DIVORCE AND ITS NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON CHILDREN

In spite of the fact the current rate of divorce in The Gambia is not well documented, divorce and its associated problems especially on the children is a great concern not only to the government and its development partners but to the communities as well. The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes of divorce and its negatives impacts on the children of the divorcees. In nature, it was a descriptive survey and purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents. The survey concentrated on six core areas: level of knowledge of divorce, Level of understanding of divorce, Level of knowledge of the causes of divorce, Level of knowledge of the negative impacts of divorce on the children, Level of knowledge of the support services needed by children of divorcees; and Level of knowledge of the preventive methods of divorce. Due to limited financial resources and time, the study took approximately one year three months. Well-structured questionnaires were used to collect the data from the participants in four markets. The data was presented and analyzed using tables and percentage. The findings revealed high level of awareness of divorce in the community though no consensus on its causes. It negatively affects all aspects of children developmental needs despite few positive impacts. Government should not only be the principle service provider but the core protector of this vulnerable.