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How Do They Cope: Traumatic Impact of Broken Homes on the Academics of the Children Living in Ga East Municipality, Ghana

The purpose of this study was to explore the living conditions of school children from broken homes in the Ga East Municipality and to assess its impact on their academic performance. This study was intended to examine the coping strategies of the children in handling their traumas of divorce. The descriptive survey design was adopted in this study. The purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select 60 children from schools and in various communities in the municipality to take part in the study. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data from these respondents. The study found that the living conditions of majority of the respondents were not good after the divorce of their parents. It also came to light that the academic performance of most of the respondents was either very good or good before the divorce but after the divorce, most of the respondents had poor or very poor academic performance. It was observed that most of the respondents coped with the challenges of the divorce by spending more time with friends at school Original Research Article Adu-Okoree et al.; JESBS, 33(7): 15-26, 2020; Article no.JESBS.58284 16 or with their relatives. From the present study, it could be concluded that when children are not given a conducive environment at home to have enough time to study due to parental divorce, it can impact negatively on their academic performance.


INTRODUCTION
Parental divorce is a common experience that many children around the world go through. Mackay [1] noted that the family is the unit that lays the psychological, moral, and spiritual foundation in the overall development of the child. As such, when a child finds himself/herself in a broken home, it deprives him/her the conditions of an intact family such as good parental affection, care, and love. Divorce adversely affect the living conditions of children to the extent that they, most of the time, become irritable, fearful, aggressive and withdrawn [2].
Several studies like that of Amato [3] have shown that broken homes are becoming increasingly common experiences in many parts of the world and its effects are felt by the children as well as the parents. After a divorce, most children live in the primary custody of one parent and, in most cases, they live with their mothers where the significant problem becomes the absence of their father. However, it is not just the father's presence in the home that is important, but it is his presence in a child's life that is paramount. It is this kind of absence that brings various life challenges to the children [4].
Divorce in many developed countries like America has been rising for years. Between the years of 1960 and 1980 the divorce rate in America became more than doubled [5]. It was found that more than 45% of marriages ended in divorce, with about 40% of America's children experiencing parental divorce before the age of 18 [6]. Today there are more than 1 million children under the age of 18 in the US who have experienced the divorce of their parents and the average marriage lasts 6.6 years before divorce [3]. This leaves many young toddlers and children with spilt parents as they grow and face adolescence.
Moreover, teenagers who experience parental divorce have higher risks of developing the symptoms of depression, low selfesteem, aggression, substance use along with the adverse impact on wellbeing and quality of life [7] Kelly & Emery [8].
However, not all children with divorced parents are at risk. Some children with divorced parents are found to be achievers and they remain positive in many of their endeavors despite their parental divorce. Linley & Joseph [9] mentioned that children in extreme and non-conducive environments had a positive development despite their unpleasant experiences of their parental divorce. For this reason, the success or failure of a child in dealing with parental divorce depends on the child's endurance which is referred to as resilience [10].

Problem Statement
Broken homes bring many life challenges to children which leads to deficits in emotional development by making them fearful or depressed which can last several years after their parents have separated [11]. These emotional responses in children make it difficult for parents and teachers to help them adjust their feelings in a more appropriate way. It has been seen that [12], elementary school children from broken homes face a lot of challenges which make them less likely to complete high school. Records at the Ga East Municipal Assembly at Abokobi show that, out of the 807 marriages registered marriages in the district in 2013 alone, there was a total record of 227 divorce cases. This high rate of divorce creates a huge amount of uneasiness on the children who are involved in such families and it consequently affects them academically [13].
It was observed by Manning & Lamb [14] that by virtue of a divorce, children from such broken homes happen to be preoccupied with situational challenges and this makes it difficult for them to cope with the condition and concentrate on other life achievements. A research by Wadworth [15] on child development outcomes pointed out that children from broken homes spend a lot of their times solving pressing issues that they were confronted with due to the divorce of their parents. Such tendencies do not allow them to work on issues that will improve their lives and help them achieve their dreams, and the question is; how do the children of broken homes in the Ga East Municipality cope with the impact of the divorce of their parents and their academic achievements at school?

METHODOLOGY
The study was carried out in the Ga East Municipality among school children who were from broken homes. Five (5) basic schools were chosen from the total of 140 basic schools in the Municipality for the study because those were the places that such children could be easily found and asked to participate in the study. In all, three public school and two private schools were selected for the study. All the selected schools were located in the Ga East Municipality.
The study focused on where the children went to live after the divorce of their parents, the types of challenges that they went through, the effects of the divorce on their academic work, and how they cope with such challenges. Furthermore, the study tackled the need for parental care in the case of the children as their parents had divorced and were living with either one parent or a different person altogether. By better understanding of the nature of children's development in homes other than the intact family where both parents provide care and support, the new conditions of the affected children will be critically analyzed to understand their coping mechanisms.

Theoretical Perspective on Broken Homes
This study is grounded on the risk and protective factor theory, family socialization perspective theory, and the attachment theory. The risk and protective factor theory was developed by Larsen and Buss [16] in the early 1990s. This theory views broken homes as the cause of negative outcomes for children in such families. It describes the family structure as one of the many risk factors for the development of children. The risk factors that are associated with the family are static and dynamic. Static risk factors, such as criminal history, parental mental-health problems or a history of childhood abuse, are unlikely to change among the members of the family over time. These factors may be inherited by the child in one way or the other. However, dynamic risk factors, such as poor parental behaviour or family violence can be modified through appropriate prevention and treatment programs. The theory indicates that when these risk factors are present in the family, they can influence the development of the child to a large extent [16].
The family socialization perspective theory proposes that the absence of a parent is usually associated with a decrease in total parental involvement in the care and nurture of the children and this, in turn, is related to poorer personal development and life achievements. Santrock (1997) as cited in Berns (2007) acknowledged that, girls who lived with their fathers and boys who lived with their mothers tended to be less well-adjusted than those who lived with the same sex parents. For instance, boys who lived with fathers tended to be less demanding, more mature, independent, sociable, and had self-esteem than girls who were in their fathers' custody. Likewise, girls who lived with mothers tended to be less demanding, more mature, independent, and sociable and had higher self-esteem than boys who were in their mothers' custody. In a similar perspective, most studies like that of Bauserman [17], shows that boys are more vulnerable than girls to parental divorce-related stress and they recover more slowly. Bauserman [17] offer the possibility that living with the parent of the opposite sex is more difficult than with the same sex and because the custodial parent is often the mother, boys are exposed to this situation more often.
The attachment theory offers insights into the formation and maintenance of family relationships. This theory argues that the bonds that exist between a child and its care-giver, usually the mother, affect the child's personality development and subsequent interpersonal relationships [15]. Wallerstein and Lewis [18] outlined three kinds of attachments that infants develop to their mothers. The first is secure attachment and this is where children happen to have a loving childhood with mothers who were sensitive and responsive to their needs. The second is avoidant attachment and this characterizes children who were constantly denied physical contact by their mothers, while the third is anxious attachment which results from mothers who were slow and inconsistent in responding to their children's cries. This attachment theory argues that the formation and strengthening of relationships in adulthood can be compared with attachment styles that the individual had from his or her mother during infancy, and that, there are different kinds of love experiences for people who had different strengths of relationship.

Research Design
The descriptive survey design was used in this study. This design entails the collection and use of data from a given population to describe certain characteristic features of the population [19]. This design was considered appropriate for this study because the research was intended to collect data from a small group of pupils with the view of describing the impact of broken homes on their academic achievement. Questionnaires that contained close-and open-ended questions were used to gather data from the pupils from selected Primary and Junior High schools. The schools include the Basic schools at La Nkwantanang in Madina, Abokobi, Adenkrebi which are all public schools and St. Martin de Pores and New Era, which are private Basic schools.
The population for this study comprised of all the pupils who are from broken homes in the Ga East Municipality. This comprises of those who are in school and those who are not attending any school. It is unclear the number of pupils from broken homes who are attending the 140 basic schools in the Municipality. These basic schools consist of 31 public basic schools which are made up of kindergarten, primary, and Junior High schools and 109 private schools in the Municipality. For the purpose of this study, three of the public schools and two private schools were selected where those who come from broken homes were considered for the study. The pupils in class 5 and 6 in the primary schools and those in the Junior High schools were targeted for the study. These pupils were targeted because they were those who were matured enough to express the nature of their experiences in their broken homes. The total number of pupils in the selected schools was 1,317, however the total number of those who were from broken homes could not be ascertained due to the absence of such information in available data.
The sample size was 60 pupils from both the public and private schools that were selected. This sample size may seem very small compared to the total number of 1,317 yet, the number of those from broken homes could not be ascertained from available data so the choice of 60 pupils from broken homes was considered appropriate. According to Semieson [19] a small sample size is good enough to determine an outcome for a given population that is very difficult to access. The snowball sampling technique was used to identify a child from a broken home through the assistance of a teacher. Table 1 shows the age and gender distribution of the respondents. It shows that 55% (33 out of 60) of the respondents were females and 45% (27) of the respondents were males. This indicates that the respondents were female dominated.

Demographic Characteristics
The data in Table 1also depicts that 35% (21) of the respondents were 12 years, 31.7% (19) were 13 years, and 21.6% of them were 11 years while 11.7% were 10 years. This shows that majority (66.7%) of the respondents were between 12 and 13 years. This indicates that they are matured enough to identify the conditions that go on in their homes and give relevant information for the study. The data shows that 65% (39) of the respondents lived with their mothers and 25% (15) of them lived with their fathers. It was found that only 10% (6) of the respondents lived with either a relative (3.3%) or a non-relative (6.7%). This indicates that majority of the respondents lived with their mothers after the divorce of their parents.  The living conditions of the respondents

Source: Field survey, 2019
The family is the basic unit of society where the socialization of children takes place for them to become productive members of society. When this basic unit called the family breaks down, the socialization of the children becomes affected.

Satisfactory
The study revealed that majority of the respondents went to their mothers after the divorce of their parents. This indicates that when there is a divorce, the tendency of the children going to live with their mothers is very high. It follows that the children have some sort of attraction to their mothers and always try to depend on them that is why most children appear to be attracted to live with their mothers than any other person. This finding is in agreement with a study in which the author [4] concluded that after a divorce, most children live in the primary custody of their mothers and it is the absence of the fathers in the lives of these children that brings various kinds of challenges to them.
Similarly, another study [20] also revealed that, in most cases, children of divorced parents end up living with their mothers instead of their fathers. It is from this viewpoint that the Family Socialization Perspective Theory which argues the divorce of parents makes children to think and solve so many problems in their lives that make their wellbeing and academic achievements become affected. The theory also stresses these tendencies contribute to their slow rate of mental growth. The attachment theory also offered the insight that the bonds that exist between children and their mothers affect their social relationships and when there happens to be a divorce, the secure attachment that children had with their sensitive and responsive mothers persist and this makes them to have the tendency to live with their mothers more than with their fathers. It is this tendency that makes the children to be attracted towards their mothers more than towards their fathers after a divorce.

Challenges Facing Children
The major challenges that the respondents encountered in their broken homes have been outlined in Table 2. The lack of financial support from the parents was the major challenge for 35% (21) of the respondents and 28.3% (17) of them felt that they had been isolated by their parents and relatives after the divorce of their parents. The major challenge for another 20% (12) of the respondents was their inability to go to school again after the divorce of their parents. These respondents mentioned that they had problems with the payment of some levies at the school and they had to stay at home until they got the money before they would go back to school. The remaining 16.7% of the respondents mentioned that their major challenge was the lack of emotional support from their parents. Fig. 2 is about the living conditions of the respondents and 51.7% (31) of them indicated that their conditions had been poor after the divorce of their parents while 26.7% (16) of them mentioned that their conditions had been satisfactory. This indicated that their conditions were neither poor nor good and that they had enough that they could survive on. Then 13.3% (8) of the respondents stated that their conditions were good while that of the remaining 8.3% (5) was very poor. This data shows that the living conditions of majority (59%) of the respondents were not good enough after the divorce of their parents.

Discussion
The study also revealed that the living conditions of majority of the respondents were poor after the divorce of their parents and this was in relation to the second research question of this study. The reason that was given by majority of these respondents for their poor conditions was that their caregivers were jobless and getting money to take care of them had been difficult. Others stated that their parents had abandoned them and they had to seek refuge with distant relatives or sympathetic neighbors and it had not been easy for them. These outcomes are in agreement with the results of Maclean [21] who identified that after most divorce cases, the financial endowment of one parent, especially the mother happens to lack the support of the other spouse and this deprives the children from getting certain incentives that they would have enjoyed when the parents were together. In most situations, the absence of one parent creates devastating conditions for the children which affect their lives extensively.

Effects of Broken Homes on the Academic Performance of Children
This section discusses the impact the broken marriages on the academic performance of the children.

Time to study at home before and after the divorce
The effects of the broken homes on the academic performance of the respondents was also investigated and 78.3% (47) of the respondents stated that before the divorce of their parents, they had enough time to study at home and only 21.7% (13) of them said t did not have enough time to study at home. However, after the divorce of their parents, only 31.7% (19) of the respondents mentioned that they were able to get enough time to study at home while the remaining 68.3% of them said that they did not get enough time to study. This implies that the divorce had negative effect on the time that majority of the respondents used at home.

Reasons for Not Getting Time to Study at Home
The reasons that the respondents gave for not having enough time to study after the divorce of their parents were varied.  The reasons that the respondents gave for not study after the divorce of their parents were varied. Table 3 shows that 33.3% (20) of the respondent did not have enough time to study because they performed a lot of chores at home. Another 23.3% (14) of the respondents mentioned that harsh treatments ch as undertaking varied activities at the home made them not to have time to study at home. The reason for 21.7% (13) of the respondents was that selling of items in the market at most times was what made them not to have enough time to study at home while 5% (3) of them said that they used to look after and care for the children of their caregivers that was why they did not get enough time to study. However, 16.7% (10) of the respondents stated that there was no change in the times that they used in study home before or after the divorce of their parents.

Academic
Performance of the Respondents before the Divorce The respondents were asked about their level of performance before the divorce of their parents and Fig. 3 shows the outcomes that were stated on the questionnaires. The categories include very good which involves performances that ranged between 85 and 100 percent, good (60 84%), average (45 -59) and poor for those who performed below 45 percent. The data shows that the performance of 41.6% (25) of the respondents was good and that of 36.7% (22)  was that selling of items in the market at most times was what made them not to have enough e 5% (3) of them said that they used to look after and care for the children of their caregivers that was why they did not get enough time to study. However, 16.7% (10) of the respondents stated that there was no change in the times that they used in studying at home before or after the divorce of their parents.

Performance of the Divorce
The respondents were asked about their level of performance before the divorce of their parents the outcomes that were stated on the questionnaires. The categories include very good which involves performances that ranged between 85 and 100 percent, good (60 -59) and poor for those who performed below 45 percent. The data shows that the performance of 41.6% (25) of the respondents was good and that of 36.7% (22) of them was average. Another 16.7% (10) of the respondents mentioned that their academic

Fig. 4. Academic performance
performance was very good before their parents separated and 5% (3) of them indicated that their performance was poor. This data indicates that the performance of majority (78.3%) of the respondents was either very good or good before their parents divorced. This implies that these respondents lived under conditions that favored their studies at home and at school.

Academic Performance of Respondents after the Divorce
The academic performance of the respondents after the divorce of their parents is shown in Fig.  4. The categories include very good which involves very good performance ranging from (85-100%), good (60 -84%), average (45 poor (35 -44) and very poor below 35%. The data shows that the performance of 38.3% (23) of the respondents was poor after the divorce of their parents, 21.7% (13) had average performance, and 18.3% (11) of them had good performance. Another 15% (9) of the respondents mentioned that their performance was very poor while that of 6.7% (4) of them said their performance was very good. It can be observed from the data that after the divorce of the parents of the respondents, majority (53.3%) of them had either poor or very poor performance. This indicates that the separation of the parents had negative effect on the academic performance of majority of the respondents. performance was very good before their parents separated and 5% (3) of them indicated that their performance was poor. This data indicates that the performance of majority (78.3%) of the respondents was either very good or good before eir parents divorced. This implies that these respondents lived under conditions that favored their studies at home and at school.

Performance of Respondents after the Divorce
The academic performance of the respondents after the divorce of their parents is shown in Fig.  4. The categories include very good which involves very good performance ranging from 84%), average (45 -59), r below 35%. The data shows that the performance of 38.3% (23) of the respondents was poor after the divorce of their parents, 21.7% (13) had average performance, and 18.3% (11) of them had good performance. Another 15% (9) of the t their performance was very poor while that of 6.7% (4) of them said their performance was very good. It can be observed from the data that after the divorce of the parents of the respondents, majority (53.3%) of them had either poor or very poor nce. This indicates that the separation of the parents had negative effect on the academic performance of majority of the When they were asked to give reasons for their performance, it was stated by 43.3% (26) of the respondents that their absence from school at most times was what affected their performance and 28.3% (17) of them said that low concentration during lessons at school contributed to their poor performance. It was also observed that 21.7% (13) of the respondents had no reasons or were uncertain about the effects of the divorce on their academic performance.The worry about the divorce of their parents affected the performance of only 6.7% (4) of the respondents.

Impact of Broken Homes on the Academic Achievement of the Respondents
The impact of the broken home on the academic achievement of the respondents has been captured in Fig. 5. This was based on such categories as positive for those whose performance was 45 percent and above and negative for those whose performan below 45 percent. It shows that the divorce had negative impact on the academic achievement of 76.6% (46) of the respondents while it had no impact on 16.7% (10) of them and 6.7% (4) of them were uncertain about how it had impacted on their performance. This indicates that broken homes had impacted negatively on the academic performance of most of the respondents who experienced the divorce of their parents. parents When they were asked to give reasons for their performance, it was stated by 43.3% (26) of the bsence from school at most times was what affected their performance and 28.3% (17) of them said that low concentration during lessons at school contributed to their poor performance. It was also observed that 21.7% (13) of the respondents had r were uncertain about the effects of the divorce on their academic performance.The worry about the divorce of their parents affected the performance of only 6.7% (4) of the

Impact of Broken Homes on the Academic Achievement of the
The impact of the broken home on the academic achievement of the respondents has been 5. This was based on such categories as positive for those whose performance was 45 percent and above and negative for those whose performance was below 45 percent. It shows that the divorce had negative impact on the academic achievement of 76.6% (46) of the respondents while it had no impact on 16.7% (10) of them and 6.7% (4) of them were uncertain about how it had impacted nce. This indicates that broken homes had impacted negatively on the academic performance of most of the respondents who experienced the divorce of their parents.
When the reasons for the impact was solicited from the respondents, it came to light that l time for studying was the reason for 25% (15) of the respondents, not attending school regularly due to the divorce of their parents was the reason for 36.7% (22) of them, and those who were uncertain about the impact was made up of 21.7% (13) of the respondents.

Discussion
It was observed that most of the respondents did not have enough time to study at home after the divorce of their parents. Likewise, such activities as household chores, selling in the market, and caring for the children of their caregivers contributed to their lack of time to study at home and achieve the best in their academic performance. These findings are in agreement with the conclusion of Amato and Cheadle [22] who stated that children who live in broken homes are more likely to have difficulty in do their home-work, and paying attention to lessons at school. They stated further that this happens because these children usually have poorer and less stimulating home environments which do not favor learning. Similarly, Magnuson and Berger [23] observed that divorce affects children so much that the emotional stress of it and the  When the reasons for the impact was solicited from the respondents, it came to light that limited time for studying was the reason for 25% (15) of the respondents, not attending school regularly due to the divorce of their parents was the reason for 36.7% (22) of them, and those who were uncertain about the impact was made up of It was observed that most of the respondents did not have enough time to study at home after the divorce of their parents. Likewise, such activities as household chores, selling in the market, and caring for the children of their caregivers their lack of time to study at home and achieve the best in their academic performance. These findings are in agreement with the conclusion of Amato and Cheadle [22] who stated that children who live in broken homes are more likely to have difficulty in doing work, and paying attention to lessons at school. They stated further that this happens because these children usually have poorer and less stimulating home environments which do not favor learning. Similarly, Magnuson and Berger d that divorce affects children so much that the emotional stress of it and the instability of the home environment tend to cripple their ability to progress at school. They stressed that these usually stem from such factors as inadequate financial resour inconsistent routines which makes it difficult for them to learn at home and perform better at school. Table 4 shows the coping strategies of the respondents after the divorce of their parents. The data shows that spending more time with friends at school was the coping strategy for 51.7% (31) of the respondents and spending more time with a relatives was the strategy for 26.7% of them while 13.3% of them stated that they coped by spending more time with frie their neighborhoods.

Discussion
There are many research outcomes which identify various coping mechanism that children adopt when they find themselves in similar situations. In this study, most of the children mentioned that they spent more time with friends at school to cope with the stress of the divorce of their parents. This revelation is in corroboration broken homes on the academic achievement of respondents instability of the home environment tend to cripple their ability to progress at school. They stressed that these usually stem from such factors as inadequate financial resources and inconsistent routines which makes it difficult for them to learn at home and perform better at Table 4 shows the coping strategies of the respondents after the divorce of their parents. s that spending more time with friends at school was the coping strategy for 51.7% (31) of the respondents and spending more time with a relatives was the strategy for 26.7% of them while 13.3% of them stated that they coped by spending more time with friends in There are many research outcomes which identify various coping mechanism that children adopt when they find themselves in similar situations. In this study, most of the children ed that they spent more time with friends at school to cope with the stress of the divorce of their parents. This revelation is in corroboration respondents Percentage 51.7 13.3 8.3 26.7 100 with the finding of Oppowsky (2000) which identified that most children from broken homes find the school as a place of refuge because the school provides the quietness, consistency, and non-threatening atmosphere that they need instead of the home which has been shattered by divorce.

Coping Strategies of Respondents
However, it was also found that not all the children had negative impact from the divorce of their parents. A few of them indicated that the divorce had had no impact on their performance at school and this refutes the most widely acclaimed fact by many researchers that broken homes have negative consequences for children. This is similar to the study of Cui et al. [24] suggesting that divorce does not always impact negative experiences on children. When the parents happen to prepare the children towards their separation and if they show tenderness and close attachment towards them, it reduces the intensity at which the divorce will affect the children and some of them can even withstand all odds and have positive outcomes after the separation. In the case of this study, these children did not get the required support from both parents after the divorce yet some of them were able to perform better at school.

SUMMARY
The purpose of this study was to explore the living conditions of school children of broken homes in the Ga East Municipality and examine the impact of the divorce on their emotional as well as academic performance. It was also to find the coping strategies of these children from broken homes. The descriptive survey design was used in this study. The snowball sampling technique was used for the selection of the respondents where questionnaires were used for the collection of primary data from them. This was carried out in selected schools in the Ga East Municipality while others were reached in their homes. The responses from the respondents were analyzed and presented in the format of frequency table charts and graphs. The major findings of this study include the following:

Living Conditions of School Children of Broken Homes in the Ga East Municipality
i. The living conditions of 51.7% (31) of the respondents were poor after the divorce. ii. Another 26.7% (16) of them mentioned that their conditions had been satisfactory.
iii. Only 13.3% (8) of the respondents stated that their conditions were good after the divorce.

The Impact of Broken Homes on the Academic Performance of Children
i. The performance of 41.6% (25) of the respondents was good before the divorce ii. The performance of another 36.7% (22) of them was average before the divorce. iii. Then after the divorce majority (53.3%) of them had either poor or very poor performance. iv. While only 18.3% (11) of the respondents had good performance after the divorce of their parents.

Coping Strategies of Children from Broken Homes
i. The coping strategy for 51.7% (31) of the respondents was by spending more time with friends at school. ii. And 26.7% of them spent more time with relatives. iii. The remaining 13.3% of them coped by spending more time with friends in their neighborhoods.

CONCLUSION
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of broken homes on the academic performance of children in such homes and how they cope with the traumas of the divorce in their lives. The conclusions that can be drawn are as follows:

Living Conditions of School Children of Broken Homes in the Ga East Municipality
i. After the divorce, it was observed that most of the children lived with their biological mothers. ii. This implies that when divorce occurs, most children tend to have no choice but to go with their mothers and live with them. iii. This kind of affiliation was emphasized by the Attachment Theory which argues that the bonds that exist between a child and its care-giver, usually the mother, affect the child's personality development and subsequent interpersonal relationships. iv. Children usually happen to have a loving relationship with their mothers during childhood and when there happens to be a divorce, they tend to develop attachment with the mothers and they move and live with their mothers thereafter.

The Impact of Broken Homes on the Academic Performance of Children
1. The living conditions of majority of the respondents became poor after the divorce of their parents as compared to the times that their parents were married. 2. Their poor conditions came as a result of the joblessness of their caregivers and that getting money to take care of their needs was hard to come by. 3. The parents of other respondents abandoned them after their separation and this compelled them to seek refuge with distant relatives or sympathetic neighbors. 4. By virtue of this, they did not find it easy coping with their lives.

Coping Strategies of Children from Broken Homes
i. Most of the respondents spend more time with their friends at their schools to avoid the home that had been shattered by the divorce of their parents. ii. It appeared that the more they spent such times with other people, the more they coped with the divorce situation. iii. This helped them to focus their attention on other things but not on the circumstances at home. iv. Divorce is a situation that impact negatively on children as they happen to live in circumstances that deprive them of emotional, physical, and financial support of both parents. v. However, the broken home situation did not have any impact on some of the respondents and they performed very well at school. vi. This indicates that not all children can be affected negatively by the circumstances that arise from parental divorce. vii. It can be concluded that when children are not given the right sort of environment at home to have enough time to study due to parental divorce, it can impact negatively on their academic performance. viii. It can also be stated that some children can be resilient to the awful circumstances that accompany divorce and still do well academically. ix. This implies that some children have the ability to withstand uncompromising situations of broken homes and be able to cope and do well at school.

RECOMMENDATIONS
After a thorough consideration of the major findings, the following are recommended: i. The living conditions of parents could be improved through the provision of job opportunities by the government, the Municipal Assembly or through the citing of companies and organizations in the municipality by businessmen as well as local and foreign investors. This will help to improve the living conditions of single parents as well as the children who live with them in such broken homes. ii. The Ghana Education Service could engage the services of counsellors or train some teachers to handle counseling services for pupils. This will enable the children from broken homes to approach them or vice versa so that their emotional problems can be addressed appropriately so they can have peace of mind to study and perform better. iii. A discussion on the welfare of the pupils has to be intensified during Parent Teacher Association meetings of all basic schools. This will enable the teachers to educate the parents on such things as broken homes, excessive performance of chores, spending too much time in selling or caring for the children of the parents or caregivers, that these can have negative impact on the academic performance of the children. This will enable children from broken homes to cope with their situations in any home that they will live in after the divorce of the parents.

CONSENT
Participant/Parental written consent were collected and preserved by the author.