(CASTILLO)

A pleasant day to our dean, Mr. Melvin D. Miranda, the members of panel, professors, course
facilitators, Dr. Michael John V. Flores and Dr. Agnes V. Raymundo, our course facilitator and
mentor, and to our fellow researchers.

Let me ask you a question. Are you a parent, a daughter, or a son? If so, then we are very
pleased to present to you our study entitled “Modernizing family: A grounded theory study on
the transition to parenthood of Filipino young adult first-time parents”. To be presented by the
researchers namely, Dennize Andreah H. Bedana, Sophia Faye S. Biong, Ma Jessica D.
Dumdum, and yours truly, Carl Joshua G. Castillo.

(DUMDUM)

Parenting is a significant event at any time of life, whether you’re still a child, a parent, or even a
grandparent. The process of transition to new parenthood is definitely a learning curve. With the
new generation of parents, parents are now very central to educating children as they are aware
of the habits of children at home (Sihura, 2018).

This experience of being a new parent may be an exciting thing, but there are numerous risks
involved in parenting especially for the ones who are experiencing it for the first-time and the
good thing is that most of them are now very much open to improving their parenting. According
to Lam et al. (2019), new generation parents are now driven to listen to experts regarding the
science of parenting because they are too anxious which also resulted in having parent
education and professional subjugation tools in support of their parenting journey.

Parenting a child can be challenging which triggers negative feelings as entering into
parenthood is labelled by chains of changes in the life of the parents which can either be
amazing or demanding as parenthood also means acquiring a new role in life, it is even more
challenging for first-time parents. New parents are faced with sleep deprivation, mastering infant
caregiving tasks, changes in their relationship and substantial lifestyle changes (Feeney et al.,
2001). A significant proportion of couples feel less satisfied with their relationship after
becoming parents and couple conflict often increases (Doss et al., 2009).

Studies on transition to parenthood is very limited (Deave et al., 2008) and have been generally
conducted in western regions (Jafadifar et al., 2016). In addition, in depth studies about
parenthood transition for both men and women or even compared this transition within couples
are very few (Parfitt & Ayers, 2021). Furthermore, most researches on transition to parenthood
focused on the effects to the psychological and physical health of the new parents and
satisfaction as a couple (Doss & Rhoades, 2017; Mitnick et al., 2009; Twenge et al., 2003), not
on the process itself.

Therefore, to fill these gaps, the study will explore the process of transition to parenthood of a
select group of Filipino young adults, who are part of the Generation Z, that are first-time
parents. Moreover, a theory or model of the transition process will be formulated grounded on
the data collected.

(CASTILLO)

With that, the constructed theory/model of this study, which is based on the data gathered,
should provide comprehensive information regarding the transition to parenthood of Filipino
young adult first-time parents. The study will contribute significantly to the advancement of
knowledge and awareness about the transition to parenthood of young adults, as well as in
parents, teenagers, and the family or community. It will also contribute to the improvement of
the family’s quality of life as they will be able to impart knowledge and skills to assist in the care
of children. In addition, nurses could provide support and guidance to guarantee physical health
care and promote a healthy environment. A formulated theory/model about the transition to
parenthood may aid in the development of educational programs and policies that will support
and encourage them in nurturing their children and future generations to come. The findings of
the study can help to better understand the features and challenges that young adult first-time
parents experience during the transition to parenthood.

Statement of the Problem:

The study will explore the process of transition to parenthood of select group of Filipino young
adult first-time parents

It will be guided by these central questions:

1. How does a select group of Filipino first-time parents go through the process of transition to
parenthood?
2. What theory or model grounded on the data collected guides this process?

The following will benefit from the findings of the study:

First-time parents, Child, Family/Community, Policy, Research, & Theory.

The study will focus mainly on the transition to parenthood of first-time parents. The sample will
consist of first-time parents belonging to age group of 20-25 based on Erik Erikson’s
classification of young adults, and are residing in the National Capital Region in the Philippines.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and under various restrictions, conducting this research to
ensure the safety of the participants and researchers entails some unintentional exclusions and
limitations. Identified as more likely to be excluded in the study are those who lack digital
literacy or access to digital technologies since research tools require these and those who are
unwell and have mental health issues that have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
Face-to-face data collection will be avoided during this pandemic hence, one of the limitations of
this study relates to lack of non-verbal communications. Participating in online research,
remotely may distort the participants understanding of the setting, in some circumstances
making them forget the research context within which the virtual interview is taking place,
particularly when study participants are inside their own homes. Getting access to a strong and
stable internet connection to carry out voice or video calls is limited It should also be noted that
this is a grounded theory study and the participants are affiliated with a diverse set of traits in
order to get a more generalized result.

Philosophical Underpinning:

Grounded theory is founded on divergent philosophical perspectives that impact the traditions in
which it is implemented.  This paper is based on the classic Glaserian grounded theory (CGGT)
(Glaser & Strauss, 1967).

There is a brief discussion of the underlying philosophical assumptions by the texts of seminal
CGGT (Bryant, 2009), although, these claims can be concluded and seem to echo postpositivist
presumptions. There are researchers that confirms that CGGT is based on a positivist realist
ontology that believes an orderly real world exists that can be objectively observed
(Charmaz, 2000; Clarke, 2005), while there are those who contend that CGGT is actually
derived from a postpositivist critical realist ontology that believes that a real world exists but
recognizes that it is impossible for people to truly understand it (Annells, 1996; Ralph
et al., 2015). Moreover, Chamaz (2000) asserts that CGGT is derived from an objectivist
epistemology in which believes that the researcher is distant from what is being studied and
strives for a discovery with no biases involved. Charmaz (2000) identified a continuum between
objectivist and CGGT, and Mills et al. (2006) suggested that a methodological spiral is present
between postpositivist and constructivist approaches. Both placed CGGT as the most
positivist/postpositivist on these spectrums. The title The Discovery of Grounded Theory (Glaser
& Strauss, 1967) conveys the belief that an external reality is present and can be found
(Chamaz, 2000), and researchers of CGGT suggest that the data reveal a true theory (Mills et
al., 2006).

For the research methodology, we have Sophia Faye Biong and Dennize Andreah Bedana to
explain.

(BEDANA)

The study will utilize the Glaserian grounded theory design which would help explore and
understand the study participants' process of transition from being parented into being the
parent. The design will be used to generate substantive theory (Glaser, 2006). In this design,
gathering and review of facts are a means of explaining a phenomenon (Engward, 2013) in
which will help in generating a theory "grounded" from the data collected and analyzed (Punch,
1998).

The study will be conducted virtually within the National Capital Region (NCR) plus which
includes Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

Purposive sampling will be applied in selecting participants.

The study will apply purposive sampling to gather participants who voluntarily agreed to be part
of the study. The sample size is guided by Creswell’s sample size and will consist of 30-35
(Creswell, 2007) Filipino first-time parents aged 20-25 years who are still part of the Generation
Z and can comprehend Filipino and/or English language and reside within the NCR plus of the
Philippines. They can either be married, unmarried, or single parents only.

The data will be collected through virtual interviews via preferred and available social media
platform chosen by the study participant guided by an aide memoire. The researchers will rely
on interview data through queries that will allow for the emergence of categories and themes
that are deemed relevant rather than adhering rigidly to the pre-set interview guide. In which we
have an example here: 1. How did you shift from being parented to being a parent? And 2. What
are the factors that influenced you with the upbringing or rearing of your child? Etc.
(BIONG)
THE DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE will comprise of the following: the researchers will
schedule the visual data gathering process based on the availability of the study participants.
Beforehand, the study participants will be instructed by disclosing the full nature of the study.
Informed consent will be obtained from the participants. Potential benefits, potential risks, right
to withdraw and withhold information, and contact information for further additional inquiries,
explaining the content of the informed consent form.

A constant comparative method will be used to analyze the data collected from the study
participants. It is divided into three phases: During the initial coding, data is differentiated and
patterns are identified, which are then represented as codes. In open coding, data will be
divided down into components with labels termed as codes or categories. open coding entails
sorting data into groups based on similarities and differences. When substantive codes become
saturated and a core category or tentative category emerges, selective coding begins (Scott,
2009). It is similar to the open/initial coding, but they are limited to the core category and related
categories (Scott, 2009), hence the word selective. The theoretical saturation of a category is
used to determine when to stop sampling the various groups that are appropriate to a category
(Glaser & Strauss, 1967). When researchers reach a point when no additional properties of a
certain category can be discovered, they have reached theoretical saturation (Glaser, 1978).

To ensure trustworthiness and increase the rigor of the study, members check, a critical friend
horizontalization, bracketing, and resonance will be applied.

And lastly, throughout the research process, the rules of ethics will be observed and followed
such as beneficence, justice, and respect for human dignity such as confidentiality, autonomy,
right to self-determination, and right to full disclosure.

(BIONG) And that’s it for the moment, this has been Sophia Faye S. Biong,

(BEDANA) Dennize Andreah H. Bedana,

(DUMDUM) Ma Jessica D. Dumdum,

(CASTILLO) and Carl Joshua G. Castillo.

Thank you and God bless