Abstract
This study examined the relationship between parental divorce and the emotional well-being of secondary school students in Delta Central Senatorial District, Nigeria, with specific focus on differential effects across urban-rural locality and socio-economic strata.. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. A correlational survey research design was adopted, with a population of 45,318 students enrolled in 196 public secondary schools during the 2024/2025 academic session. Using multi-stage sampling procedures comprising stratified and simple random sampling, a sample of 380 students was drawn from 38 schools across Ughelli and Sapele zones. Parental Divorce and Emotional Well-Being Questionnaire (PDAEWQ) with a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.83 was used for data collection. Data were analysed using Pearson’s r, regression analysis, and t-tests at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that (i) Parental divorce significantly influences the emotional well-being of urban senior secondary school students in Delta Central Senatorial District, (ii) Parental divorce significantly influences the emotional well-being of rural senior secondary school students in Delta Central Senatorial District.(iii)Parental divorce does not significantly influence the emotional well-being of socio-economic status senior secondary school students in Delta Central Senatorial District. It was recommended that government should stablish counseling centers in all secondary schools across Delta Central Senatorial District, with mobile counseling services deployed to rural areas where professional support is scarce. Implement peer support programs accessible to all students from divorced families, regardless of their socio-economic background, since financial status does not buffer emotional consequences.