PSYCHO-SOCIAL IMPACT OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN IN OYO EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE OF NIGERIA

Divorce is a legal separation between married couples. This social menace keeps growing due to the ‘Mi o le wa ku’ (I can’t come and die) syndrome which has become the order of the recent day without fear of its consequences on children. Its effect on children varies based on factors such as environment, socio-economic status of divorce parents, etc. As a result, this paper focused on the psycho-social impact of divorce on children in Oyo East Local Government Area of Oyo State. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the work. The population of the study involved Primary 5 and 6 public and private primary school pupils from separated or single parents in Oyo East Local Government Area of Oyo State. The simple random technique was used to select ten primary schools while the purposive sampling method was adopted to select pupils from separated or single parents. Being a descriptive research, questionnaires were used to collect data and information upon which the research questions and hypotheses were tested, analysed and calculated using chi-square statistical method of analysis and as a result of which the result, conclusion and recommendations of the study was made. As a result of the findings, it is justifiable to say that parental divorce affects adolescents psychologically and socially and in all result to affecting children’s academic performance negatively. Thus, it is recommended that couples should ensure that long courtship, marriage counseling, love, contentment, tolerance, care, responsibility and respect for opinions of each other forms the foundation for their marital living. Should these features lack in a marriage, there is high tendency for marital failure which would in turn affect children’s life as found in this paper. Keywords: Psycho-Social, Divorce, Children, and Impact