STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVES ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF PARENTAL DIVORCE

Abstract

Parental involvement plays a vital role in the upbringing and bright future of children, as parents form the foundation of any family system. The nature of the relationship between parents significantly impacts the lives of their children. In many cases, conflicts between parents arise, often leading to temporary or permanent separation. As a result, children lose the affection of one or both parents, as they typically live with either the mother or the father. This situation disrupts their routine matters and affects their lives significantly. Keeping this in view, the present study, titled “Students' Perspectives on the Consequences of Parental Divorce,” was designed to examine the impact of divorce on students' lives. District Faisalabad was selected as the study area for convenience. The study targeted secondary schools, selecting 15 public and 15 private schools. From each school, two students from divorced families were randomly chosen for data collection. The collected data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study identified key reasons for parental divorce as reported by respondents, including abuse and disputes (65%), incompatibility (58.3%), family status differences (58.3%), and out-of-family marriages (58.3%). The findings revealed limited paternal involvement in children’s education, with only 6.7% of fathers attending school meetings regularly, compared to mothers' active engagement. Emotional impacts of divorce were notable, with 36.7% of respondents feeling sad and 33.3% expressing anger toward their parents. Additionally, 15% reported strained relationships with their parents. Major effects of divorce on students included financial issues, loss of faith in marriage, frequent illnesses, and changes in living style, as reported by more than half of the respondents.