这些来源的可信度。本研究考察了创伤后应激症状作为一个调节因素的作用，该因素调节了来自可信赖来源的信息如何影响流离失所者的返回意愿。我们通过一项析因调查实验检验了我们的假设，该实验从尼日利亚东北部境内流离失所者营地的居民中抽取了参与者（n=822）。来自更可信来源的信息会导致返回意愿增加。然而，参与者报告的创伤后应激症状越多，来源可信度对其返回意愿的影响就越小。研究结果强调了战时的创伤经历如何削弱了提供有关流离失所者原籍地区良好条件的可靠信息的有效性，并表明解决创伤后应激问题的干预措施可能会对安全、持久和有尊严的返回产生下游影响。
