Sense of Community and Posttraumatic Growth among Tigrayan Refugees in Nairobi, Kenya

The study investigated the association between the Sense of Community (SOC) and Post-traumatic Growth (PTG) among Tigrayan refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. Its objectives were to: assess the prevalence of SOC; assess barriers to PTG (BPTG); establish the PTG levels; establish the relationship between the SOC and PTG among Tigrayan refugees. The hypothesis posited that there was no association between SOC and PTG. The theoretical framework comprised PTG by Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996), SOC by McMillan and Chavis (1986), and Ubuntu theory. A mixed-methods approach with a convergent-parallel design was employed. Data collection utilised questionnaires and FGDs. Pretesting yielded a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.836. Cluster sampling categorised the participants into three clusters, while simple random sampling identified 266 respondents from the clusters. The study recorded 80.5% response rate. Despite trauma, refugees exhibited moderate mean scores with positive significant correlations between SOC, BPTG, and PTG. The younger the refugees, the more likely they were to demonstrate stronger SOC and higher levels of PTG. Linguistic diversity was positively correlated with stronger SOC, but PTG scores remained unchanged. The improved model accounted for 33% variation in PTG compared to 22.2% variation in PTG less BPTG; thus struggling with BPTG fosters enduring PTG. The results suggested the need to appreciate the paradox that out of loss, refugees can gain wisdom to positively live with the uncertainty of poly-crisis. The SOC is positively associated with PTG among Tigrayan refugees at a 95% significance level. Future research may benefit from longitudinal designs with experimental variations.