Abstract
Instances of divorce or separation have consequences on the psychoaffective development of children. This article investigates the psychoaffective development of children hailing from separated or divorced families. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study involved 102 participants, with a sampling of children from open and closed care facilities under the auspices of the archdioceses of Cotonou. The analysis of the results obtained confirmed that the aggressiveness and lack of discipline observed in certain children, mostly among boys, can be attributed to the absence of the parents; and those affective deficiencies are expressed through sadness, distress, the taking of narcotics, or depression. Supportive psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and the presence of a fitting substitute for the absent parent are all recommended to ameliorate the psychological wellbeing of such children.
Highlights
In West African cultures, it is expected that the family provides children with good living conditions, a peaceful emotional climate, security, and socialization
The preliminary hypothesis under which the findings presented are that, firstly, the separation of the couple is likely due to misunderstanding, disrespect, the incompatibility of the two partners, or, in some cases, the death of one of the spouses; emotional disturbances stemming from separation lead most of the children surveyed to anxiety or drug addiction; and that information, awareness, and support will contribute to better psychological care that can help to overcome the disruption of separation
The recognition of forms of depression in the work of authors such as (Spitz, 1945), (Aubry 2003), and (Bowlby 1969, 1973, 1980) have been foundational, especially regard to the last author, whose theories help us to understand how the separation or divorce of parents has a strong influence on the psycho-emotional development of children, especially if it occurs at a very young age
Summary
In West African cultures, it is expected that the family provides children with good living conditions, a peaceful emotional climate, security, and socialization. The family, with its instability, reduced size, and the frequent absence of one of the parents from the family home, may explain certain psychological imbalances noted in some children from separated households These shortcomings in the development of the personality of many young people today illustrate the importance of the family’s furnishings of positive reinforcements to the child in order to help him or her reach the proper adult dimensions. Following the proposition advanced most notably by (Liberman, 1984), it is the position of this paper that the emotional security that governs the child’s future comes from the emotional quality of her or his family environment This investigation analyzed the aforementioned phenomena concerning children’s psychoaffective development using a sample study from the city of Cotonou, Benin. This supposition was corroborated by close proximity to them, upon noticing that the majority of children received are victims of their parents’ separation and other associated problems
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