Influence Of Ebbc Radio Messages On Divorce And The Welfare Of Children In Ebonyi State

Based on the above overview, one may observe that divorce as a socio-psychological problem is quite common in most societies and cultures. Children of divorce are more likely to experience poverty, educational failure, early and risky sexual activity, non-marital childbirth, earlier marriage, cohabitation, marital discord and divorce (Amato and Cheadle, 2018). In fact, emotional problems associated with divorce actually increase during young adulthood. Divorce is associated with academic difficulties, including lower grades and prematurely dropping out of school, and greater disruptive behaviours (e.g., being oppositional with authority figures, getting into fights, stealing, and using and abusing alcohol and illegal drugs). Children and adolescents who experience the divorce of their parents also have higher rates of depressed mood, lower self-esteem, and emotional distress (Stevenson and Wolfers, 2017).

Divorce is also associated with negative outcomes and earlier life transitions as offspring enter young adulthood and later life. Children of divorce are more likely to experience poverty, educational failure, early and risky sexual activity, non-marital childbirth, earlier marriage, cohabitation, marital discord and divorce. In fact, emotional problems associated with divorce actually increase during young adulthood (Michael, 2008). Understanding the magnitude of these problems and the causal mechanisms through which divorce influences these behaviours, therefore, has important social consequences (Chaippori, Fortin and Lacroix, 2012).

Children from divorced families may experience more externalizing problems, such as conduct disorders, delinquency, and impulsive behavior than kids from two-parent families. Divorce is associated with approximately a one-and-half to two-fold increase in the risk for impairing outcomes in the offspring, such as dropping out of school or experiencing their own divorce (Burt, Barnes, McGue and Iacono, 2018). Yet, a majority of offspring who have experienced a parental separation do not experience these serious outcomes. The magnitude of the effects are typically described as small to medium by social science researchers, meaning that parental separation is associated with increased risk but parental separation/divorce is not the largest or most important risk factor when considered by itself. It is important to note, however, that many offspring of separated/divorced parents experience many distressing thoughts and emotions, regardless of whether they have diagnosable problems (Malone, Lansford and Castellino, 2014).

1.2 Statement of the Problems

Divorce, which was a rare phenomenon before the close of the 20th century, has apparently become common place today. It is being done freely as if it has no negative effect on the welfare of the children. Yet, the prevalence of single parents in our society today appears to have caused some negative effects on the welfare of the children and relationships such that children seemingly demanding to know the value and essence of marriage when they are neither cared for nor have a model to copy from. Divorce has suddenly become a precipitator of moral decay and insecurity in our society. Laha (2007, P. 2) laments that “since children have no good moral examples to copy from and no moral values are inculcated into them, they turned round to develop their own”. The situation seemingly has given rise to social vices and psychological trauma, which require immediate attention. It is against this backdrop that the study was embarked upon to investigate into the influence of EBBC radio messages on divorce and the welfare of children in Ebonyi state and to recommend some possible intervention strategies, which may ensure peace and stability in the country at large.