The problem of broken homes and its effects both on the particular family and the society have doubtlessly continue to place considerate burden on the individual, the family, the community and the society at large, as they have seriously constituted clogs in the wheels of national development and survival. Broken home produce children deprived and denied of quality education, adequate parental care and wider opportunities, and consequently, must times turn out to be social deviants and delinquents with constitution of nuisance in the society as their major stock in tread. Therefore, the center crux of this study is to explore extensively the problems of broken homes and its effects on the family and society with the aim of educating the readers on the menace of this phenomenon. The study will also make recommendation on how best the society can assist in checking the continue occurrence of the incident of broken home.

INTRODUCTION

The family is the child first place of contact to the world. The child as the result acquires initial education and socialization from parents and other significant persons in the family. Agulanane (1999) pointed out that the family lays the Psychological, moral and spiritual foundation in the overall development of the child. Structurally, family/homes is either broken or intact. A broken home in this context, is one that is not structurally intact, as a result of divorce, separation, death of one parent and illegitimacy. According to Frazer (2001) psychologically home conditions arises mainly from illegitimacy of children, the label of adopted child, broken home, and parent deprivation. Such abnormal conditions of the home are likely to have detrimental effect on the development of the child.

Family environment according to Levi-straus is a group manifesting organizational attributes, finding its origin in marriage (i.e. husband and wife), and children, including other relatives or kin group, united by moral, legal, economic, religions prohibitions, as well as socially patterned feelings of love affection, attraction, piety and care etc: regulation of sexual intercourse among its members and relatives.

Family environment which can be broken or intact exert a directional influence on behavior and personality development of a child. Children from broken home are at great risk in terms of Psychological problems. This is supported by the report of London institute of Psychiatry (2008) which pointed out that people from the broken homes are more prone to psychotic illness in which schizophrenia. This is mental illness in which a person becomes unable to link thought, emotion and behaviors leading to withdrawal from reality and personal relationships.

Every society across the globe has its peculiar problems and challenges. Nigeria indeed is not an exception. As a developing country, she faces her own share of social, political, economic and cultural problems, which have in no small way adversely affected the well-being of the populace. One of such problems is the increasing rate at which homes break-up, which in consequence has contributed immensely to the country's problem.
The problem of broken homes and its effects both on the particular family and the society have doubtlessly continued to place considerable burden on the individual, the family, the community and the society at large, as they have seriously constituted clogs in the wheels of national development and survival. Broken homes, for instance, usually produce children deprived and denied of quality education, adequate parental care and wider opportunities, and consequently, most times turn out to be social deviants and delinquents, with constitution of nuisance in the society as their major stock in trade.

It follows therefore, that the prevalence of broken homes in the society is undoubtedly the topmost social problem, much akin to delicate cancer in the reproductive system of a pregnant woman and thus, needs a complex surgical operation as a matter of exigency and expediency, so as to make the problem a foregone issue. This is in view of the truism that the family is the bedrock of the society, such that if it falls apart, the society generally heads for the rock of social and cultural decline.

The severity of the issue of broken homes in the Nigerian society especially in recent times has continued to bug the minds of concerned Nigerians to the extent that successive theologians, social reformers, academicians, moralists and even the various levels and agencies of government have not relented in their concerted effort to variously find a lasting solution to the menace, but inspite of this, the problem has persisted.

The word "home" naturally connotes good in virtually all societies, but that is only when rightly applied to a man with the intention of starting a family, marries a wife and subsequently begets children to whom he shows due love and care. It is a most deserving and rewarding situation, naturally breeding happiness in the particular family and amongst friends, relatives and well-wishers. For Christians, it is the manifestation and fulfillment of the Biblical and divine injunction, "…a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh; so then they are no more twain, but one flesh." – (Mark 10: 7 – 8). However, when the word 'broken' precedes the 'home', it becomes an epitome of bad omen, an undesirable evil and is usually frowned at by friends, relatives, well-wishers, the community or the society because of its perceived and manifest consequential hazards. To Christians, it runs contrary to the Biblical injunction, "What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder" – (Mark 10:9).

The prevalence of broken homes in the Nigerian society is traceable to since after the Nigerian civil war owing to obvious socio-economic factors. It is this prevalence that gave the phrase, 'broken homes' its household domination of socio-academic pursuits since the period. This term is a regular occupant of Psychology, Sociological and Family Law Journals, as it has become part of everyday language. Specifically, lots of families, villages, towns, cities and communities have often witnessed cases of broken homes on daily basis. The initial reaction was that people helplessly watched homes collapse, the only assistance available to such families being in terms of financial help and advice to the most affected spouse and children from friends and relations alike. The persistence of the problem has led to the enactment of laws and initiation of policies both customary, moral and positive laws to combat the problem, a typical example being the Marriage Act, CAP 115, Law of Federal Republic of Nigeria L.F.N. 1990. The inability of the adoption of this system to resolve the problem has led to the evolution of a philosophy and technique of helping people in such problems through a more careful analysis of relationships and motives to discover the causes of the problem and to utilize the increased flexibility and procreative powers latent in human nature in the resolution of the problem. Despite all these, the problem still obtains and this situation is regrettable, especially when the fact is considered that this embarrassing occurrence prevail at a period when the country is clamoring for a better society built on solid families. In recent times, the increasing awareness and influence of foreign culture has led to the evolution of a new trend of social morality which sees couples increasingly the break-up of their homes as normal and as their own private affairs rather than any other person's business. To such, the dissolution of the marriage is a prerogative despite the fact that such course of action entails grave and negative implications on both the family concerned and the society in general. Such people end up finding themselves entrapped by the harsh realities of life and unfortunately for some at this point, the situation is pitiably irredeemable.

MEANING AND DESCRIPTION OF A BROKEN HOME

Many people have different definitions of what a broken home is. Every definition matters. To Colcord (1919), a broken home is a home in which one of or both parents have been removed by death, divorce, desertion, separation of prolonged absence. Polanen (1990) maintains that although a broken home is usually taken to mean a home where one parent has been by certain cause, a home can still be broken with both parents present. She argues that if there is no communication, interaction or investment in each other's lives by the couple, the home is broken and becomes a house with roommates.

From the above, it follows that a home is deemed to be broken when the couple that constitute it (i.e. husband and wife) cease to live together functionally as an integrated unit, whether or not they physically live together. In such a home, the chain of communication and interaction that should exist between the members of the family as a single, integrated unit is relatively non-existent. The parents cannot just get along, and the children live in a world of their own.

This lends credence to the view of Saheed (1988) when he opined that a broken home consists of a family whose members are separated or divorced. It consists of a family sundered by divorce, separation or desertion of a parent(s).

Owens (2000) maintains that a broken home may be classified either by the degree of disintegration existent in it or by the duration of the disintegration. Under the first mode of classification, the breakup of a home may be partial or complete. Partial breakup of a home refers to a situation where the members of the family continue to cohabit although the machinery for the function of the home as a single, integrated unit has ceased to exist. Thus the members of the family physically live together while functionally, they no longer live or exist as a family. Conversely, complete breakup of a home refers to a situation where the family ceases to live together both physically and functionally.

Under the second mode of classification, he argues that the breakup of a home may be temporal of permanent. Temporal breakup of a home refers to a situation where the adverse condition of the home is expected to last for a fixed or determinable period of time. This is typical of cases of judicial separation or separation by agreement simplicities. Conversely, permanent breakup of a home refers to a situation where the adverse condition of the home is expected to last in perpetuity or indefinitely. This is generally typical of cases of divorce.

Margaret (1918) argues that before the home is broken, the individual members of such home are first broken or wrecked. This characterization does not necessarily mean a physical or mental wreck (although it may include same), but refers to bankruptcy in health, hopes, prospects etc for the time being. She maintains that they lack the power or will to dominate adverse conditions, allowing same to overcome them. They may not even as individuals be conscious of their own share or contributions towards the difficulties in which the family finds itself, but are aware that something has seriously gone wrong. Once this obtains, the home evolves to the stage of breaking-up.