Abstract:
This study on the Stress and Coping Mechanisms of Former Street
Children under the care of Nayon ng Kabataan, is a formative research on the
stress and coping responses of institutionalized street children. One of the
government's solutions on the problem on street children is to put them in care
giving institutions such as Nayon ng Kabataan. However, a recent study was
conducted and showed that an increasing number of institutionalized street
children is escaping from these supposed havens. Thus, the study has the
following general objectives: (1) to determine the sources of psychosocial stress
perceived by the institutionalized street children which may cause them to
escape from these institutions, (2) to obtain information regarding the coping
responses adopted by the institutionalized street children, and (3) to determine
the relationship between the perceived level of stress and academic performance
in the school.
The framework of this study is an integration of the existing frameworks
used by Carandang (1996) in her study of street children and the theories on the
process involved in the appraisal and coping, which were adapted to fit the
objectives of this study. The possible sources of stress were viewed within the
context of the interaction existing between the person and the environment. The
following are the three ways to appraise the “stressors”: (1) threat, (2) harm-loss,
and (3) challenging. Mechanisms of coping involves emotion-focused and problem-focused coping responses. The stress level was correlated with the
subjects’ academic performance as an indication of the effects of stress and the
effectiveness of the coping mechanisms used by the children.
In carrying out the objectives of this study, three instruments were used,
the Sarbey sa Pangkaisipan at Pangkapwang Kapaguran, Pamamaraan ng
Paggampan at Pamantayan ng Antas sa Pagganap sa Gawain, observation
guide sheet, and the informal interview schedule. The sample is composed of
former street children under the care of Nayon ng Kabataan within the period of
the study. Subjects indicated their sources of stress and coping responses from
the list provided. The perceived level of stress and the effectiveness of coping
mechanisms employed were also determined. Academic performance through
the subject grades for the two (2) grading periods were gathered. Statistical
techniques such as the mean and Pearson-Product Moment Correlation were
used to analyze the data results.
Perception is a subjective state, and since each child is different, thus
personally views each of these possible sources of stress with disparity. There is
a need, therefore, to classify them according to the stages of their present
situational adaptation The subjects are mostly males from the twenty-five (25)
respondents, forming eighty-five per cent (85%) of the total population. The
subjects were categorized according to the adjustment stage to where they
belong, namely, Disorganization Stage Group. Searching Stage Group, and the
Adaptation and Integration Stage Group. This categorization was adapted from
Levin's (1976) study on the Adjustment and Coping Process of Draft Dodgers.