DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2021.v09i05.008

Pages: 194-200

Parental divorce and separation has become prevalent in Kenya, especially among young couples in metropolitan areas. Despite this fact, very few studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact of parental divorce and separation on children’s psychosocial well-being. Therefore, the study investigated the effect of parental divorce and separation on psychosocial wellbeing of adolescents in selected secondary schools in Kajiado North Sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. It was conducted in Kajiado North Sub-County in Kajiado County. The target population for the study was all the school counsellors and Form Two students in day secondary schools in the five wards/zones of Kajiado North Sub-County. At the time of the study, there were 1312 Form Two students in the Sub-County and 11 heads of guidance and counselling departments. School context was chosen because it creates social networks in which the powerful peer and family processes of adolescence operate. Purposive sampling was employed to select the study area and the participating schools. Random and stratified sampling methods were then used to select student participants. Using stratified proportionate sampling and Stein’s method, the study arrived at 298 student respondents and 11 school counsellors. Data was collected using students’ questionnaire and the counsellors’ interview schedule. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 23). Descriptive statistics included frequencies, means and standard deviation while Chi-square analysis was used to test for the hypotheses. From the results of the study, parental divorce and separation had impaired with children’s psychosocial well-being. It was recommended that as part of a public education programme designed to raise awareness about the hazards of divorce for children, attention should focus on the specific hazards caused by .....