EFFECT OF PARENTAL SEPARATION ON ADOLESCENT AS PERCEIVED BY SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN ONDO WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA ONDO STATE

Parental separation (PS) and union dissolution is an increasingly common experience for children in all developed countries. Many parents who are considering separation may ask themselves whether they should stay together for the sake of the children; however, answering this question is not always straightforward (Yu et al., 2010). Parental separation is a relevant life transition with dramatic impacts on the lives of parents and children. It can affect family solidarity or intergenerational support in several ways. First, parental separation alters the opportunity structure of parent-child interactions, which influences the closeness of the relationship and the frequeney of contact facilitating the exchange of support (Hornstra et al., 2020). Separation often relates to increased geographical distances between parents and adult children, worse parental health, and higher engagement in paid work, which reduce the opportunity for parent-child interactions, particularly among separated fathers (Kaufmann & Uhlenberg, 1998; Thomas et al., 2018; White, 1992). Available statistics of separation cases in Bolgatanga indicated that one thousand, five hundred and ninety-seven (1,597) registered marriages were dissolved by the registry during the period of five (5) years (Bolga High Court Marriage Registry, 2012). The statistics showed that one hundred and ninety-four (194) marriages were dissolved in the year 2007; two hundred and twenty-nine (229) marriages were dissolved in 2008 while two hundred and eighty-seven (287) marriages were dissolved in 2009. Further to that, three hundred and twenty-four (324) marriages were dissolved in 2010 and three hundred and thirty (330) marriages were