Anxiety and resilience as correlates of environmental migration in Owakurudu community in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/ijhtc.v11i2.14674Keywords:
Anxiety, Resilience, Environmental migration, Flooding, Adaptive capacity, Ogun StateAbstract
This study examined the relationships of anxiety and resilience with environmental migration in Owakurudu community, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria, where recurrent flooding generates persistent displacement pressure. Guided by the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping and Protection Motivation Theory, the study adopted a correlational survey design with 120 purposively selected residents who had directly experienced flooding. Data were collected using self-designed Anxiety and Resilience Scales (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85 and 0.88, respectively) and items measuring residents’ propensity to migrate, and were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. Respondents reported high levels of anxiety (M = 3.51), resilience (M = 3.61) and propensity to migrate (M = 3.44), all above the criterion mean of 2.50 on a 4-point scale. Anxiety showed a statistically significant moderate positive relationship with environmental migration (r = .472, p < .001, 95% confidence interval [.320, .600]), whereas resilience showed a moderate negative relationship with it (r = −.395, p < .001, 95% confidence interval [−.536, −.232]). Residents with higher flood-related anxiety therefore reported a stronger propensity to migrate, while those with stronger adaptive capacity reported a weaker one. Anxiety and resilience shared 22.3% and 15.6% of their variance with environmental migration, respectively. Because the design was cross-sectional, these relationships are associations rather than causal effects. Environmental migration is therefore linked not only to structural or economic pressures but also to emotional responses and coping capacities, which supports integrated policy interventions that combine mental health support and resilience-building with environmental and socio-economic measures.
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