COPING MECHANISMS OF STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF MANILA WITH OFW PARENTS

A RESEARCH PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF NURSING OF COLLEGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF MANILA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE OF NURSING

By Ma. Juvilisa B. Dioneda Janela Feb C. Ligutan

2012

Chapter I Introduction Background of the study

Working in a foreign country is doubly harder for people who have a son or daughter to leave behind in the Philippines. The decision to accept a job offer abroad may mean that you will miss some of the growing up years of your child. Though some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are luckier because their host country and visa may allow them to bring dependents along, majority of the OFWs have to face the reality of being away from their children.(OFW Guide, 2012). A week away from the people you love can be difficult to bear. Its so much worse if the time period is in months or even years, and in another country to boot. Staying in touch with all your kids and keeping tabs on the goings-on in their lives becomes a challenge, especially if youre a parent to young children and teenagers. (Villarin, 2010)

Children and adolescent cope differently when they are left behind depending on their stage of development and who is the migrating or left behind parent or guardian. (Tobin, 2008)

Coping is intimately related to the concept of cognitive appraisal and, hence, to the stress relevant person-environment transactions. Most approaches in coping research follow Folkman and Lazarus, who define coping as `the cognitive and behavioral efforts made to master, tolerate, or reduce external and internal demands and conflicts among them. (Krohne, 2002)

Coping is an important construct in understanding how adolescents react to the extensive stressors and adjustments they experience. (Garcia, 2010)

The events laid led the researchers to initially find out any difficulty experienced by both boys and girls students and mainly focus on how they cope with the difficult experience without their parents. The fifteen students individual differences as far as their coping mechanisms are concerned are given focused in this study. Their individual differences comes not only from their demographic profile and diverse family backgrounds, but will also be coming from their means of coping with their difficulty experience.

In addition, this study is concerned with the coping mechanisms of the students with Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) parents at College of the Holy Spirit of Manila. It will also seek to find out the coping strategies of the students in terms of their identified difficult experiences. Their identified individual experiences come not only from their demographic profile and diverse family backgrounds, but will also be coming from their means of coping mechanisms.

Identifying the difficult experiences of the student during challenging times provides us the opportunity to emphasize the coping mechanisms and strategies of student with OFW parent. This quantitative phenomenological study has a great opportunity in appreciating and understanding the psychological and emotional problems of student with OFW parent and their coping strategies during that phase.

This phenomenological study is of great benefit for the students to be aware of their coping mechanism and strategies employed by them during challenging times since they are the primary respondents of this study.

Statement of the problem This study aimed to know the coping mechanism of the students with Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) parents at College of the Holy Spirit of Manila, this will provide necessary intervention to help students in their adjustment. Purpose of the study General objective: This study generally aims to know the coping mechanism of the students whose parents are overseas Filipino workers.

Specific objectives: This study specifically aims to: 1. Determine the demographic profile of the students enrolled at College of the Holy Spirit

of Manila based on the following: a. b. age birth order

c. d. 2.

gender Years in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila?

Determine the general profile of the students according to family background based on

the following: a. b. 3. Manila 4. Determine the three most employed coping mechanism in the identified difficult problem parents living together parents working abroad

Determine the most difficult experience they encounter in College of the Holy Spirit

Hypothesis HO: There is no significant relationship between OFW parents a n d t h e a c a d e m i c performance of the student. H1: There is a significant relationship between OFW a n d t h e a c a d e m i c performance of the students.

Conceptual Framework Banduras Social Cognitive Theory Alfred Adlers Birth Order Theory

COPING MECHANISM

ENVIRONMENT Lazarus and Folkmans TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF STRESS AND COPING

Figure 1

This study which mainly aims to identify the coping mechanisms employed by students is mainly grounded on three theories. The above figure show theories on how the development of a person is influenced by different factors based on theoretical foundations, specifically in this study are those of the Social Cognitive and Birth Order Theories. The Social Cognitive Theory of Bandura tell us that a persons gender development is not just only influenced by biological, behavioral or environmental factors alone but through the interplay of the three. Adlers theory on the other

hand is also a personality theory that explains the relation of a persons birth order to his personality. Both these theories are important for us to identify the individual difference of a person from another. The third theory on this study which is Lazarus and Folkmans theory on the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping explains to us that stress is a person-situation interaction that is influenced by the persons environment. Within the said environment that poses events that may be threatening, harmful or taxing of resources, a person develops coping mechanisms.

Significance of the study Since this research would determine the Coping Mechanisms of the students with Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) parents at College of the Holy Spirit, Manila for School Year 2012-2013, the results will benefit a number of sectors namely:

The primary respondents of this study will be able to identify and be given increased awareness on the difficulty they are experiencing as well as their coping mechanisms in the identified difficulty. Awareness of their response to the identified difficulty would help them improve their participation and involvement in school activities. This study would also create opportunities for the primary respondents to openly communicate their frustrations and feelings in relation to a particular circumstance. Sharing and discussing it with the researchers would also have the potential to lessen the tensions coming from the identified difficulty or experience.

For the researchers, it will help them prepare and create a more comfortable and conducive atmosphere of learning for the students that would encourage active participation and healthy competition. They shall also be able to respond more effectively to the learners individual differences.

For the administrators, it will guide them as they respond to the needs of every learner. It will also equip them with more useful information regarding the students behaviors and identify the areas that are needed to be improved.

For the Guidance Counselors, this study will aid them in the process of enhancing the components of their guidance curriculum which can be more suitable to the felt needs of the students. For the Parents of the students will also gain a better understanding of their childrens difficulty and behaviors in school. This would enable them to help their child identify more appropriate coping mechanisms in times of difficulties.

For the Future researchers it will also benefit from this study by gaining insights on coping mechanisms employed by the students during challenging times. They also used this study for future references

Scope and limitation

This study is limited only on the Coping Mechanisms of Students with OFW parents at College of the Holy Spirit of Manila school year 2012-2013. This study focuses attention only on the students whose parents are overseas Filipino workers. This study includes the demographic profile of students enrolled at CHSM. It will give emphasis on identifying most critical experience they had. It will also determine the coping mechanism employed by the students in their identified critical experience. Definition of terms The following terms are operationally defined to identify and clarify how they will be used in the study:

Age is the period of human life, measured by years from birth. It was used to determine patterns of similarities or differences that could be factors for the coping mechanism employed. Birth Order refers to the position of birth of the respondents in their family which will also be used to determine patterns of similarities or differences that could be factors for the coping mechanism employed. Coping Mechanisms are ways by which the students manage a difficult situation or experience. Coping Scales refers to the eight Coping Mechanisms used in this study which are as follows: Confrontive Coping (Scale 1) describes aggressive efforts to alter the situation and suggests some degree of hostility and risk-taking. Distancing (Scale 2) describes cognitive efforts to detach oneself and to

minimize the significance of the situation. Self-Controlling (Scale 3) describes efforts to regulate one's own feelings. Seeking Social Support (Scale 4) describes efforts to seek informational support, tangible support, and emotional support. Accepting Responsibility (Scale 5) acknowledges one's own role in the problem with a concomitant theme of trying to put things right. Escape-Avoidance (Scale 6) describes wishful thinking and behavioral efforts to escape or avoid the problem. Items on this scale contrast with those on the Distancing scale, which suggests detachment. Planful Problem Solving (Scale 7) describes deliberate problem-focused efforts to alter the situation, coupled with an analytic approach to solving the problem. Positive Reappraisal (Scale 8) describes efforts to create positive meaning by focusing on personal growth. It also has a religious dimension.

Family Background includes the name, marital status, occupation and the work place of the parents and the type of family. It will be used to identify patterns of similarities or differences that could be factors for the coping mechanisms employed. Gender is the division of people into two categories, men and women, that will also be used to identify similarities or differences that could be factors for the coping mechanisms employed.

Ways of Coping Questionnaire is an instrument that can identify the thoughts and actions used by an individual to cope with a specific stressful encounter.

Chapter II Review of Related Literature This chapter presents the literatures related to the study on the Coping Mechanism of Students with Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Parents at College of the Holy Spirit of Manila for School Year 2012-2013. Coping Mechanisms of Adolescents Studies that directly examined the breadth of coping strategies found that, in general, children and adolescents coping repertoires increase with age. As children grow older, instrumental action is supplemented by planful problem-solving, which is among the most common strategies adolescents report using when they encounter challenges. Distraction tactics also become more diverse; compared to children, adolescents more often draw upon both behavioral and cognitive strategies. The use of both behavioral and cognitive strategies may also occur with the coping strategy of escape, although findings were less clear. Further, adolescents are better able to attend to and reflect on their own internal emotional states, and increasingly rely on more sophisticated strategies to deal with emotions. During adolescence, such emotionfocused strategies can also lead to more rumination, which may even become more common into early adulthood. At the same time, other useful coping strategies are on the rise, including positive self-talk and intentional self-regulation of emotion. Adolescent coping is increasingly

self-reliant as cognitive strategies become more powerful in guiding action and regulating emotions in the face of situational pressures. (Gembeck & Skinner, n.d.) Other indications of increasing differentiation were evident when we compared general findings across studies of older adolescents to those of children and younger adolescentsage differences in coping among older adolescents are more dependent on the type of adversity studied (e.g., coping in response to specific, self-identified stressors vs. general coping patterns). An expanding and differentiated repertoire of coping actions coupled with an increasing appreciation of the specific requirements of different stressful situations is associated with increases in coping flexibility from early childhood to adolescence. As noted by Compas et al. (2001). (Gembeck & Skinner, n.d.) Greater diversity and flexibility in the range of coping responses available to the individual is expected to develop during middle childhood and adolescence. In addition, with increasing metacognitive skills in early adolescence, a greater ability to match coping efforts to the perceived objective characteristics of stress is expected. (Gembeck & Skinner, n.d.) However, it is important to note that, although some studies did provide support for increased flexibility of coping among adolescents, especially older adolescents compared to younger groups, it is possible that less flexibility will occur with age as young people more routinely rely on the coping strategies that work well in particular situations (e.g., problemsolving for controllable stressors compared to distraction for uncontrollable ones; Sorgen &Manne, 2002) (Gembeck & Skinner, n.d.). Results also clearly showed that early strategies, such as behavioural distraction or contact seeking, do not disappear. In fact, one trend, which was hard to verify with the current

set of studies, suggested that it is adaptive to maintain access to these more basic coping strategies. Early behavioural forms of coping may actually be more effective when dealing with extreme forms of stress, and so older children and adolescents (maybe even increasingly and intentionally) continue to draw upon them when they are needed (Gembeck & Skinner, n.d.). For example, the supposition that behavioural distraction (i.e.,doing something fun) is more effective than cognitive distraction(i.e., thinking about something pleasurable) in taking ones mind off seriously troubling events, may account for the increased use of distraction even during adolescence when dealing with life-threatening uncontrollable events, like parental cancer (Gembeck & Skinner, n.d.). Many of these age differences suggest a pattern of normative improvements, as would be expected. However, some age comparisons suggest increasing struggles with stressors and coping, especially during the transition to adolescence (Donaldson, Prinstein,Danovsky, & Spirito, 2000). Compared to older adolescents, young adolescents sometimes showed lower levels of help-seeking and effort expenditure even in domains where they would be helpful (e.g., school). Moreover, although overall levels were low, there is a rise during early adolescence in some of the potentially more maladaptive stress reactions, such as cognitive escape, rumination, verbal aggression, and venting. It is even possible that developmental advances may introduce new vulnerabilities. For example, young adolescents increasing capacity to reflect on their own emotions brought with it increasingly sophisticated emotion regulation strategies, such as positive self-talk. However, it may also open the door to emotional vulnerabilities, such as increases in rumination and blaming others. In a similar vein, the same forward-looking capacities that allow adolescents to plan for the future also allow them to worry about the future. And the increasing autonomy of adolescents, although generally a positive development, may

also permit them to escape more effectively from home, when, for example, home contains a parent suffering from cancer. Coping developmental gains and losses (Baltes, 1987) (Gembeck & Skinner, 2011). Children and adolescents report that they experience stress in their lives and that they attempt to cope with that stress. Although most research on stress and coping has focused on adults, recent attention to adolescents suggests there are developmental changes in coping during adolescence and that particular coping strategies vary with gender and the type of stressors adolescents experience. Older adolescents used a greater variety coping strategies and used methods that directly reduce the impact of the stressor and involved a cognitive component (e.g., planful problem solving; reappraisal) more often than younger adolescents. Adolescents in all age groups varied their strategies in relation to the type of stressor, but there were no significant gender differences. The findings suggest that significant changes during a relatively short period during adolescence may affect adaptive processes and have implications for intervention efforts aimed at reducing the negative effects of stress during this period of development. (Williams & McGillicuddy, 2000).

Common Stressors Of the many stressors, problems with other people are the most commonly reported and can be significant sources of distress for many adolescents. Compared to children, adolescents encounter many new, potentially threatening or challenging social experiences. These escalate all the way through later adolescence (about ages 20 to 22) when there may be significant social

transitions, such as leaving home, finding satisfying educational or career paths, and forming intimate partner relationships.

Outcomes of Stressful Experiences

It is probably not surprising that significant life events and many of the common stressors of adolescence have been linked to mental health and behavioral problems. These problems include depression and anxiety, as well as externalizing behaviors, such as aggression and antisocial acts (Compas, Connor-Smith, Saltzman, Thomsen, & Wadsworth, 2001).

Few studies have directly examined the positive outcomes of coping with stressful events for adolescents. However, related research has demonstrated that experiences of dealing with just manageable challenge are important to the development of a wide variety of capacities and skills. Researchers point out that mistakes, setbacks, and failures are potential springboards for discovery and learning, offering adolescents the opportunity to build resources for coping with future negative events (Aldwin, 1994). Most researchers also agree that the outcomes of stressful life events and daily hassles will be positive or negative depending on how adolescents respond to them.

Stress Reactions and Appraisals

The impact of stressful events is dependent not only on the objective stressors themselves, but also on adolescents subjective appraisals, defined as an evaluation of an events

potential impact or threat to well-being (Lazarus, 1991). For example, a stressful event can be appraised as a loss, threat or challenge (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Skinner & Wellborn, 1994). Appraisal of loss implies a harm that has already transpired, whereas appraisal of threat implies an anticipation of harm in the future. An appraisal of challenge identifies a stressful event that can potentially result in some positive outcome. These appraisals are linked with emotional reactions to stressors and coping responses. Situations perceived as more threatening prompt certain emotions and coping strategies, such as more fear and more use of escape, withdrawal and support seeking. Situations perceived as more challenging prompt different emotions and coping strategies, such as more interest and problem solving (Irion & Blanchard-Fields, 1987; Skinner, Edge, Altman, & Sherwood, 2003; Zimmer-Gembeck, Lees, Skinner, & Bradley, under review).

Another important appraisal is the controllability of a stressor (Rudolf, Dennig, & Weisz, 1995; Skinner, 1995). Some stressors, such as academic difficulties, are perceived as more open to influence through effort. As a result, adolescents respond to them more instrumentally, using active strategies, persistence, exertion, and problem-solving. When stressors are appraised as lower in controllability or as inescapable, such as for parental conflict or medical events, they are more likely to prompt withdrawal, the use of cognitive distraction, seeking social support, or responses aimed at reducing emotional distress. As would be expected, adolescents stress appraisals are important correlates of their mental health (Compas et al. 2001). For example, the appraisal of a stressful event as more threatening has been associated with self-reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and conduct-related problems following parental divorce (Sandler, Kim-Bae, & MacKinnon, 2000).

Coping Responses

Coping describes the transactional processes through which people deal with actual problems in their everyday lives (Aldwin, 1994; Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007, in press). Coping encompasses a range of emotional regulation strategies, thought processes, and behaviors. This means that coping is founded in an individuals physiological responses to stress, their appraisals of events, their attention, and their goals or the outcomes they desire. Coping also depends on social contexts and interpersonal relationships. Recent conceptualizations of coping have highlighted the importance of two processes: stress reactions, which are largely involuntary and might include behavioral and emotional impulses, and action regulation, which are purposeful and serve to modulate or boost reactivity to stressful events (Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007, in press). Most interventions target intentional ways of coping, but the ability to cope well depends on coordinating all of these systems under conditions of threat, challenge, or loss (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007).

Categories of coping responses

In order to describe how people cope in response to different stressors and to identify adaptive means of relieving stress and building resilience, researchers and practitioners need some way of organizing the multitude of coping responses. Yet, there is little consensus about how to do this.

In one organizational scheme, coping behaviors have been grouped into those that 1) are more engaged and approach oriented, 2) serve to avoid or minimize stress, 3) depend on seeking others for support, and 4) involve withdrawal or helplessness (Ayers, Sandler, West, & Roosa, 1996; Seiffge-Krenke, 1995; Zimmer-Gembeck & Locke, 2007). The first category, approachoriented coping, has included direct problem-solving and actions taken to increase understanding of the problem. The second category includes coping strategies that have a common function of avoiding or minimizing the stress, such as trying not to think about the event or distracting oneself. The third category of coping involves other people as resources, either for emotional support or for direct assistance. Finally, the fourth set of strategies includes escaping or becoming helpless and doing nothing.

The development of commonly used coping strategies during adolescence

It is clear that there are individual differences in how adolescents respond to stress, but there are also typical patterns of change. Coping experts have concluded that attempts and behaviors aimed at changing the stressful situation (i.e., instrumental coping) are very common, but decrease in use during adolescence, whereas coping that is focused on managing emotions and reducing tension increases (Frydenberg & Lewis, 2000). In a recent review, we focused on specific families of coping and summarized what is known about three families used most often by adolescents support seeking, problem-solving, and distraction (Skinner & ZimmerGembeck, 2007).

Support seeking. Support seeking includes seeking information, emotional support, and instrumental help. Adolescents patterns of support seeking differ from those of both children and adults. Compared to children, adolescents are more likely to go to peers for emotional support and help with daily hassles. At the same time there are declines in seeking support from adults. However, these changes are dependent on the type of stressor. When in situations that are appraised as uncontrollable or in which adults are known to have authority, adolescents typically seek support from adults more often as they get older. Hence, adolescents, especially those between 10 to 16 years old, still benefit from adult guidance and they typically become better able to identify the best source of support for particular problem domains. At the same time, adults often find it challenging to provide adolescents with developmentally-attuned support. Adolescents benefit most from support and guidance when it fits with their needs for autonomy and increasing skills at self-regulation (Zimmer-Gembeck & Locke, 2007).

Problem-solving. When assessed as cognitive rather than behavioral activity to guide mastery over a problem, attempts at problem-solving increase with age. These increases are found throughout adolescence, and between adolescence and young adulthood. This is particularly true for self-reliance in decision-making and use of cognitive decision-making strategies to deal with stress. These increases continue even into early adulthood. As would be expected from recent research on brain development (Spear, 2000), the use of particular cognitive strategies such as strategizing, decision-making, planning, and reflection does not seem to be widespread until late adolescence or even early adulthood. In fact, the pubertal transition marks a time of less extensive use of problem-solving than in late childhood. This time-limited decline in

problemsolving may correspond to a particular time of heightened stress reactivity that limits a young persons capacity to direct attention to problem-solving coping strategies. At the same time, increases in distraction, rumination, aggression, and avoidance are apparent.

Distraction. Most people, regardless of their age, rely on distraction to cope with stress as much or more than support seeking and problem-solving. Young children rely on coping strategies like playing with toys, reading or other behavioral distractions. Adolescents continue to rely on behavioral distraction, but the use of cognitive distraction (such as thinking about something positive) is increasingly used. Following a pattern similar to advances in cognitive ability, there are increases in the use of cognitive distraction strategies beginning at about age 6 and continuing to about age 14. Distraction is often used to supplement other coping strategies, and the ability to shift between strategies, for example using both problem-solving and distraction to full advantage, becomes more advanced throughout adolescence and into early adulthood (Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007).

The Well-Being of Children: Does Migration Matter?

Comparisons between the children of migrants and the children of nonmigrants (and further comparisons of the children of different types of migrants) provide some measure of migration outcomes on selected indicators of well-being. By limiting the respondents to children coming from two-parent families, the comparisons will not be affected by extraneous factors. This detail is important to keep in mind in the interpretation of the findings. We begin by turning to

dimensions which show marked differences in the conditions or perceptions of the children of migrants relative to the children of non-migrants.

Where Migration Clearly Matters

Socio-economic Status The familys socio-economic status (SES) shows a very clear divide between the children of migrants and the children of non-migrants. This came out whether the measure was perceived social class or the more objective indicators, such as home ownership and ownership of durable goods. The childrens perception of their familys class status was measured by the question: Filipino families have different statuses in life. Some are poor, some are not poor, and some are in the middle. In this card, where would you locate your family? Most of the children, especially the children of migrants, put their families in the middle. Compared with non-OFW children, fewer OFW children considered their families as poor (31.2 percent among non- OFW children vs. 12 percent among OFW children); conversely, more OFW children considered their families as not poor compared with non- OFW children (28 percent vs. 19 percent). The childrens perceptions about their families SES are also supported by childrens reports on home ownership and ownership of durable goods. Families of migrants are more likely to own homes than non-migrant families. Also, migrant families owned more appliances than non-migrant families (8.41 vs. 5.65). Ownership of major appliances was distinctly higher among migrant families. The access of migrant families to communication facilities is also very notable _ OFW families are twice more likely to have a landline telephone connection than non-OFW families (63 percent vs. 29 percent). Ownership of cell phones is even more telling: some 94 percent of migrant families had cell phones as opposed to 60 percent among non-migrant families. Children

of migrants have also become part of the proli-feration of cell phones _ more than a third (35 percent) of OFW children had their own cell phones compared with only 12 percent among nonOFW. This access to communications technology plays an important part in linking family members separated by borders. Where Migration Seems to Matter, But

Being Family/Family Relationships

To have a better gauge about the parents' marriage, the study looked into the children's perception of their parents' relationship. In general, the children viewed their parents' marriage as positive _ less than three percent noted that their parents were often not in good terms. Majority of the OFW and non-OFW children (59 percent) described their parents' relationship as very good (magkasundong-magkasundo). More OFW children described their parents' relationship as very good compared with non-OFW children (70 percent vs. 59 percent). However, among the children of migrants, the children of migrant mothers were the least likely to describe their parents' relationship in the same light.

The mean scores of the children's assessment of their parents' relationship and their own relationship to various family members show interesting patterns. Mean scores were computed using a four-point scale ranging from "1" (not very good) to "4" (very good). The mean scores indicate that the children saw their parents' relationship as good to very good (mean of 3.57), with OFW children reporting a higher mean score compared to non-OFW children (3.66 vs. 3.56). Among OFW children, however, the children of migrant mothers had the lowest score compared to children from other migrant and non-migrant families. The Battistella and Conaco

study (1998, 1996) also noted that children in mother-absent families were more likely to describe their parents' relationship as problematic. The persistence of this finding over time suggests that the cracks in the marriage in mother-absent families may have prompted the mothers' migration. Where divorce is not an option or legal separation is a long process, migration is one of the few options available to women wanting a way out of a difficult marriage.

On the whole, most of the children reported good to very good relationship with other family members. Mothers figured as the family member the children were closest to. In addition, mothers were also mentioned as the persons they wanted to be close to (see also Liwag et al., 1998). Other male family members were more likely to be mentioned as persons in the family the children felt distant to. The strength of family relationship, particularly the children's closeness to their parents, is reflected in the children's choice of their parents as role models. Indeed, despite the hype about celebrities and sports personalities, majority of the children (64.1 percent) chose their parents as the persons they would like to be. Similar findings were tapped by other studies among young people (Abrera, 2002; Sandoval et al., 1998). Although the age group (15-21 years old) is different, a Social Weather Survey of young people in 1996 found that young Filipinos were more likely to report a good relationship with their parents compared with young Americans (Sandoval et al., 1998).

Communication Makes Family

Most of the children - about three in four - said that they could talk to their parents about anything. However, the frequency of communication between children and parents is on the low side: majority of the children (58.3 percent) reported that they talk with their parents only "sometimes."

For the children of migrants, the majority said that they had regular communication with their migrant parents. At most, some 10 percent (the children of seafarers) reported that they had no regular communication with their migrant parents. The importance of keeping in touch between those left behind and those who migrated was particularly highlighted in the FGDs. Separated by migration, participants, particularly the caregivers, related that communication not only kept family members updated about what goes on in their daily life (for migrant parents, hearing the voice of their family members was very important), but it has also made it possible for fathers and mothers to continue their parenting role. Through phone calls, migrant parents are consulted over decisions affecting the family, including discipline issues concerning the children.

Letters, the traditional way of communication between migrants and the left-behind families, have definitely been replaced by the telephone and SMS (short messaging services) or texting. As may be recalled, the children of migrants had higher ownership of cell phones compared to the children of non-migrants; OFW families also had higher ownership of landline telephones and cell phones. With cheaper long-distance calls, the FGDs confirm the frequency of contacts and more opportunities for family members, including children, to communicate with migrant family members.10

Academic Indicators

As noted earlier, more children of migrants were enrolled in private schools than the children of non-migrants. The investments OFW families make on education are not surprising since providing for the education of children (and other family members) is one of the reasons motivating people to work abroad.

Nine out of 10 children reported that they were happy or very happy with school. The children's responses to the importance they attached to high grades, gaining knowledge, learning good manners and seeing their friends in school were quite similar across all groups. Getting high grades registered the highest importance.

At least during elementary, the children of migrants perform well in school. In fact, they have fared slightly better than the children of non-migrants in several indices of academic performance. As a measure of school performance, the study looked into the child's general weighted average (GWA) during the past school year (2002-2003), awards received in the past three years, inclusion in the honor roll or top 10, participation in extra-curricular activities, and experience of failing or repeating a grade level.

Although the children of OFWs had higher general weighted average compared to non-migrant children (83.7 vs. 82.3) last school year, the dif-ference is not so marked. In terms of awards received in school in the past three years, around 31 percent of the children of migrants have received various awards in school, with 23 percent receiving academic awards. The corresponding figures among children with both parents present are much lower, at 20 percent and 13 percent, respectively. When the grades and awards of parent absent children were compared, the children of mother-absent families did not do as well in school as those who had fathers working abroad or both parents working abroad.

Many more children of migrants are included in the honor roll and are more involved in extracurricular activities. The data on failing or repeating a grade level also attest to OFW children's good performance: fewer OFW children (three percent) repeated a grade level compared to children of non-migrants (11 percent).

Turning to factors that could account for these school outcomes, the study examined the number of hours children spent studying, the number of hours spent in school, and number of absences. Around 60 percent of children, regardless of parents' migration status, spend one to two hours studying at home. However, non-migrant children spend longer hours in school than the children of migrants. About 65.5 percent of non-migrant children reported spending nine hours or more in school compared to 56.3 percent among children of migrants. The children of migrants have slightly fewer absences compared to those of non-migrants for both the present and the previous school years. During the month preceding the interview, chil-dren of non-migrants averaged 2.08 absences, while children of migrants had a mean of 1.93. Sickness was the most common reason why the children missed school.

In general, thus, the children of migrants are doing well in school, registering even better school outcomes than the children of non-migrants. Among the OFW children, however, the children of migrant mothers tend to score lower than the other children. This finding also came out in the 1996 study and seems to suggest the importance of mothers' presence in the academic performance of the children.

Physical Health

The study tried to get some objective indicators of physical wellbeing, like the height and weight measurements of the children. However, such infor-mation was patchy, except for those in Negros Occidental, which provided complete data. Because of this, the analysis of the height and weight data would be limited to the Negros sub-sample.

Based on the data, the children of migrants are generally taller and heavier than the children of non-migrants. Among the females, the children of sea-based fathers are the tallest (mean height of 145.32 cm) compared to the children of other migrant groups. They are also the heaviest (mean weight of 42.45 kg). With the males, however, the children with both parents absent are the tallest (mean height of 143.36 cm) and the heaviest (mean weight of 44 kg) compared to children of other migrant groups. Comparing children across migrant categories, those with landbased fathers working abroad were found to be the shortest and lightest, regardless of gender. In the pre-teen age group (10-12 years), the female children were also found to be taller and heavier than their male counterparts, since most of the children have yet to experience physical changes due to puberty.

Unlike the 1996 study, the present study did not find any negative impact of mother's absence on the children's physical well-being. It appears that the higher socio-economic status of parent absent families may have more bearing on the nutritional status of the children. The role of caregivers of parent-absent children may also be a factor in affecting the children's physical wellbeing. Caregivers seem to have ensured that the children's health does not suffer in the absence of their parents. Similar findings also emerge in the children's susceptibility to common ailments.

A. Susceptibility to Common Ailments

Susceptibility to common ailments was explored by the question: "How often do you experience any of the following: cold, coughing, fever/flu, headache, stomachache, and loss of appetite."11 Children's responses were categorized into: (1) not experienced it at all, (2) rarely, (3) sometimes, and (4) oftentimes. Based on the children's self-report, the study found that, in general, the children of non-migrants are more susceptible to illnesses than the children of

migrants - this is suggested by the slightly higher mean scores of the children of non-migrants vis--vis the children of migrants. This finding differs from the 1996 study which did not find appreciable differences in the health outcomes of the two groups.

When comparing the mean scores among the children of parent absent families, mother-absent children were observed to be the most susceptible to cold, cough, headache, stomachache and loss of appetite. The differences are slight, but they suggest that the mother's absence is associated with the children falling ill. In contrast, children with both parents who are migrants appear to be the most resistant to common ailments. Fewer children with both parents abroad reported experiencing cold, headache and stomachache.

B. Healthy Practices

Simple indicators of health-promoting practices and behaviors were explored in terms of the amount of sleep and personal hygiene.

Most of the children enjoy adequate sleep, with about 70 percent sleeping more than eight hours daily. However, more children of non-migrant parents get more than eight hours of sleep daily compared to children of migrants (70.4 percent vs. 65.3 percent). Among parent-absent children, those with mothers absent get the least amount of sleep per day (60 percent).

For personal hygiene, basic health practices such as hand washing, tooth brushing and bathing were asked of the children. Of these measures, some variability was noted in the children's daily bath habits. Children of migrants reportedly take a bath more often weekly than non-migrant children.

General Well-being

An overall measure of well-being was tapped by the children's responses to the following question: "Overall, would you say that you are very happy, somewhat happy, somewhat unhappy, and very unhappy?" On the whole, the mean scores suggest that the children described themselves as somewhat happy to very happy. Looking at the response categories, it is interesting to note that none of the children considered themselves as very unhappy; rather the responses generally reflect much optimism. Although the differences are slight, among the children of migrants, the children of migrant mothers and those with both parents abroad tend to have lower mean scores than the children of migrant fathers.

The study also probed into specific aspects of daily life which the children were busiest with, what posed the most problem to them, and what made them happiest. Among the choices presented to them, the children said they were most preoccupied with school (69 percent). Moreover, school matters not only kept the children busy, they also posed the most problem (or stressor) to them. The emphasis on education (specifically, doing well in school) in Filipino families can be a source of stress to the children (Arellano-Carandang, 1995; 2001). Although respondents also acknowledged problems with other issues - money, family, relationship with teachers and classmates, relationship with friends - school was mentioned by most respondents (32 percent). On the other hand, the source of happiness for the majority of children (67 percent) was the family. Among the children of migrants, children who had both parents abroad were the least likely (49 percent) to identify the family as that which made them happiest. Thus, during this period, children are most pressured by school requirements while the source of their happiness is the family.

A. Emotional Health

Several questions measuring anxiety and loneliness were included in the survey. A modified Social Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Loneliness Scale (LS) were computed to provide summary measures. The modified SAS ranged in value from 0 to 12 while LS values went from 2 to 24 _ the higher the score, the higher the levels of anxiety and loneliness, respectively. Other indicators of emotional health can be gauged from the mean scores on children's responses to specific feeling states.

The present study suggests that the children of migrants are less anxious and less lonely compared with the children of non-migrants these findings depart from what was observed in the 1996 study. What is consistent with the earlier study is the pattern of children of migrant mothers scoring higher in anxiety and loneliness scales. It must be qualified, however, that the differences are slight. When the other measures are considered, the same pattern holds. The children of migrant mothers reported feeling lonely, angry, unloved, unfeeling, afraid, different from the other children, and worried compared to all other groups of children, including non-OFW children.

B. Access to Social Support

Almost all of the chidlren (98.5 percent) claimed that they had close friends. Their usual activities with their friends were playing, helping each other withschool-work and talking. The study probed whether children had encountered problems in several life areas - assignments and school-related work, relationships with teachers, classmates, siblings and parents, and "crushes" and whether they had access to some support if they did. Virtually everyone reported having had

problems with school-related work; the least of their problems had to do with crushes (28.9 percent said that this was not a problem). When the problem relates to school matters, children readily seek out other family members - typically, mothers, and to some extent, siblings and fathers (some departures are observed in the case of OFW children). If the problem concerns teachers, classmates and siblings, at least nine out of 10 children approach someone; if the problem has to do with parents or crushes, 22 percent and 25 percent, respectively, do not approach anyone. Other than approaching mothers and other family members, children also turned to teachers (particularly when the problems concern classmates) and friends (specifically for concerns related to crushes). At this stage, children are dependent on family members, especially mothers, for support. Due to the changed configuration and composition of migrant households, a lower percentage of the children in migrant families consulted with mothers. What is important to highlight is the fact that children have access to some support and that for the most part, they take an active part in doing something about difficulties that they encounter.

Where Migration Does Not Seem to Matter

In the earlier sections, we have considered outcomes in terms of measures such as the economic status of the children's families, gender roles in the family, family relationships, academic performance and so forth. In addition to outcomes, the 2003 Children and Families Study also probed into the socialization of children, i.e., the "inputs" side of the equation, which may have a bearing on indicators of outcomes.

The Socialization of Children

In the Philippines, many studies have documented the contributions of children in household chores. The FGDs with caregivers confirm the importance of assigning some chores to children as part of responsibility training. According to, the most common chores assigned to children are cleaning the house (90 percent) and setting the table/washing dishes (83 percent). Close to half of the children said that they render help in the following: taking care of their siblings, helping siblings with school assignments, buying items, and watering plants/taking care of animals. Fewer children were assigned cooking/marketing and washing/ironing clothes. Chore by chore, the study found that more non-OFW children are given assignments: non-OFW children have, on the average, 4.17 chores while OFW children were assigned 3.63 chores.

Values and Spiritual Formation

The transmission of values, including spiritual formation, from one generation to the next is one of the major responsibilities vested in the family. Data in indicate that whether parents are present or other caregivers are stepping in as parents, the values taught to children are very similar. The rankings of the values may differ somewhat for children in OFW families and those in non-OFW families - likewise, the rankings may shift a little among children of different migrants - but what is quite striking is the convergence in the kinds of values passed on to children. The top ranking values nurture sensitivity to other people: good manners/kindness, generosity and obedience. Foremost child psychologist Arellano-Carandang (2001) noted that a Filipino child has to learn a lot of pakiramdaman (feeling out) in navigating through the extended family system. Interestingly, fostering independence is less emphasized.

Almost all the children had a religious affiliation. The majority -- 82 percent -- were Roman Catholic. The rest identified themselves as belonging to other religions or churches: 4.5 percent

were Iglesia ni Cristo; 2 percent were Protestant; 4.4 percent were born-again; 0.6 percent was Islam; and 6.6 percent belonged to other churches. Belief in God was not only nearly universal (98.6 percent), but also very important in the children's life. Asked to rate the importance of God in their lives on a 10-point scale, about nine in 10 children across all groups answered "10." In terms of religious practices, the picture is less solid. The modal response to frequency of visits to the church or mosque is "sometimes" (49.3 percent). Only 30 percent said that they often went to the church or mosque, with the figure being higher among the children of migrants than among non-migrants (42 percent vs. 30 percent). More children reported saying prayers often (49 percent), and again, more children of migrants reported that they prayed often than the children of non-migrants (57.1 percent vs. 48.5 percent). Close to 90 percent of respondents said that they prayed as a family, with most respondents reporting that they "sometimes" and "often" prayed together.

The Problem of Estrangement among OFW Children When asked, Why are you going abroad?, OFW parents will almost always say that it is for their children. But many OFW parents are now finding out that their working abroad has seriously damaged their relationship with the very people whose interests they have gone abroad to serve.

Some stable families have weathered the separation of parents and children. Fr. Nilo Tanalega has attributed this to what he calls enhancements in global parenting, in which technology has encouraged parental presence, participation and engagement in the lives of children. Parents who express interest in the activities of their children and make a point to be available at set times more likely enjoy healthier relationships with their children.

But Fr. Tanelaga qualifies that communication mediated by technology cannot replace face to face interaction. Topics of long distance communication may go no deeper than grades and the days happenings at school. By contrast, face-to-face conversations allow parents to ask How are your friends? What are your dreams? What is hurting you? Long distance communication between parents and their children has produced superficial relationships. As one OFW child has said: My Mom tries to parent me when she is home. But I dont feel she has the right anymore to do this because she does not know me at all. How heartbreaking it is for a parent who has made so many sacrifices to come home to estrangement. I miss my Mom, said another OFW child. We used to talk a lot, but now I do not know what to say to her.

OFW parents tend to overcompensate for their absence by indulging their children materially, giving them more than what is proper, more than they need. It is unsurprising that many of these children develop into materialistic, often rebellious, individuals with a well-entrenched sense of entitlement. Moreover, the child-centered goals of the OFW effort tend to foster narcissism in the children, instead of a healthy parental respect, other-centeredness, and love.

Before we say we are going abroad to work for the sake for our children, let us prayerfully consider the consequences and think twice.

Chapter III

Research Methods

This chapter presents the research methods used in this study such as the research design, sampling technique, settings, research instrument, and data gathering procedure.

Research design The researchers in this study used the descriptive research. As a methodology, it involves collecting, analyzing, and quantitative approaches at many phases in the research process, from the initial philosophical assumptions to the drawing of conclusions (Cresswel & Clark, 2006).

Descriptive research involves gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data collection. It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader in understanding the data distribution. Because the human mind cannot extract the full import of a large mass of raw data, descriptive statistics are very important in reducing the data to manageable form. When in-depth, narrative descriptions of small numbers of cases are involved, the research uses description as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis. Those patterns aid the mind in comprehending a quantitative study and its implications.

In this study, the researchers investigated the Coping Mechanisms of the Students of College of the Holy Spirit of Manila with OFW parents.

The researchers aimed at understanding the condition of our respondents on how they cope with their identified difficult situation or experience.

Sampling technique The respondents of this study were chosen through a purposive sampling design. Purposive sampling is a decision concerning the individuals to be included in the sample are taken by the researcher, based upon a variety of criteria which may include specialist knowledge of the research issue, or capacity and willingness to participate in the research. Some types of research design necessitate researchers taking a decision about the individual participants who would be most likely to contribute appropriate data, both in terms of relevance and depth (Oliver, 2006).

Settings The study was conducted at College of the Holy Spirit Manila, saint Arnold Jansen Building 2nd floor in the library. The library is a good place to conduct an interview were the place was quiet, secured in any disturbances and a well good ventilation.

Research instruments To obtain necessary information from the respondents, the researchers made use 1 kind of data gathering instrument that gave quantitative data.

The instrument used composed of: first is contained the interview guide questions which composed a) demographic profile b) family background c) the survey questionnaire they had on CHSM.

The likerts scale of 4, 3, 2, and 1 used. 4 correspond to Always which means that the coping statement was used. 3 correspond to sometimes, 2 correspond to seldom and 1 corresponds to never.

Data gathering The researchers personally gave a letter of request to the dean asking for permission to conduct the interview and administering questionnaire to selected students. When approval is given, the researchers were endorsed to the guidance of college department for briefing, assistance and the schedule for the data gathering process. Before the actual data gathering process, the researchers introduced first themselves and discussed the purpose of the study the respondents were assumed that their answers were to be confidential.

During the actual data gathering process, the respondents will give a survey questionnaire and asked to fill- out the demographic profile sheet to have initial information. The researchers explain each items found on the questionnaire in answering the ways of coping mechanism and indicate by checking the extent a coping mechanism was used in the situation.

Chapter IV Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation 1. Determine the demographic profile of the students enrolled at College of the Holy Spirit of Manila based on the following: Table 1 Age of the Fifteen respondents Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Age 19 19 20 19 18 18 18 16 20 16 22 19 23 19 16

Table 1 shows that the Respondents age range in this study form is from 16 to 23years old.

Table 2 Birth Order of the Fifteen respondents Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Birth order 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 4th born 1st born 3rd born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 3rd born

Table 2 shows that twelve of the Respondent s are first born, two of the Respondent s are 3rd born and 1 of the Respondent s is 4th born child.

Table 3 Gender of the Fifteen respondents Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Gender Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female

Table 3 shows all of the Respondent are female.

Table 4 Years in the College of the Holy Spirit Manila of the Fifteen respondents Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Years in the college of the holy spirit manila 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 5 4 1 1 3 4 1 5

Table 4 shows that five of the respondents are stayed for four years in the College of the holy spirit of Manila, Five of the Respondent s are stayed for three years in the College of the holy spirit of manila. Three of the Respondent s are stayed for 1 year in college of the holy spirit of manila and two of the Respondent s stayed for 5 years in college of the holy spirit of manila

2. Determine the general profile of the students according to family background Table 5 Years of parents in abroad of the Fifteen respondents Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Years of parents in abroad 10 years 5 years 5 years 10 years 8 years 5 years 7 years 18 years 15 years 9 years 8 years 10 years 10 years 5 years 8 years

Table 5 shows that all of the respondents has a parent working abroad for more than 5 years. The range is between 5-18 years.

Table 6 Parents living together of the Fifteen respondents Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Parents living together Yes Yes Yes Yes yes No No No No yes yes yes yes yes yes

Table 6 shows that eleven students is living with their parents, while the other four are not living with their parents.

Table 7 OFW parent/s of the Fifteen respondents Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 OFW parent/s Both Both Father Father Mother Mother Mother Father Father Father father father Mother Both Father

Table 7 shows that three out of fifteen respondents that both of their parents are OFW, while twelve out of fifteen respondents has a single parent working abroad as an OFW.

3. Determine the most difficult experience they encounter in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila Table 8 Respondents difficult experience of student with OFW parents Respondents 1 Difficult Experience I had difficulties during 1st year and 2nd year college because I didnt fit well 2 My difficult experience is in the academic factor because of pressure on studies 3 4 Group activities regards to informing Academic Factor because some subjects are difficult to understand 5 School rules because I have difficulty of my class schedule 6 Academic factor because im not in favor of my course 7 Academic factor because its hard for me to concentrate in my studies 8 Academic area because difficulty in concentrating with her studies

School rules it is hard to act because of school policies

10

Academic Difficulty because it is Not that difficult but need to prioritize

11

Academic factor because it is hard to cope with one of my subject

12

Academic factor because it is hard to understand

13

Academic factor because some of the lesson is hard to understand

14

Group ActivitiesBecause sometimes we dont have the same ideas in doing the activities.

15

Group Activities because At first, I was hesitant to come within reach of my classmates

The above table shows the Respondent difficult experience of student with OFW parents. Three of the respondents has a difficulty in group activities, and one of the Respondent s has a difficulty regarding school rules/ policies and it is about how the school deals in a class schedule. The rest are concerned about the difficulties they face in academic area.

4. Determine the most employed coping mechanism in the identified difficult problem Table 9 The Over-All Top Three Most Employed Coping Mechanism, Its Mean and Interpretation Scale Positive reappraisal Accepting responsibility Planful problem solving 3.82 Seldom 3rd Mean 6.7 4.72 Interpretation Sometimes Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

The above table shows the top 3 mostly employed coping mechanisms of the fifteen students from College of the Holy Spirit Manila.

All the respondents used the 8th coping scale known as the Positive Reappraisal with a mean of 6.7. This shows that when experiencing difficult events they became quite inspired to do something creative, they change and grow as a person in good way, they found now faith, rediscovered what is important in life, change something about themselves and they pray. These behaviors describe their efforts to create positive meanings by focusing on their personal growth.

On the other hand, the respondents second most employed coping mechanism, is the 5th coping scale known as the Accepting Responsibility as their foremost employed coping mechanism with a mean of 4.72. This means that the respondents acknowledges their own role in the problem with a parallel theme of trying to put things right. They manifest the common behaviors as follow: quite a bit criticized or lectured themselves, apologizes or did something to make up, realized that they brought the problem, and made a promise that things will be different next time.

Meanwhile, the 7th coping scale known as Planful Problem Solving is the respondents third most employed coping scale with a mean of 3.82. This shows that they quite concentrate on what they have to do next, make a plan of action and follow it, they change something so it would turn out all right, they looked at their past experiences and did the same thing, they doubled their efforts to make things work and they come up with a different solutions to the problem or difficulty. These actions describe their deliberate problem-focused efforts to alter the situation, coupled with an analytic approach to solving the problem.

Respondent 1 Respondent 1 is a female and is 19 years of age. She is the first child of her parents. She has already stayed for three (4) years in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila and is now in her 4th year. Her parents are both OFW for almost 10 years. Difficult Experienced Respondent 1 identified his difficulty to be one from the Academic Area. She said that,I had difficulties during 1st yr and 2nd yr, her reason was, I didnt fit well. Coping mechanism Employed Table 1. Top 3 Coping Mechanisms Employed by Respondent 1 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Accepting Responsibility Distancing 4.16 sometimes 3rd Mean 7.2 4.25 Interpretation Often sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Table 1 shows the top three coping mechanism employed by Respondent 1. The Positive Reappraisal coping scale, with a mean of 7.2 , ranked first. It was followed by Accepting Responsibility coping scale with a mean of 4.25. Third on his rank is the Distancing with a mean of 4.16.

Respondent 2 Respondent 2 is a female and is 19 years of age. She is the first child of her parents. She has already stayed for three (3) years in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila and is now in her 3rd year. Her parents are both OFW for almost 10 years. Difficulty Experienced Respondent 1 identified an academic difficulty. She said that she got pressured on her studies. According to her, every year kasi tumataas yung stress siyempre yung major subject mahirap tapos yung mga minor imbis na minor, nagpapamajor tapos kunyari sa major subject yung ang daming lesson na kailangan basahin yung hindi na kinaya ng utak ko na iabsorb lahat. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 2. Top three (3) Coping Mechanisms Employed by Respondent 2 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Planful Problem Solving Accepting Responsibility 7.00 Sometimes 3rd Mean 8.29 7.33 Interpretation Always Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Table 1 shows the top three (3) coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 1. The Positive Reappraisal Coping Scale, with a mean of 8.29, ranked first. It was followed by Planful Problem Solving Coping Scale with a mean of 7.33. For the third rank, the Accepting Responsibility Coping Scale with a mean of 7.00. Respondent 3 Respondent 3 is female and is 20 years of age. She is first born child of her parents. She has already stayed for four years in the college of the Holy Spirit manila, and now in her 4th year of college. Difficulty experienced Respondent 3 her difficulty came from group activities. She said that it regards to informing. According to her, she wait for the final result of the election or the outcome of the process but unfortunately, we were informed by some of the students who were already appointed that there are already appointments made for the new officers. Nobody informed us. Coping mechanism employed Table 3. Top three (3) Coping Mechanisms Employed by Respondent 3 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Seeking social Support Mean 6.71 6.17 Interpretation Sometimes Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Accepting responsibility

6.5

Sometimes

3rd

Respondent 4 Respondent 4 is a female and is 19 years of age. She has already spent four (4) years in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila and is now in her 4th year. Her father is an OFW for almost 10 years. Difficulty Experienced Respondent 4 identified an academic difficulty. She said, some subjects are difficult to understand. She further stressed: yung mga past lesson kasi usually yung nahihirapan talaga ako sa math ayun talaga yung pinaka nahihirapan ako kasi kahit anong gawin ko hindi maintindihan siguro kasi ayaw ko sa subject na yun. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 4. Top three (3) Coping Mechanisms Employed by Respondent 4 Coping Scale Self controlling Accepting Responsibility Escape- Aviodance 4.99 Sometimes 3rd Mean 5.31 5.25 Interpretation Sometimes Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Table shows the top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 4. The selfcontrolling coping scale, with a mean of 5.31, ranked first. It was followed by accepting Responsibility coping scale with a mean of 5.28. third on her rank is the escape- Avoidance Coping scale with a mean of 4.99. Respondent 5 Respondent 5 is a female and is 18 years of age. She is the first child of her parents. She has already spent her 3 years in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila and is now on her 3rd year. Difficult Experienced Her difficulty came from school rules from which according to him there are times that I dont have classes every Monday- Wednesday because of my class schedule. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 5. Top 3 Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 5 Coping scale Positive appraisal Seeking social support Planful Problem solving Mean 8.14 8 7 Interpretation Always Always Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd 3rd

Table 5 shows the top three coping mechanism employed by Respondent 2. The positive appraisal coping scale with a mean of 8.14 ranked first. Followed by seeking social support coping scale with a mean of 8 ranked second. The third is Planful Problem solving with a mean of 7. Respondent 6 Respondent 6 is a female and is 18 years of age. She is the first child of her parents. She has already spent her 3 years in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila and is now on her 3rd year college. She lives with her grandmother. Difficultly Experienced Respondent 5 identified an academic difficulty as well. She said, when I was 1st year of college kasi ayaw ko talaga and course na nursing kaya hindi ako nagfocus kaya ngayon nagsisisi ako at nahihirapan ako sa academic. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 6. top three(3) Coping Mechanisms Employed by Respondent 6 Coping Scale Accepting Responsibility Positive Reappraisal Self controlling 7.28 7.15 Sometimes Sometimes 2nd 3rd Mean 9.00 Interpretation Always Rank 1st

Table 6 shows the top three coping mechanism employed by Respondent 6. The accepting responsibility coping scale with a mean of 9.00 ranked first. Followed by positive reappraisal coping scale with a mean of 7.28 ranked second. The third is self controlling solving with a mean of 7.15. Respondent 7 Respondent 7 is a female and is 18 years of age. She is the first child of her parents. She has already spent her 3 years in the College of the Holy Spirit of Manila and is now on her 3rd year college. She lives with her grandmother. Difficult Experienced Her difficulty came from the academic area from which according to him, sometimes its hard for me to concentrate in my studies, lalo na kapag maraming mga projects at assignments na pinapagawa. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 7 Top 3 Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 7 Coping scale Positive reappraisal Distancing Accepting Mean 6.71 6.2 6 Interpretation Sometimes Sometimes sometimes Rank 1st 2nd 3rd

Responsibility

Table 2 shows the top three coping mechanism employed by Respondent 2. The positive appraisal coping scale with a mean of 6.71 ranked first. Followed by Distancing coping scale with a mean of 6.2 ranked second. The third is Accepting Responsibility with a mean of 6. Respondent 8 Respondent 8 is a female and is 16 years of age. She is the youngest child of her parents. She has already stayed for five (5) years in the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila and is now a first year college student. Her father is an OFW for almost 18 years. Family Background Respondent 8 lives with her mother and her brother. Her mother is a caterer, working here in the Philippines and her father is an OFW. Difficult Experienced Respondent 8 identified his difficulty to be one from the Academic Area. She said that she had difficulty in concentrating with her studies because her parents are separated. According to her, I cannot concentrate with my studies. Her reason was, Kapag naiisip kong hiwalay na sila mama at papa, nalulungkot ako at medyo nawawala sa focus. Pero ang ginagawa ko para makapagconcentrate ako ay iniisip ko na lang everything happens for a reason. Pinagbubutihan ko na lang para makatulong ako kay mama. Coping Mechanism Employed

Table 8. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 8 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Seeking Social Support Accepting Responsibility 5.75 Sometimes 3rd Mean 7.72 6.67 Interpretation Always Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Table 8 shows the top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 8. Positive Reappraisal coping scale, with a mean of 7.72, ranked first. It was followed by Seeking Social Support coping scale with a mean of 6.67. the third on his rank is the Accepting Responsibility with a mean of 5.75. Respondent 9 Respondent 9 is a female and is 20 years of age. She has already spent 4 years in the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila and is now a 4th year college student. Family Background Respondent 9 lives with her mother only. Her parents are both Optometrists. Her father is an OFW for almost 15 years. Difficult Experienced

Her difficulty came from the School Rules from which according to her, Minsan kasi di ko gusto yung rules dito sa school. Yun bang ang hirap gumalaw kung madaming bawal. She further added that, Maybe gusto lang ng school na matutong suumunod ang mga students sa school rules kaya naman sumusunod na lang ako kaysa magkaroon pa ako ng problema. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 9. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 9 Coping Scale Planful Problem Solving Positive Reappraisal Self Controlling 5.58 5.57 Sometimes Sometimes 2nd 3rd Mean 8.33 Interpretation Always Rank 1st

Table 9 shows top three coping mechanisms employed by participant 9. The Planful Problem Solvuing coping scale, with a mean of 8.33, ranked first. It was followed by Positive Reappraisal coping scale with a mean of 5.58. For the third rank she identified Self Controlling coping scale with a mean of 5.57. Respondent 10 Respondent 10 is a female and is 16 years of age. She is the youngest child of her parents. She has already spent 4 years in the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila and is now a 1st year college student.

Family Background Respondent 10 lives with her mother only. Her mother is a housewife while her father is an OFW. Difficult Experienced Respondent 10 identified an Academic Difficulty. She said, Not that difficult but need to prioritize. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 10. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 10 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Accepting Responsibility Planful Problem Solving 7.00 Sometimes 3rd Mean 8.43 8.00 Interpretation Always Always Rank 1st 2nd

Table 10 shows top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 10. The Positive Reappraisal coping scale, with a mean of 8.43, ranked first. It was followed by Accepting Responsibility coping scale with a mean of 8.00. for the third rank she identified Planful Problem Solving with a mean of 7.00.

Respondent 11 Respondent 11 is a female and is 22 years of age. She is the eldest child of her parents. She only spent 3 months from now in the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila and is now a 1st year college student. Family Background Respondent 11 lives with her parents, brothers and sisters. Her mother worked as a nurse and her father is a BSE graduate but he works as an auxiliary nurse. One of her parents is an OFW. Difficult Experienced Respondent 11 has found a difficulty in the Academic Area and Teacher Factor. According to her, I had hard time to cope with one of my subject as the last time I studied that subject was in 2004, 8 years ago. She further added that, The teacher cannot explain the subject well. She gets confused most of the time. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 11. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 11 Coping Scale Accepting Responsibility Distancing 5.67 Sometimes 2nd Mean 6.00 Interpretation Sometimes Rank 1st

Planful Problem Solving

4.90

Sometimes

3rd

Table 11 shows top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondnet 11. The Accepting Responsibilty coping scale, with a mean of 6.00, ranked first. It was followed by Distancing coping scale with a mean of 5.67. For the third rank, she identified Planful Problem Solving with a mean of 4.90. Respondent 12 Respondent 12 is a female and is 19 years of age. She is the first child her parents. She has already spent 3 years in the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila and is now a 3rd year college student. Family Background Respondent 12 lives with her mother, brothers and sisters. Her mother is an accountant and her father is an OFW and works as a cadd operator. Difficult Experienced Respondent 12 identified an Academic difficulty as well. She said, I had difficulty in academic area because some of them are hard to understand. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 12. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 12

Coping Scale Planful Problem Solving Positive Reappraisal Accepting Responsibility

Mean 8.83

Interpretation Always

Rank 1st

8.15 7.25

Always Sometimes

2nd 3rd

Table 12 shows top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 12. The Planful Problem Solving coping scale, with a mean of 8.83, ranked first. It was followed by Positive Reappraisal with a mean of 8.15. For the third rank, she identified Accepting Responsibilty with a mean of 7.25. Respondent 13 Respondent 13 is a female and is 23 years of age. Family Background Respondent 13 lives with her father, sisters, grandmother and cousin. Her father is a retired police officer while her mother is an OFW. Difficult Experienced Respondent 13 identified her difficulty in Academic Area from which according to her, I didnt became a deans lister for 2 semester. She further added, I try to find happiness in every

way I can. I focused more on studies, and some of the lesson I didnt understand. I always pray to God. I have a better perception of a better life after circumstances. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 13. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 13 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Planful Problem Solving Distancing 4.83 Sometimes 3rd Mean 8.86 7.17 Interpretation Always Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Table 13 shows top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 13. The Positive Reappraisal coping scale, with a mean of 8.86, ranked first. It was followed by Planful Problem Solving coping scale with a mean of 7.17. For the third rank she identified Distancing coping scale with a mean of 4.83. Respondent 14 Respondent 14 is a female and is 19 years of age. She is the first child of her parents. She has already spent 4 years in the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila and is now a 4th year college student. Family Background

Respondent 14 lives with her grandmother. Her mother works as a private nurse while her father is a handyman. Both of her parents are OFW. Difficult Experienced Respondent 14 find her difficulty in Group Activities. She said, Because sometimes we dont have the same ideas in doing the activities. She further added, I just do whatever I think is right. I just make myself free on stress, thinking that Im doing this for my family. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 14. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 14 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Planful Problem Solving Accepting Responsibility 5.75 Sometimes 3rd Mean 8.43 6.67 Interpretation Always Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Table 14 shows top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 14. The Positive Reappraisal coping scale, with a mean of 8.43, ranked first. It was followed by Planful Problem Solving coping scale with a mean of 6.67. For the third rank she identified Accepting Responsibility coping scale with a mean of 5.75.

Respondent 15 Respondent 15 is a female and is 16 years of age. She is a first year college in the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila. Family Background Respondent 15 lives with her mother, brothers and sisters. Her mother is a public high school teacher while her father works as a seaman. One of her parents is an OFW. Difficult Experienced Respondent 15 identified her difficulty in the Group Activities from which according to her, At first, I was hesitant to come within reach my classmates, I thought that I may not be able to mingle with them, my sense of inferiority complex is killing me but then, as the school days passed by, I find out that they were nice girls and we became more closer now, I considered them as my best buddies in the campus. Coping Mechanism Employed Table 15. Top Three Coping Mechanism Employed by Respondent 15 Coping Scale Positive Reappraisal Seeking Social Support Self Controlling 5.14 Sometimes 3rd Mean 9.00 5.17 Interpretation Always Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

Table 15 shows top three coping mechanisms employed by Respondent 15. The Positive Reappraisal coping scale, with a mean of 9.00, ranked first. It was followed by Seeking Social Support with mean of 5.17. For the third rank, she identified Self Controlling with a mean of 5.14. Table 16 Demographic profile of the Fifteen students Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Age 19 19 20 19 18 18 18 16 20 16 Gender Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Birth order 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 4th born 1st born 3rd born Years in CHSM 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 5 4 1

11 12 13 14 15

22 19 23 19 16

Female Female Female Female Female

1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 3rd born

1 3 4 1 5

The Respondents age range in this study form is from 16 to 23years old. All of the Respondent are female. Twelve of the Respondent s are first born, two of the Respondent s are 3rd born and 1 of the Respondent s is 4th born child. Five of the Respondent s are stayed for four years in the College of the holy spirit of Manila, Five of the Respondent s are stayed for three years in the College of the holy spirit of manila. Three of the Respondent s are stayed for 1 year in college of the holy spirit of manila and two of the Respondent s stayed for 5 years in college of the holy spirit of manila. Table 17 Family background of the Fifteen Student Respondents Years of parents in abroad 1 2 10 years 5 years Parents living together Yes Yes Both Both OFW parent/s

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

5 years 10 years 8 years 5 years 7 years 18 years 15 years 9 years 8 years 10 years 10 years 5 years 8 years

Yes Yes yes No No No No yes yes yes yes yes yes

Father Father Mother Mother Mother Father Father Father father father Mother Both Father

The above table 9 shows the family background of the fifteen students. Eleven students is living with their parents, while the other four are not living with their parents . All of the respondents has a parent working abroad for more than 5 years. Three out of fifteen respondents that both of

their parents are OFW, while twelve out of fifteen respondents has a single parent working abroad as an OFW. Table 18 Respondents difficult experience of student with OFW parents Respondents 1 Difficult Experience I had difficulties during 1st year and 2nd year college because I didnt fit well 2 My difficult experience is in the academic factor because of pressure on studies 3 4 Group activities regards to informing Academic Factor because some subjects are difficult to understand 5 School rules because I have difficulty of my class schedule 6 Academic factor because im not in favor of my course 7 Academic factor because its hard for me to concentrate in my studies 8 Academic area because difficulty in concentrating with her studies

School rules it is hard to act because of school policies

10

Academic Difficulty because it is Not that difficult but need to prioritize

11

Academic factor because it is hard to cope with one of my subject

12

Academic factor because it is hard to understand

13

Academic factor because some of the lesson is hard to understand

14

Group ActivitiesBecause sometimes we dont have the same ideas in doing the activities.

15

Group Activities because At first, I was hesitant to come within reach of my classmates

The above table shows the Respondent difficult experience of student with OFW parents. Three of the respondents has a difficulty in group activities, and one of the Respondent s has a difficulty regarding school rules/ policies and it is about how the school deals in a class schedule. The rest are concerned about the difficulties they face in academic area.

Table 19 The Over-All Top Three Most Employed Coping Mechanism, Its Mean and Interpretation Scale Positive reappraisal Accepting responsibility Planful problem solving 3.82 Seldom 3rd Mean 6.7 4.72 Interpretation Sometimes Sometimes Rank 1st 2nd

The above table shows the top 3 mostly employed coping mechanisms of the fifteen students from college of the holy spirit Manila.

All the respondents used the 8th coping scale known as the Positive Reappraisal with a mean of 6.7. This shows that when experiencing difficult events they became quite inspired to do something creative, they change and grow as a person in good way, they found now faith, rediscovered what is important in life, change something about themselves and they pray. These behaviors describe their efforts to create positive meanings by focusing on their personal growth.

On the other hand, the respondents second most employed coping mechanism, is the 5th coping scale known as the Accepting Responsibility as their foremost employed coping mechanism with a mean of 4.72. This means that the respondents acknowledges their own role in the

problem with a parallel theme of trying to put things right. They manifest the common behaviors as follow: quite a bit criticized or lectured themselves, apologizes or did something to make up, realized that they brought the problem, and made a promise that things will be different next time.

Meanwhile, the 7th coping scale known as Planful Problem Solving is the respondents third most employed coping scale with a mean of 3.82. This shows that they quite concentrate on what they have to do next, make a plan of action and follow it, they change something so it would turn out all right, they looked at their past experiences and did the same thing, they doubled their efforts to make things work and they come up with a different solutions to the problem or difficulty. These actions describe their deliberate problem-focused efforts to alter the situation, coupled with an analytic approach to solving the problem.

CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION

This chapter presents the summary of the whole study, the conclusions, and the recommendations of the researcher based on the study conducted.

Summary The study conducted was about the most employed coping mechanisms of the fifteen students of the College of the Holy Spirit Manila with OFW Parents; their demographic profile, family background and their identified difficulty that propels them to use the coping mechanisms. This study implies that the participants have their own set of coping mechanisms and it varies only among the scales of Positive Reappraisal, Accepting Responsibility, and Planful Problem Solving.

Major Findings The major findings of the study are as follows: 1. The Respondents of this study belong to the age range of 16-23 years old that belong to the Middle Adolescence stage to Young Adulthood stage. 2. All Respondents are female. 3. Twelve of the Respondents are first born child, two of the participants are 3rd born and 1 of the participants is 4th born child. 4. Eleven students is living with their parents.

5. Twelve of the Respondents has a single parent working abroad as an OFW. Three of the Respondents has a parents working as an OFW. 6. The over-all mostly employed coping mechanism, the 8th coping scale known as the Positive Reappraisal ranked first. The second in the rank is the known as the Accepting Responsibility. Meanwhile, the
7th 5th

coping scale

coping scale known as

Planful Problem Solving is the respondents third most employed coping scale.

Conclusion After the analysis and interpretation of the data gathered, the researchers arrived at the following conclusions: 1. Individuals belonging to middle adolescents group may be capable of employing the cognitive components of coping; 2. Girls may cope similarly, but differs only in the most preferred way of coping using cognitive and positive way of coping mechanisms. 3. An individuals coping mechanism is a reflection of his/her characteristics based on birth order as seen in their most preferred coping mechanism which differs from each birth order to another. However, the accepting responsibility type of coping mechanism is present on all birth orders but only differs in terms of ranking. 4. The results of the study based on the respondents family structure cannot conclude that there are differences in coping mechanisms employed by students from extended and nuclear families.

Recommendations The researcher proposes the following recommendations: 1. A similar study that will support the findings of the researcher ; 2. A more comprehensive study about students with OFW parents; 3. More opportunities for frequent and purposeful dialogue should be provided whereby school stakeholders (parents, teachers and administrators) can openly communicate their frustrations and feelings in relation to a particular circumstance. 4. Peer discussion would have the potential to alleviate tension arising from stressful events in schools. 5. A more comprehensive study similar to this but should include the intelligence quotient, socio-economic status and psycho-spiritual components of the respondents are included. 6. A similar study that would focus on the Difficulties Experienced by students of College of the Holy Spirit, Manila with OFW Parents.

REFERENCES

BOOKS Giles, B. Ed. (2005). Introducing Psychology: Developmental Psychology .

London: Grange Books Plc Kapunan, R.R., (2004). Educational Psychology. Manila, Philippines:Rex Book Lupdag, Anselmo D.,(2004). Educational Psychology. Manila, Philippines: Store Paler-Calmorin, Laurentina and Melchor A. Calmorin. (2007). Methods of Thesis Writing. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store ELECTRONIC RESOURCES BOOKS Frydenberg, E.(1997).Adolescent Coping: Theoretical and Research Retrieved November 6, 2011 from Perspectives. http://books.google.com/ Research and Store National Book

books?id=bJPJu3ECtaUC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fil&source=gbs_atb#v= onepage&q&f=true Lazarus, Richard. (2006). A New Synthesis: Stress and Emotions. Retrieved 2011 from October 14,

http://books.google.com/books?id=mATTP46QIp

4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=a+new+synthesis:+stress+and+emotions&hl =fil&ei=b2cTs7KB8WQiQe926iuCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resn um=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=a%20new%20synthesis%3A %20stress%20and%20emotions&f=false

INDIVIDUALS Seehorn, Ashley. (2011). The Effects on Children of Living in a Two-Parent Retrieved October 14, 2011 from http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_7979 living-twoparent-home.html Home.

277_effects-children-

ORGANIZATIONS ENCYCLOPEDIA Coeducation. (2011). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved October 23, 2011 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/124099/coeducation from

RESEARCH REPORTS Buettner, Richard. (1994). Coping Mechanisms Used by Rural Principals in in Response to Stressful Events.( SSTA Research Centre 23, 2011 from Saskatchewan

Report #95-13). Retrieved August http://www.sasks

choolboards.ca/old/ResearchAndDevelopment/ResearchReports/Leaders hip/95-13.htm Krohne, H.W., (2002), Stress and Coping Theories, Retrieved November 6, 2011 from http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~schuez/folien/Krohne_Stress.pdf Mitchell, D., (2004), Stress, Coping, and Appraisal in an HIV-seropositive Sample: A Test of the Goodness-of-Fit Hypothesis, Retrieved November 6, Rural 2011 from

http:// etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi /Mitchell%20Dana.pdf? ohiou1103225821

Mosak, H., & Shulman, B.& (n.d.) Birth Order And Ordinal Position:Two Adlerian Retrieved November 6, 2011 From http://carterandevans.com/ images/pdf/article11.pdf ABSTRACTS McGillicuddy-De Lisi A. &, Williams, Kristin. (2000). Coping Strategies in Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20,(4). from http://www.science direct. portal/

Views.

Adolescents.

Abstract retrieved November 6, 2011

com/science/article/pii/S0193397399000258

JOURNALS Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation. Psychological Review, 106, 676-713. http://des.emory.edu/mfp/ Bandura1999PR.pdf Retrieved November 6, 2011 from

Gembeck, M., & Skinner, E., (n.d.) The development of coping across childhood and adolescence: An integrative review and critique of research, Retrieved from http://jbd.sagepub.com/content/35/1/1.refs .html Pickhardt Ph.D, Carl E. 2009 The adolescent only child :Only children grow adolescence their own way. Published on July 19, by .. in Adolescence. Retrieved October Surviving 14, through (Your 2011 Child's) from 200907 November 6, 2011

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/ /the-adolescent-only-child

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A LETTER TO THE COLLEGE DEAN

COLLEGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF MANILA 163 E. Mendiola, Manila

September 21, 2011

Dr. Jose Isagani Lacson College Dean College of the Holy Spirit Manila

Dear Dr. Lacson,

Greetings of Peace!

We cannot deny the presence of children of OFW in our institution as well as their problem and concerns they are undergoing. This inspires interests of the undersign researchers to conduct this research paper on Coping Mechanism of Students of College of the Holy Spirit of Manila with OFW Parents. We hope the outcome of this study shall contribute relevant insights for the

administrators, teachers and students.

In line with this, We, Ma. Juvilisa B. Dioneda and Janela Feb C. Ligutan, fourth year students of Bachelor of Science in Nursing are requesting from your good office to allow us to administer a questionnaire to the fifteen students whose parents are OFW. The data that will be gathered from this questionnaire will help us complete necessary information that will be significant to our study.

If you have any questions regarding the study, you can reach us at our mobile number 09169152849/09054278322 fEb_that_moves08@yahoo.com. or email address jhen13_lisa@yahoo.com and

Hoping for your favourable response! Thank you and God bless!

Very Truly Yours,

__________________ MA. JUVILISA B. DIONEDA Researcher

___________________________ JANELA FEB C. LIGUTAN Researcher

Noted by: _____________________ MS. NERIA CABALLERO Approved by: ________________________

Adviser

Dr. Jose Isagani Lacson College Dean

APPENDIX B

AN INTERVIEW GUIDE ON THE COPING MECHANISMS OF STUDENTS OF COLLEGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT MANILA WITH OFW PARENTS FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2012-2013

I. DEMORAPHIC PROFILE Name: (optional) _________________________ Age: _____ Gender: _______ Birth Order: _________ Number of Years in the College of the Holy Spirit Manila: ____

II. FAMILY BACKGROUND

Mothers' Name: _______________________ Occupation: _______________ Fathers' Name: _______________________

Occupation: _______________

Living with: ____ Both Parents ____ Both Parents, brother/s, sister/s only ____ Both Parents, brother/s, sister/s, grandparents, Auntie, Uncle, cousin/s ____ Mother Only ____ Father Only ____ Others (please specify): __________________________ Are your parents ___ together, ___ separated? Is your mother/father an OFW? __Yes ___ No

III. WHAT WAS THE MOST RECENT DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE (Academic Factor / Teacher Factor / Group Activities / School Rules / Policies)* YOU HAD ON THE COEDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, MANILA? *Possible Scenarios of Difficulties a. Academic Factor (When I got low grades./ When I dont understand the lesson.) b. Teacher Factor (When my teacher criticized/rejected my work./ When Im not satisfied with my teachers performance./ When Im not comfortable with a teacher of the opposite sex) c. Group Activities (When I had hard time participating in group activities./ When my group mates criticized/rejected my work./ When I have a hard time interacting with the opposite sex)

d. School Rules/Policies (When the school used punishment to deal with my school violations/discipline problems / When I am embarrassed in front of the opposite sex after having been disciplined due to my misbehavior )

Please describe your identified difficult experience. __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

IV. BASED FROM THE INDENTIFIED DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE ON THE COEDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, MANILA, WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMPLOYED COPING MECHANISM?

Direction: Please read each item and indicate, by using the rating scale below, as to what extent you used it in the situation you have just described.

4- Always(8-10) 3- Sometimes(4-7) 2- Seldom(1-3) 1- Never(0)

Scale 1

FREQUENCY 4 3 2 1

a. I did something which I didn't think would work, but at least I was doing something.

b. I tried to get the person responsible to change his or her mind. c. I expressed anger to the person(s) who caused the problem. d. I let my feelings out somehow. e. I took a big chance or did something very risky. f. I stood my ground and fought for what I wanted.

Scale 2

FREQUENCY 4 3 2 1

a. I went along with fate; sometimes I just have bad luck. b. I went on as if nothing had happened. c. I tried to look on the bright side of things. d. I tried to forget the whole thing. e. I refused to think about it too much. f. I refused to get too serious about it.

4- Always(8-10) 3- Sometimes(4-7) 2- Seldom(1-3) 1- Never(0)

Scale 3

FREQUENCY 4 3 2 1

a. I did not face it but left things open somewhat. b. I tried to keep my feelings to myself.

c. I tried not to act to act carelessly. d. I kept others from knowing how bad things were. e. I tried to keep my feelings from interfering with other things too much. f. I thought about what I would say or do. g. I thought about how a person I admire would handle the situation and used that as a model h.

Scale 4

FREQUENCY 4 3 2 1

a. I talked to someone to find out more about the situation. b. I accepted sympathy and understanding from someone. c. I got professional help. d. I talked to someone who could do something concrete about the problem. e. I asked a relative or friend I respected for advice. f. I talked to someone about how I was feeling.

Scale 5

FREQUENCY 4 3 2 1

a. I criticized or lectured myself. b. I apologized or did something to make up.

c. I realized I brought the problem on myself. d. I made a promise to myself that things would be different next time.

4- Always(8-10) 3- Sometimes(4-7) 2- Seldom(1-3) 1- Never(0)

Scale 6

FREQUENCY 4 3 2 1

a. I hoped a miracle would happen. b. I slept more than usual. c. I tried to make myself feel better by eating, drinking, smoking, using drugs or medication, etc. d. I avoided being with people in general. e. I took it out on other people. f. I refused to believe that it had happened. g. I wished that the situation would go away or somehow be over with. h. I had fantasies or wishes about how things might turn out.

Scale 7

FREQUENCY 4 3 2 1

a. I just concentrated on what I had to do next. b. I made a plan of action and followed it.

c. I changed something so things would turn out all right. d. I looked at my past experiences and did the same thing. e. I doubled my efforts to make things work. f. I came up with different solutions to the problem.

Scale 8

FREQUENC Y 4 3 2 1

a. I was inspired to do something creative. b. I changed or grew as a person in a good way. c. I became a better person after. d. I found new faith. e. I rediscovered what is important in life. f. I changed something about myself. g. I prayed Source: Buettner, Richard. (1994).Coping Mechanisms Used by Rural Principals in Saskatchewan in Response to Stressful Events.(SSTA Research Centre Report #95-13)Retrieved from http://www.saskschoolboards.ca/old/ResearchAndDevelopment/Research Reports/Leadership/95-13.htm

APPENDIX C Table 1. SHOWING THE AGE, GENDER, BIRTH ORDER AND YEARS IN CHSM BY THE RESPONDENTS Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Age 19 19 20 19 18 18 18 16 20 16 22 19 23 19 16 Gender Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Birth order 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 4th born 1st born 3rd born 1st born 1st born 1st born 1st born 3rd born Years in CHSM 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 5 4 1 1 3 4 1 5

APPENDIX D TABLE 2. SHOWING FAMILY BACKGROUND OF THE FIFTEEN STUDENT Respondents Years of parents in abroad 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 10 years 5 years 5 years 10 years 8 years 5 years 7 years 18 years 15 years 9 years 8 years 10 years 10 years 5 years 8 years Parents living together Yes Yes Yes Yes yes No No No No yes yes yes yes yes yes Both Both Father Father Mother Mother Mother Father Father Father father father Mother Both Father OFW parent/s

APPENDIX E TABLE 3. SHOWING RESPONDENTS DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE OF STUDENTS WITH OFW PARENTS Respondents 1 Difficult Experience I had difficulties during 1st year and 2nd year college because I didnt fit well 2 My difficult experience is in the academic factor because of pressure on studies 3 4 Group activities regards to informing Academic Factor because some subjects are difficult to understand 5 School rules because I have difficulty of my class schedule 6 Academic factor because im not in favor of my course 7 Academic factor because its hard for me to concentrate in my studies 8 Academic area because difficulty in concentrating with her studies 9 School rules it is hard to act because of school policies 10 Academic Difficulty because it is Not that

difficult but need to prioritize

11

Academic factor because it is hard to cope with one of my subject

12

Academic factor because it is hard to understand

13

Academic factor because some of the lesson is hard to understand

14

Group ActivitiesBecause sometimes we dont have the same ideas in doing the activities.

15

Group Activities because At first, I was hesitant to come within reach of my classmates

APPENDIX F TABLE 3. SHOWING THE MEAN PER COPING MECHANISM SCALE RESPONDENT TABLE 3.a. SCALE 1: CONFRONTIVE COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b c d e f MEAN

1 2

3 3

2 2

2 4

3 4

2 3

2 4

2.33 3.33

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

2 3 2 4 4 2 3 1 3 2 3 3 2 2.67

2 2 2 3 3 2 1 2 1 3 3 3 2 2.13

2 2 1 2 2 3 1 1 3 3 2 1 3 1.93

3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 2 2 3 3.07

2 2 3 3 2 3 3 1 1 3 3 3 3 2.47

3 3 3 1 3 2 1 2 2 4 3 3 1 2.47

2.33 2.33 2.33 2.67 3.00 2.50 2.00 1.67 2.16 3.16 2.67 2.50 2.33 2.49

TABLE 3.b. SCALE 2: DISTANCING COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b c d e f MEAN

1 2 3 4

3 4 2 3

2 4 3 2

3 3 4 4

3 2 2 3

3 1 2 2

2 1 2 2

2.67 2.50 2.50 2.67

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

2 3 3 2 3 3 3 4 2 2 2 2.73

2 4 3 4 3 3 2 4 1 1 4 2.80

4 2 4 3 3 4 3 4 4 4 4 3.27

3 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 2.93

4 2 3 2 3 1 4 4 3 3 2 2.60

4 4 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 3 2 2.47

3.16 3.16 3.16 2.83 3.00 2.83 3.16 4.00 2.83 2.67 2.83 2.93

TABLE 3.c. SCALE 3: SELF-CONTROLLING COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b c d e f g MEAN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 2 2 2 1 4 3

2 4 2 4 1 4 3

3 2 2 3 2 3 3

2 2 3 3 1 4 3

2 4 3 2 1 2 4

2 4 4 3 3 3 4

2 4 4 3 3 4 3

2.29 3.14 2.86 2.86 1.71 3.43 3.29

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

2 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 2.40

4 3 4 3 3 3 2 3 3.00

3 3 3 2 3 1 3 3 2.60

3 3 3 2 3 1 2 2 2.33

3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 2.67

3 3 2 3 3 4 3 3 2.93

3 3 2 2 2 4 3 3 2.80

3.00 3.00 2.71 2.57 2.71 2.57 2.00 2.71 2.72

TABLE 3.d. SCALE 4 SEEKING SOCIAL SUPPORT COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b c d e f MEAN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

3 3 3 2 4 3 3 4 3

3 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 3

1 2 2 3 4 3 2 3 3

3 2 4 2 3 3 3 3 3

3 1 3 2 4 3 3 3 3

3 4 4 2 4 4 4 3 3

2.67 2.67 3.17 2.50 3.83 3.33 3.00 3.33 3.00

10 11 12 13 14 15

3 2 4 3 3 4 3.13

4 3 4 3 3 4 3.53

1 4 2 2 3 2 2.47

2 2 3 2 3 3 2.73

1 2 3 2 3 1 2.47

2 3 3 3 3 4 3.27

2.17 2.67 3.17 2.50 3.00 3.00 2.93

TABLE 3.e. SCALE 5: ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILTY COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b c d MEAN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

2 2 3 2 2 4 3 3 3 4 4

3 3 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 3

3 3 3 3 2 4 3 2 1 3 2

3 4 3 3 3 4 4 4 3 4 4

2.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.50 4.00 3.50 3.25 2.50 3.75 3.25

12 13 14 15

4 1 3 2 2.80

3 4 3 4 3.47

3 3 2 2 2.60

4 3 4 4 3.60

3.50 2.75 3.00 3.00 3.07

TABLE 3.f. SCALE 6: ESCAPE-AVOIDANCE COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b C d e f g h MEAN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

4 3 2 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 2 4 4

3 2 2 3 1 2 2 2 4 2 3 2 2

1 4 1 2 1 3 3 1 3 1 4 3 1

2 3 2 3 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 2 1

1 2 2 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 3 1

1 3 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 3 1

3 3 2 3 1 4 4 4 1 4 2 4 3

2 3 2 4 2 4 3 4 2 4 3 4 3

2.13 2.88 1.75 2.63 1.50 3.00 2.75 2.50 2.00 2.38 2.38 3.13 2.00

14 15

4 4 3.33

2 3 2.33

3 2 2.20

1 1 1.67

1 2 1.80

2 2 1.80

2 4 2.67

3 4 3.13

2.25 2.75 2.40

TABLE 3.g. SCALE 7: PLANFUL-PROBLEM SOLVING COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b c d e f MEAN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

4 4 3 3 4 4 3 2 4 4 4 4 4 3 2

3 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 2

2 4 3 2 4 3 3 3 4 4 2 4 4 4 2

2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 4 1 2 2

3 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4

3 4 4 2 4 2 3 3 4 4 2 4 4 3 4

2.83 3.50 2.67 2.50 3.67 2.83 3.00 2.67 3.83 3.50 2.67 4.00 3.50 3.17 2.67

3.47

3.27

3.20

2.07

3.67

3.33

3.13

TABLE 3.h. SCALE 8: POSITIVE RE-APPRAISAL COPING MECHANISM RESPONDENT a b c d e f g MEAN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

4 4 4 2 4 4 3 3 4 3 2 4 4 3 4 3.47

4 4 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 3.67

3 4 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 2 4 4 4 4 3.60

3 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 2 4 2 4 4 4 4 3.53

3 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 2 3 4 4 4 3.53

3 4 4 2 4 3 4 4 3 4 2 3 4 4 4 3.47

4 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 1 4 4 3 4 4 4 3.40

3.43 4.00 4.00 2.71 4.00 3.43 3.57 3.57 3.00 3.71 2.43 3.57 4.00 3.86 4.00 3.55

APPENDIX G TABLE 4. TABLE SHOWING THE OVER-ALL MEAN, INTERPRETATION AND RANKING OF THE EIGHT COPING MECHANISM SCALE SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 2.49 2.93 2.72 2.93 3.07 2.40 3.13 3.55 INTERPRETATION Seldom Seldom Seldom Seldom Seldom Seldom Seldom Sometimes RANK 6th 4th 5th 4th 3rd 7th 2nd 1st

APPENDIX H TABLE 5. SHOWING THE TOP THREE (3) COPING MECHANISMS SCALE OF EACH OF THE FIFTEEN STUDENTS TABLE 5.a. STUDENT 1 SCALE 1 MEAN 2.50 INTERPRETATION Seldom RANK 7th

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

4.16 3.40 4.80 4.25 3.50 3.50 7.20

Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Always

4th 6th 2nd 3rd 5th 5th 1st

TABLE 5.b. STUDENT 2 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MEAN 6.17 4.17 5.86 4.67 7.00 5.01 7.33 INTERPRETATION Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes RANK 4th 8th 5th 7th 3rd 6th 2nd

8.29

Always

1st

TABLE 5.c. STUDENT 3 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 3.90 4.03 5.16 6.17 6.50 1.88 5.49 6.71 INTERPRETATION Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Sometimes RANK 7th 6th 5th 3rd 2nd 8th 4th 1st

TABLE 5.d. STUDENT 4 SCALE 1 2 MEAN 3.13 4.30 INTERPRETATION Seldom Sometimes RANK 7th 5th

3 4 5 6 7 8

5.31 3.00 5.25 4.99 3.67 4.72

Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes

1st 8th 2nd 3rd 6th 4th

TABLE 5.e. STUDENT 5 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 3.20 5.57 1.86 8.00 3.50 1.25 7.00 8.14 INTERPRETATION Seldom Sometimes Seldom Always Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Always RANK 6th 4th 7th 2nd 5th 8th 3rd 1st

TABLE 5.f. STUDENT 6 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 4.49 6.50 7.15 6.83 9.00 5.76 4.83 7.28 INTERPRETATION Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Always Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes RANK 8th 4th 3rd 5th 1st 6th 7th 2nd

TABLE 5.g. STUDENT 7 SCALE 1 2 3 MEAN 4.63 6.20 5.86 INTERPRETATION Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes RANK 6th 2nd 4th

4 5 6 7 8

5.00 6.00 4.25 4.63 6.71

Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes

5th 3rd 7th 6th 1st

TABLE 5.h. STUDENT 8 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 3.67 4.49 5.44 6.67 5.75 3.25 5.00 7.72 INTERPRETATION Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Sometimes RANK 7th 6th 4th 2nd 3rd 8th 5th 1st

TABLE 5.i. STUDENT 9 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 2.33 5.33 5.57 5.33 4.50 3.01 8.33 5.58 INTERPRETATION Seldom Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Seldom Always Sometimes RANK 7th 4th 3rd 4th 5th 6th 1st 2nd

TABLE 5.j. STUDENT 10 SCALE 1 2 3 4 MEAN 2.00 5.00 4.42 3.33 INTERPRETATION Seldom Sometimes Sometimes Seldom RANK 8th 4th 5th 7th

5 6 7 8

8.00 4.14 7.00 8.43

Always Sometimes Sometimes Always

2nd 6th 3rd 1st

TABLE 5.k. STUDENT 11 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 2.80 5.67 3.28 4.67 6.00 3.24 4.90 3.86 INTERPRETATION Seldom Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Sometimes RANK 8th 2nd 6th 4th 1st 7th 3rd 5th

TABLE 5.l. STUDENT 12 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 5.83 8.67 4.14 6.00 7.25 6.26 8.83 8.15 INTERPRETATION Sometimes Always Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Always Always RANK 7th 2nd 8th 6th 4th 5th 1st 3rd

TABLE 5.m. STUDENT 13 SCALE 1 2 3 4 MEAN 4.66 4.83 4.43 3.83 INTERPRETATION Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes RANK 4th 3rd 6th 7th

5 6 7 8

4.50 2.63 7.17 8.86

Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Always

5th 8th 2nd 1st

TABLE 5.n. STUDENT 14 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 3.34 4.17 3.14 5.00 5.75 3.26 6.67 8.43 INTERPRETATION Seldom Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Sometimes Seldom Sometimes Always RANK 6th 5th 8th 4th 3rd 7th 2nd 1st

TABLE 5.o. STUDENT 15 SCALE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MEAN 2.51 4.32 5.14 5.17 5.00 4.26 4.50 9.00 INTERPRETATION Seldom Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Always RANK 8th 6th 3rd 2nd 4th 7th 5th 1st