Pyschological impact of divorce rate in kenya: a case study of christians versus muslims

Abstract

Since divorce rates are so high worldwide and are on the rise in kenya, there is a need for a thorough investigation into what is causing the increase. This is a comparative analysis of divorce rate among the religious communities in kenya, narrowing down to two main religious communities, christians and muslims. Without much evidence, it is rumored that certain religious communities have much higher percentage of divorce rates than other religious communities. It therefore implies that there might some loopholes certain religious communities entertain or are not so much strict on while the other religious community strictly adheres to. The objectives of this study were to establish the parental divorce/separation and psychosocial wellbeing among muslim and christian communities in kenya, to establish differences in both muslim and christian cases of divorce, to establish similarities in both muslim and christian cases of divorce and to find out factors contributing to the divorce rates among muslim and christian communities in kenya. Primary data using questionnaire and focused group discussion was used. The data was analyzed using spss, presented in form of frequency distribution tables and interpreted with regards to the objectives of the study. The study concludes that the divorce or separation of one's parents has a detrimental effect on one's mental and social health. Consequently, persons who had experienced parental divorce and separation had a greater propensity to have behavioral issues such as restlessness, hyperactivity, an inability to remain still for extended periods of time, and frequent outbursts of rage. In addition, these individuals often reported of experiencing headaches, stomachaches, or illness. In addition to this, they had a propensity to like being alone, doing their activities by themselves, and often gave off an anxious vibe. These individuals lacked the ability to concentrate and were often distracted by their surroundings. Last but not least, several of these youngsters often displayed negative emotions such as sadness or weeping. According to the findings of the research, it is essential for many stakeholders, including churches, to provide couples with ongoing counseling both before and after they get married in order to help them overcome any obstacles in their relationships that may otherwise result in divorce