Divorce: Its Psychological Effects on the Divorced Women and their Children

Divorce has become an institutionalised part of the family system and its functioning in the developed as well as in the developing countries. Many studies have been done on these divorce effects in the western world. In the developing countries, little studies have been done in this area. Can one rightly apply these findings in the western world to divorcees in developing countries or have culture and level of development an influence on the divorce effects? Igbo of southern Nigeria, a people from a typical «developing» country, was used in this study which investigates into the psychological effects of divorce on the divorced women and their children. Statistical analysis of the questionnaire findings show that divorce has a significant effect on the divorced women. Divorce has also a significant effect on the children of the divorced women. These results were interpreted in the socio-cultural, economic and general context of the Igbo people; and discussed in the light of the other research findings.