Pages: (118-137 )
Abstract
Mental health is central to journalists' professional functioning, especially in conflict-prone settings where traumatic assignments are recurrent. Anchored in the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping and Social Support Theory, this study examined individual demographic characteristics in mental health outcomes among journalists covering traumatic events in Northern Nigeria, with a specific focus on age, gender, and marital status. A survey research design was adopted, and data were collected from 296 journalists drawn from registered members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory. Mental health outcomes were measured in relation to trauma-related psychological strain, while data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and analysis of variance at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that age significantly differentiated journalists’ mental health outcomes, F(4, 291) = 18.029, p < .001, with journalists aged 18–25 reporting poorer outcomes than older age groups. Gender also produced a significant difference, with female journalists reporting higher mental health outcome scores (x̅ = 64.00, SD = 31.46) than male journalists (x̅ = 53.66, SD = 20.67), t(294) = -2.939, p = .004. Marital status significantly differentiated mental health outcomes, F(2, 293) = 27.845, p < .001, with widowed journalists recording the highest mental health concerns. The study concluded that mental health outcomes after traumatic event coverage were significantly shaped by individual demographic and relational characteristics. It recommended age-sensitive, gender-responsive, and socially supportive psychosocial interventions for journalists exposed to traumatic assignments.
Keywords: Age, Gender, Journalists, Marital status, Mental health outcomes, Traumatic event coverage.,