SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN AMONG PAKHTUNS OF MALAKAND

Divorce rate in Pakistan has considerably spiraled up during the last few decades. Divorce, in the past was uncommon, mainly due to the stigma attached to it. Majority of men and women specifically, preferred to live an unhappy life and not remarrying, for the sake of the socialization and rearing of their children. The issue of divorce, nonetheless, has become a social evil, which not only affects marital life of a couple but also places a heavy toll on the upbringing of children and eventually on a society as a whole. This study is an attempt to find out the socio-economic and psychological impacts of divorce on their children’s lives. This study was conducted in Chakdara village of district Dir (Lower) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. A total of 100 respondents were selected through purposive sampling technique and data was collected with the help of semi-structured interview schedule from those children whose parents have been separated due to divorce. A pure quantitative method has been adopted and data has been analyzed with the help of SPSS version 16. The results explicate that divorce produces a variety of socio-economic and psychological impacts on children. However, it is recommended that avoiding divorce through mutual consensus of both parties and Islamic teaching will reduce the curse of divorce and its adverse impacts on children. For a healthy nation, the proper upbringing of children under the care, protection, supervision, guidance in a