Picking Up the Pieces: Social Capital, Psycho-Social Support and Livelihood Recovery of Displaced Populations in Northeast Nigeria

This paper examines the role of social capital on livelihood outcomes of households forcibly displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria. Drawing from in-depth interviews of 21 respondents and a cross-sectional survey of 810 household heads across 12 locations in Northeast Nigeria, t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of development studies 2022-06, Vol.58 (6), p.1280-1299
Main Authors: Kolade, Oluwaseun, Smith, Robert, Obembe, Demola, Taiwo, Abigail, Eyong, Joseph, James, Saliba, Kibreab, Gaim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boko Haram
Crises
Displaced persons
forced displacement
Households
humanitarian programming
Humanitarianism
Insurgency
Livelihood
Nigeria
Resilience
Social capital
Social support
Structural equation modeling
triple nexus
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Summary:This paper examines the role of social capital on livelihood outcomes of households forcibly displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria. Drawing from in-depth interviews of 21 respondents and a cross-sectional survey of 810 household heads across 12 locations in Northeast Nigeria, the study finds that social capital provides a channel of critical psycho-social support for households. Further, the results of the structural-equation modelling indicate that bridging-linking social capital has a strong positive impact on livelihood outcomes, while the impact of bonding social capital on livelihood outcomes is partially mediated by resilience. The study contributes to recent conversations on the imperative of a triple-nexus strategy by highlighting the unique roles that social capital can play in complementary humanitarian, developmental and peace-building programming, especially in protracted crises and contexts of forced displacement where short-term material and financial interventions may not be adequate. The paper also offers practical and policy recommendations and suggestions for future research on operationalisation of social capital in protracted crises.
ISSN:0022-0388
1743-9140
DOI:10.1080/00220388.2022.2032669