The Increasing Rate of Divorce and Its Effects on the Family and Society’s Development in the 21st Century
The study empirically investigates the increasing rate of divorce in Yakurr Local Government Area and the effects it has on both the family institution and society’s development. The paper defines divorce as the ending of marriage or the dissolution of marriage which may be through legal proceedings and judgments; church pronouncement, the repayment of the bride price, the re-marrying of one of the partners to another person or by the simple agreement of the people involved. The paper reveals that despite government’s effort to protect marriages by enacting laws, formulating policies that encourages Christian or court marriages, establishes social welfare division to treat marital problems, divorce still continue to soar in Yakurr society. The paper seeks to find out factors responsible for the increasing rate of divorce in the study area. The study is anchored on the value conflict theory of Karl Marx to analyze the increasing rate of divorce in Yakurr and its effects on the family and society’s development. The study was carried out among divorcees who are resident in Yakurr Local Government Area. Two (200) hundred respondents were selected from four wards in the study area and cluster samples were drawn from the four major communities in the Local Government Area viz: Ugep, Ekori, Nko and Mkpani. The wards were selected through the use of simple random sampling technique. Questionnaires were administered through hand delivery by the researcher. The findings also revealed that there are certain social structures and institutions that are responsible for this increase. Concurrently, the findings show that this rate of divorce significantly affects the family as well as society’s development. That is broken families breeds maladjusted individuals who later turn out to become criminals; and child abuse is the product of broken families. The paper suggests possible means of reducing, if not to eradicate divorce (Panacea for divorce rate) in Nigeria.