Analytical study of causes and effects of divorce as perceived by students in south south geopolitical zone of Nigeria

Abstract

Divorce or the dissolution of marriage has been subject of discourse among social scientists from a wide range of disciplines in recent years. Unfortunately, insufficient number of studies in this area has been conducted in South South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. This study of the possible causes and effects of divorce was undertaken to fill this research gap. A descriptive method was adopted and data was collected via a survey of six hundred (600) respondents. Data collected were analyzed using percentage, mean and t-test. The findings revealed that the major causes of divorce as perceived by students are infertility, infidelity, primary wrong selection of spouse, fiery temper(anger), interference of spouse’s family, immaturity, communication defects, unmet emotional needs (feeling less), loss of sexual desire, cultural differences, poverty and domestic violence. While the major strategies for effective control of divorce were pre and post marital counseling that is affordable, putting spouse before children, effective legislation against forced / early marriage, effective marriage social networking, regular renewal of marital vows and defining position of in-laws early in marriage. The study also indicated that there was no significant difference between the opinion of male and female students on the causes of divorce in South South geographical zone of Nigeria. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that government and non-governmental organizations together should intensity efforts to ensure that all unhappily married spouses have access to pre and post marital counseling that is affordable across the length and breadth of the country.