You are on page 1of 34

La Salette of Cabatuan

Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

RATIONALE

“The idea is to keep everybody in home quarantine. The mindset should be, in case of

doubt, stay at home,” (Nograles, 2020). From a normal life to a disastrous one. Everything has

changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. All are upset, angry, exasperated, and disappointed

with the intense and extreme effect of the pandemic. Individuals all over the world have felt so

imprisoned in a cage full of problems and negativities.

In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a public

health emergency (World Health Organization, 2020). Researchers and scientists from different

fields responded to the needs of uncovering various details about the disease including the

biology and nature of its etiologic agent, the novel coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV (Wang et al.

2020). Clinical experts explained that the development of vaccines against the virus can take

several years (World Economic Forum, 2020). Meanwhile, social distancing and maintaining

proper hygiene through handwashing were advised to the people to lessen the impact of the

COVID-19 crisis (World Health Organization, 2020). Despite these public health measures, the

disease continued to spread across the globe and the number of mortalities continued to increase.

Most governments in various geographic locations enforced community quarantine and

lockdown (The Guardian, 2020). It was based on the basic public health measures of quarantine

and isolation to avoid the spread of a contagious and transmissible disease (World Health

Organization, 2020). The state of lock-down restricted the movements of people and it led to the

halting of usual services in the community (World Economic Forum, 2020).


La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

There are existing literatures about the effects of quarantine and isolation to the mental

health of a person, so the impact of community lock-down to the mental health of the people

confined in their homes due to the COVID-19 crisis has also stirred the interests and attentions of

the scholars, teachers, students, the government and public health administrators (Brook et al.

2020). Understanding this aspect of the COVID-19 crisis is essential in formulating evidence-

based interventions and other public health measures.

Quarantine and isolation are well-established methods of dealing with infectious disease

and before the modern era were frequently the only tools available to prevent disease spread. But

separating people from friends, relatives, and broader society can have detrimental effects on

well-being and mental health.

There are many studies on the psychological impact of quarantine in the scientific

literature. A recent review of existing literature found 24 studies, mostly concerned with SARS,

swine flu, and Ebola, of which 23 found a link between quarantine and adverse psychological

impacts. Most demonstrated an increase in common mental disorders (such as anxiety,

depression and confusion) compared to expected levels in the general population.

But nearly all the disease outbreaks studied occurred before the widespread use of social

media, or in the case of Ebola when mobile phone use was still limited in outbreak areas.

There is strong evidence that an inability to contact family and friends is associated with

an increase in anxiety. Today most households are hyper-connected, with TV, radio, the internet

as well as mobile phones and social media. However, there are still groups of people, particularly
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

older ones and those with special needs, who do not have access to these kinds of

communication channels. These groups are more likely to suffer anxiety, for example, due to

concerns about access to food and medicines.

For those who have been isolating for some time, predominantly the over 70s and those

with existing medical conditions, repeated exposure to information highlighting their increased

risks of dying or needing an intensive therapy unit (ITU), may heighten anxiety and depression.

Public health best practice is to tell vulnerable groups what to expect should they fall ill and to

provide access to a dedicated helpline or equivalent staffed by trained personnel.

Another potent source of anxiety centers around finance, with many fearing losses of jobs

or, for the self-employed, a complete collapse in income. Financial loss creates long-lasting

socioeconomic distress and in studies of the previous disease, outbreaks were found to be a risk

factor for symptoms of psychological disorder, anger, and anxiety several months after the

period of quarantine. This can be exacerbated if promised funds do not arrive in a timely way.

Government action to ameliorate as much as possible financial concerns will help reduce this

source of anxiety.

SETTING OF THE PROBLEM

This research will be conducted online with the help of the students of La Salette of

Cabatuan beginning from the Junior High School up to the Senior High School with some
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

randomly selected respondents for each class. The research will be conducted online to prevent

the spread of Covid-19. The researchers decide to conduct this study because they observed that

most students are experiencing and encountering some emotional and social effects of

community quarantine due to the occurrence of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

LITERATURE FOUNDATION

According to a study of Psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown

among students and workers of a Spanish university by Paula Odriozola-González, Álvaro

Planchuelo-Gómez,María Jesús Irurtia and Rodrigo de Luis-Garcíab (2020), The Depression

Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was employed to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety and

stress. The emotional impact of the situation was analyzed using the Impact of Event Scale. In

other words, students, workers of a Spanish university are having an experience of depression,

anxiety, and stress. It should be noted that according to the website journals.plos.org (2020), that

students’ levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms got worse, compared to

measures before the crisis. Considering this information, the situation of the students in

Switzerland, are double experiencing psychological effects, and their experience of depression,

anxiety, and stress are getting worse, rather before the crisis. And according to Cherish Kay L.

Pastor on the website http://www.jcreview.com, studies sentiment analysis of Filipinos and

effects of extreme community quarantine due to coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic (2020), stated

that one basic needs are affected regarding the food supply and support from the government.

According to Ryan V. Labana who studies in the public mental health while in a community

quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic (2020), he states that community lock-down is caused
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

restricted movements of people. There are existing evidence of the negative impact of quarantine

and isolation to the mental health of a person in different contexts. A study done by Dr.snipes

(2020) in her literature review, social impact of quarantine to the students are the loss of routine

and freedom, loss of financial needs, and even results to lacking of supplies on the basic needs of

individual.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The effects of the disease have been felt all over the world. The challenging times have

left most of the family to suffer due to no work, no pay policy that is imposed by some small

companies. In the Philippines, the country leader has extended the lockdown of the country’s

main island of Luzon, including Manila, until the end of April which was supposed to be done in

the Mid of April, while it is uncertain that the lockdown could be extended, the effects still

continuous (Pastor,2020).

This pandemic has been so infectious in some of the individuals inside the country that is

why the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended to imposed community

quarantine in some of the areas in the Philippines. Quarantine means the separation and

restriction on the movement of people who have potentially been exposed to a contagious

disease. However, during the contagious outbreak like influenza, SARS, H1N1, Ebola, and etc.,

many people choose to voluntarily restrict their movement to prevent getting ill (Dr. Snipes,

2020).
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

According to the research done by Brooks et.al (2020), most of the quarantined staffs

reported that anxiety, irritability, insomnia, poor concentration and indecisiveness, depression,

confusion, and etc., are just some of the mental effects which individual can acquire upon being

quarantined in a particular area. On the other hand, the same study stated that financial loss and

loss of freedom can be a common social effect of quarantine which due to the slow economic

performance.

This research uses a visual presentation which will illustrate the method or process of

the paper’s topics. This study synthesized concepts on impacts of community quarantine which is

brought by the Covid-19 Pandemic:

Covid-19 Pandemic

Community
Quarantine

Emotional Social
Effects

Stress How do these effects influence Financial loss


Anxiety their way of thinking? Loss of routine
Loss of freedom
Depression
Lacking of access to
Loneliness basic supplies.

Prevention on the negative effects of Community


quarantine.

Figure 1: The Schematic Diagram on the effects of Community Quarantine


La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

The goal of the researchers is to analyze the different effects of community quarantine

emotionally and socially. They have constructed their own chart to particularly solidify the

process concept of the research. Basically, these problems were all started because of the

“Covid-19 Pandemic”, that is why the researchers have placed it on top. Upon experiencing the

insanity of this Pandemic, this results to being “quarantined inside our community” in which also

terminates its different “effects” to the individuals specially the students. There are two aspects

in which students could be affected, first is their “emotional well-being” which leads to acquiring

“stress”, “anxiety”, “depression”, and “loneliness”. Second, the “social well-being” of an

individual could also be affected which affects to having “financial loss”, “loss of routine”, “loss

of freedom”, and “lacking of access to basic supplies”. After analyzing the effects of Community

Quarantine, the researchers will investigate on “how do these effects influence their way of

thinking”. Base on the effects of community quarantine to the students, the researchers will

analyze and recommend some of the different ways “to prevent the negative effects of

quarantine”.

SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM

The country is now facing a serious pandemic which leads to some individuals being

quarantined in a particular area. Quarantine is a period or place of isolation in which, people or

animals that have arrived from somewhere or been exposed to infectious disease. It is strict

isolation imposed to prevent the dust. It is originally 40 days of detention. Our emotion has a big

role in our daily life. Some of our actions are based on our emotions, either good or bad.
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

Emotion has a big behavioral impact on the community according to (M. Quills, R. Boyd, et.al

2010), they used multiple methods of measures to investigate the emotional and behavioral

impacts on the community. More fear, anxiety, internalizing behavior, and negative life

experience were observed. On the other hand, our social life can also be affected during the

quarantine as according to (Dr. Snipes, 2020). Possible effects of quarantine to the students are

the loss of freedom, loss of routine, stress and etc. These effects were just some of the evidences

which concludes that this topic has brought an extreme result to the individual specially the

students. This research targets the high school students of La Salette of Cabatuan. The

researchers will observe, conduct a questionnaire, and interview online to the students. By the

help of those methods, they will come across to the emotional and social effects of community

quarantine during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

This research aims to bring light on the emotional and social effects of community

quarantine to the high students of La Salatte of Cabatuan. This will allow the students to be

enlighten with regards to their curiosity on the said problem or pandemic. This will give an

understanding with regards to the difference of emotional and social effects of quarantine to the

students. Moreover, the identified problems will be the basis on providing the students the

possible strategies or preventions on how to keep away from the negative effects of being

community quarantine.

GENERAL PURPOSE
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

The purpose of this study is to make the students be aware on the different emotional and

social effects during the community quarantine so that they may be able to respond upon giving

and doing some solutions on the problems. Thus, this will give emphasis on the experiences on

the selected students during the community quarantine.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Community quarantine due to the occurrence of Covid-19 pandemic has made a huge

change in the emotional and social aspects on every student’s life. Today, undeniably, the

students are encountering some enormous effects of these two as according to some of the

researchers. Most of these emotional impacts are on the student’s mental health such as

depression, anxiety, and confusion. While on the social aspects of the students, this may fall onto

their lacking of financial needs due to their parent’s or guardian’s loss of job. According to the

World Health Organization (WHO) research finding, Covid-19 is now actively spreading across

the country and so they have suggested that in order to avert the disease, community quarantine

for every individual in an area which has the case of Covid-19 positive, must undergo the

process of community quarantine. The main problem of the study is to describe the emotional

and social impact brought by the community quarantine through investigating the experience of

the students and their own view on the said problem. Through understanding the effects of

community quarantine, the researchers hope to contribute in the development of effective and

lifelong solutions that authorities can formulate to address this widespread global problem.

Specifically, it is hoped that this research will give answers to the following

research questions:
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

 During this pandemic, what are the possible effects of community

quarantine to the students socially and emotionally?

 How do these effects influence student’s way of thinking?

 What can students do to prevent the negative effects of community quarantine?

STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

Community quarantine does not affect the students emotionally and socially.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The parameter of this study is mainly set in the analyzation of the emotional and social

effects of community quarantine to the selected students. The research locale shall be located at

La Salette of Cabatuan, Cabatuan, Isabela with the Online Distance Learning (ODL).

Furthermore, this study particularly focused on the JHS and SHS students of La Salette of

Cabatuan. The researchers will be using close-ended questionnaires and interviews in an online

form for the students of La Salette of Cabatuan. This study involves 80 randomly selected

respondents of the JHS and SHS students of LSC.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study aims to aid on what intervention should be used in to help those who are

affected with the extreme community quarantine. This will identify the emotional and social

effects of community quarantine to the selected JHS and SHS students of LSC. Moreover, the

findings of the study would be beneficial to the following:


La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

 Future Researchers. They may use it as a reference and a basis in

conducting their new researches. This study will also serve as their

overview on the effects of being quarantined in a particular area.

 Parents. The outcome of this study may enlighten the curiosity of the

parents that they may be given the ideas or knowledge upon taking care of

their children during the pandemic.

 Researchers. The study will benefit each of them in providing a more

substantial understanding of their research so that they may be aware on

what is happening during the pandemic. This study may also help the

researchers to find solution on the effects of community quarantine to the

students.

 School Administrator. The outcome of this research could serve as a

standard data to give an order or regulations to his students that they may

prevent the negative effects of community quarantine.

 Students. The students are the ones who will benefit the most. This will

give them an awareness to what is happening during the pandemic.

Moreover, this will help them know the different effects of community

quarantine and that they may be able to manage themselves upon being so

productive during the pandemic.

 Teachers. Since teachers are said to be the second parent of the student,

this will provide them an effective idea on how to discipline their students
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

during the pandemic. Although they are not meeting personally, they can

still be able to instruct their children through online.

 The municipality of Cabatuan. As they would know on how to help

some of the students in Cabatuan on the prevention of the pandemic and

on the prevention of the negative effects of community quarantine. This

study will also give them the sufficient amount of data upon providing

students the care and satisfaction that they need.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

 Community quarantine- is a measure taken to mitigate the spread of disease from one

community to another. A situation where a student is told to isolate in a particular area

for preventing the spread of an infectious disease.

 Emotional effects- these are under the mental health of individual and involves the

ability to manage and express the emotions that arise from what you have learned and

experienced. A consequence which is encountered by some of the students in a

psychological way.

 Social effects- this is the result of the individual having problem with the external

experiences in the society. A consequence faced by the students in the society which may

include their social life, and way of living.


La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The most affected individuals during the pandemic are the students (Disord, 2020). And

mainly, social and the emotional aspects are most affected which was indicated in the study of

Brooks, PhD, et al. (2020). According to the article “BrainLine” (2019), emotional aspects may

include depression, increased anxiety, mood swings (emotional lability), and changes in self-

esteem. While social aspects are defined as the study of issues related to social relations between

individuals, according to a sociological perspective.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented event in terms of

consequences for physical and mental health of individuals and for the society at large (Friolrillo

et al., 2020). As stated by different studies in the field of the pandemic, community quarantine

became a common solution on the reduction oF the spread of the present virus. Quarantine is the

separation and restriction of movement of people who have potentially been exposed to a

contagious disease to ascertain if they become unwell, so reducing the risk of them infecting

others. This definition differs from isolation, which is the separation of people who have been

diagnosed with a contagious disease from people who are not sick; however, the two terms are
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

often used interchangeably, especially in communication with the public. The word quarantine

was first used in Venice, Italy in 1127 with regards to leprosy and was widely used in response

to the Black Death, although it was not until 300 years later that the UK properly began to

impose quarantine in response to plague. Most recently, quarantine has been used in the

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. This outbreak has seen entire cities in China

effectively placed under quarantine, while many thousands of foreign nationals returning home

from China have been asked to self-isolate at home or in state-run facilities (Brooks, PhD, et al.,

2020). In order to reduce the spread of the virus, national and international bodies and

institutions have ordered quarantine, physical distancing, and isolation almost everywhere in the

world.

Studies on the different mental and social effects of the quarantine have been boomed out

since the pandemic has started. From a medical and sociological viewpoint, the pandemic

caused by COVID-19 represents a unique event, since it does not resemble any other previous

traumatic event, such as earthquakes or tsunamis (Morganstein, 2020). In those cases, the

traumatic factors are usually limited to a specific area and to a given time; affected people know

that they can “escape” from the event. On the contrary, in the case of COVID-19 pandemic, the

“threat” can be everywhere and can be carried by every person next to us (Kaniasty et al., 2020).

This COVID-19 outbreak imposes psychological consequences on people to a great

extent which requires attention from the concerned authorities to cope with this situation

emotionally. The perception about the outbreak can also play a big role in psychological impact

(Disord, 2020). According to a study done by the UK Research and Innovation (2020),
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

separating people from friends, relatives and broader society can have detrimental effects on

well-being and mental health. Here is strong evidence that an inability to contact family and

friends is associated with an increase in anxiety. Today most households are hyper-connected,

with TV, radio, internet as well as mobile phones and social media.

The social effect of being quarantined in a particular area may fall under the financial

needs of an individual and the loss of freedom to do something on the society (Dr. Snipes, PhD,

2020). Financial loss creates long-lasting socioeconomic distress and in studies of previous

disease outbreaks was found to be a risk factor for symptoms of psychological disorder, anger

and anxiety several months after the period of quarantine. This can be exacerbated if promised

funds do not arrive in a timely way. Government action to ameliorate as much as possible

financial concerns will help reduce this source of anxiety (“Title with Unknown Author” 2020).

This section may fall on the social aspect of individuals especially the students in a particular

society.

As according to W. Cao et al. (2020), strategies for managing students to effectively and

suitably control their feelings during general wellbeing crises and stay away from misfortunes

brought about by emergency occasions have become a pressing issue for college and universities.

In times of the pandemic, social and emotional aspects of the individuals are the main house of

problems. That is why, it became a must to create or think an effective strategy in combating

these disastrous dilemmas.

Methodologically rigorous studies are needed in order to analyze the impact of

community quarantine and quarantine measures on the emotional and social aspects of the
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

students. These data will help us to develop appropriate interventions for managing the different

consequences given by the pandemic. The researchers are discovering some impacts of this

problem because the reasons they know are not enough that is why they want to find more

information for other researchers. This study aims to find out the different mental and social

problems which the students are encountering amidst this pandemic with the guide questions:

During this pandemic, what are the possible effects of community quarantine to the students

socially and emotionally? How does community quarantine influence a student’s way of

thinking? What can students do to prevent the negative effects of community quarantine? With

these guided questions, the researchers will easily fill up the problem given.

CONCEPTUAL LITERATURE

The world is facing a global public health crisis for the previous months, as the

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerges as a menacing pandemic. Besides the rising

number of cases and fatalities with this pandemic, there has also been significant and alarming

impacts. Because of this, threats on both social and mental aspects of individuals are inevitable

(Khan et al., 2020).

The modern world has rarely been so isolated and restricted. Multiple restrictions have

been imposed on public movement to contain the spread of the virus. People are forced to stay at

home and are burdened with the heft of quarantine (Banerjee et al., 2020). Individuals are

waking up every day wrapped in a freezing cauldron of social isolation, sheer boredom, and a

penetrating feeling of loneliness.


La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

According to Brooks, PhD, et al. (2020), quarantine is often an unpleasant experience for

those who undergo it. Separation from loved ones, the loss of freedom, uncertainty over disease

status, and boredom can, on occasion, create dramatic effects. These are just a few of those

effects which may under the social aspect of an individual. Suicide, which has been reported by

Barbisch et al. (2020), substantial anger generated, and lawsuits brought following the

imposition of quarantine in previous outbreaks. There are other researches and articles which

have been bombarded with the suicidal impact of being quarantined, and that is because they feel

unworthy upon seeing themselves.

In the other scenario, being quarantined in a particular area brings a big possibility that it

can influence an individual’s way of thinking. According to the study of Huang (2020), people

who experienced the tragic effect of being quarantined, they may feel fear of falling sick or

dying, feelings of helplessness, increased levels of self-blame, fear, and depression.  

There are also short-term reactions which a person who is under the mandatory

quarantine can feel. On the review study of Dr. Snipes, PhD, (2020), in case of the potential

exposure to whatever it is, the acute disorder is found to be about 34% for people who are under

mandatory quarantine versus 12% for those in the general population. So, thinking about the

current outbreak, people who are under mandatory quarantine are much more likely to develop

symptoms of emotional problems than the quote general public. Exhaustion, anxiety, irritability,

anger, insomnia, poor concentration, indecisiveness, deteriorating work performance, and

reluctance to go to public and consideration of cancelling outside businesses are included on the

quarantine’s impact as what it tells on the same study of Dr. Snipes, PhD.
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

The researchers have found out that there are still existing concepts and answers which

this study is asking about. On the questionnaires used in the study of Disord (2020), which

focuses on the emotional well-being of the students, it was cited that there are three common

emotional effects of community quarantine namely:

1. Stress

2. Anxiety

3. Depression

Some social effects have been also lifted up in this study and they are:

 Prolonged home-quarantine

 Financial uncertainty

 Inadequate food supply

 Inadequate valid information on covid-19

 Fear of infection and excessive exposure to the news of outbreak & death on social

media.

On the same study, it also provides different activities which will serve as a barricade

upon experiencing the negative effects of community quarantine and these are:

 Online social networking

 Recreational activity

 Physical exercise

 Religious activity
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

 Educational activity

However, on the other study of Nasser, a PharmD student, (2020), which was particularly

found in the article of “pharmacy Times”, the emotional effects do not just fall on what is shown

above, these may also be:

 Loneliness

 Fear

 Emotional exhaustion

Successful use of quarantine as a public health measure requires us to reduce, as far as

possible, the negative effects associated with it (Rubin et al., 2020). Beside those impacts or

effects, there are several studies about the mitigation and prevention of the consequences driven

by the pandemic which was used by the different researchers. Hence, the study of Brooks, PhD,

et al. (2020) practically provides significant lines in order to avoid the negative effects of

community quarantine and these are:

 Keeping the time of quarantine as short as possible

 Providing adequate supplies

 Reducing the boredom and improve the communication

 Altruism is better than compulsion

RELATED STUDIES
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

This section will practically provide other studies which include their quantifiable

findings and results on a particular data. Several percentages and numbers are to be examined

and analyzed by the researchers at the end of this literature review.

There is basically a research in the country of Bangladesh which was studied by Disord

(2020), which mainly focuses on the mental well-being of students during the quarantine times.

In his study, it has been used for the percentage level of anxiety, stress, and depression during the

quarantine. In particular, this study suggests that 24.36% students had moderate to severe ESD

(stands for Event Specific Distress) as the COVID-19 started to spread everywhere in

Bangladesh which is approximately twice compared to hospital employees in China following

the SARS outbreak in 2003 (Wu et al., 2009). In addition to that, students reported COVID-19

related social stressors such as financial uncertainty (35.64%), fear of infection (50.89%),

inadequate food supply (16.24%), lack of information on COVID-19 (31.49%), excessive

exposure to COVID-19 news in social and mass media (38.22%) were obviously affecting them

psychologically and socially.

According to 67.13% respondents, prolonged quarantine was also reported to be a

stressor in this outbreak situation. The study found that gender was not associated with

COVID19-related distress. This finding is inconsistent with a study conducted on the general

population of China suggesting males having significant associations with stress, anxiety,

depression and ESD (Wang et al., 2020). 10.7% respondents of this study went through severe to

extremely severe anxiety. Anxiety reflecting in a large population group may result in panic
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

buying which will eventually lead to exhaustion of necessary daily resources (Roy and

Tripathy, 2020). This may also create a scope for the market to increase prices for daily goods.

It was found in this study that 8.11% respondents reported severe to extremely severe

stress which can potentially have serious psychological consequences. And, 17.02% respondents

reported to have severe to extremely severe depression.

Previous study also showed that physical symptoms can have a significant impact on

psychological response (Wang et al., 2020). Most importantly, the findings of this particular

study elucidated that 9.90% of students perceived these symptoms as they are infected with

COVID-19 as these symptoms are close to COVID-19. Previous study also demonstrates the

relation between perception about physical health and depression (Hossain et al., 2019). This

finding suggests that medical practitioners should add psychological intervention with treatment

for those who have infection related symptoms in any outbreak situation. Another finding of the

study showed that students involved with various activities like physical exercise (26.73%),

recreational activity (54.46%) and household chores (55.45%) have coped with the situation

better. These findings are consistent with the previous studies that suggest physical activity to

have a positive effect on mental health and stress-coping capacity (Koo and Kim, 2018).

16.24% respondents marked inadequate food supplies that showed significant association

with stress, anxiety, depression. Similarly a study showed that deprivation from basic supplies

such as food, clothes etc. during quarantine period can be a source of frustration and furthermore

association with anxiety even after 4 to 6 months of release (Wilken et al., 2017; Blendon et al.,
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

2004). Another finding from this study revealed that financial uncertainty was a stressor for

35.64% participants and this factor was very significantly related with higher levels of stress,

anxiety and depression. The people from lower socio-economic groups who work from hand to

mouth to manage their livelihood tend to face more problems with financial uncertainty in a

quarantine situation and the psychological effects appear to be long lasting even after the

quarantine. The study suggests that half of the respondents had fear of infection that is

significantly associated with anxiety and ESD. Researchers of this study also found that about

40% of respondents were affected by the thought of contracting COVID-19 infection (Roy and

Tripathy, 2020). And fear of infection was also associated with anxiety in a study indicating an

increasing number of patients and suspected cases as a prime factor (Bao et al., 2020). In this

study, 31.49% participants reported inadequate valid information as a stress in a quarantine

situation which was also associated with higher ESD. That shows that people had a lack of

transparency from health and government officials about the information of the pandemic. This

issue highlights the need for public health officials to provide rapid, clear messages delivered to

promote accurate understanding of the situation. The study suggests that 38.22% respondents

perceived social media as a stressor which was significantly associated with higher stress,

depression and ESD. Previous studies provide evidence of increase of ESD by indirect exposure

through mass media (Neria and Sullivan, 2011). That's why people need to stay positive on

social media. Prolonged home-quarantine may have negative psychological outcomes according

to Brooks, PhD, et al. (2020), but the study showed no meaningful impact regarding this. The
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

study determined only ESD, depression, anxiety and stress in the study population as those are

believed to be the predominant reason for causing psychological distress in an outbreak situation.

On the other study of Vincenzo et al. (2020), it encompasses the impacts of quarantine

and some safety measures which were conducted in the country of Italy. The longer the

pandemic will last the most the ordinary life of the general population will be seriously affected.

In particular, Zhang et al. (2020) have highlighted the need to pay attention to the mental health

of people who have not been directly infected by the virus though have been forced to stop all

their activities during the outbreak. These people represent the most susceptible group to the

detrimental impact of quarantine and physical distancing measures adopted during the lockdown.

Moreover, during the current pandemic, it is reasonable to expect that the incidence of severe

mental disorders will increase, but also that of other mental health disturbances not reaching the

threshold for a full-blown diagnosis (Lima et al., 2020). However, currently available data are

based on studies carried out in China and the different socio-cultural context may limit the

generalizability of findings to the Italian and Western contexts.

Therefore, the researchers in this particular study have considered the essentiality to

collect data in order to develop data-driven guidelines for an adequate management of mental

health problems during the emergency and the post-emergency phases.

There is a hypothesis that the internet and social media can play a buffering role in the

development of psychiatric symptoms (Insel et al., 2018). It may be that online contacts and

interactions will limit the detrimental effects of social isolation (Bucci et al., 2018). Moreover,
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

the Internet can represent the ideal setting for providing supportive interventions through tele-

mental health applications (Firth et al., 2019). However, the positive effect of the Internet and

social media has to be confirmed yet, since it is only speculative at this stage.

In the study of Vincenzo et al. (2020), it has been presumed that professionals can also

experience symptoms of burn-out, including mental exhaustion, irritability, detachment from

reality, and insomnia. In a survey involving medical and non-medical health workers. Zhang

et.al. (2020) found a higher prevalence of insomnia, anxiety, depressive symptoms, somatization,

and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in mental health staff. Moreover, front-line medical staff

working in close contact with infected patients (e.g., staff professionals working in the

departments of respiratory, emergency, infectious disease, and intensive care unit) showed higher

scores on depressive/anxiety symptoms and had a twofold increase in risk to develop a mental

health problem (Lu et al., 2020). However, the effect on suicidal ideation of health professionals

has not been investigated yet.

The pandemic will affect the mental health status of people who already suffer from

mental health problems, independently from the contact with the virus (COVID-19 mental health

group). Although the effects of the coronavirus on mental health have not been systematically

studied, it is likely that the COVID-19 will have detrimental effects on patients with pre-existing

mental health problems. Many patients with severe mental disorders have been overlooked

during the pandemic, although they can have a higher risk of contracting the virus and of death

considering the higher prevalence of somatic comorbidities compared to the general population

and the difficulties in accessing health services (Garriga, 2020).


La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

However, if protracted, social isolation may increase the risk of recurrences of episodes

of mental disorders, beyond triggering the onset of new mental disorders in most vulnerable

people. Moreover, objective social isolation and subjective feelings of loneliness are associated

with a higher risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (Sani, 2020). For many persons with

mental disorders, being alone is a heavy burden, far beyond that experienced by many other

persons (Geller, 2020).

One existing related study of Brooks, PhD, et al. (2020), doctors and other quarantined

staff have resigned because of the different symptoms in which they could possibly acquire from.

In the same study, quarantined staffs were significantly more likely to report exhaustion,

detachment from others, anxiety when dealing with febrile patients, irritability, insomnia, poor

concentration and indecisiveness, deteriorating work performance, and reluctance to work as a

psychological impact of quarantine.

In the study of Wu et al. (2020), the effect of being quarantined was a predictor of post-

traumatic stress symptoms in hospital employees even 3 years later. Approximately 34% (938 of

2760) of horse owners quarantined for several weeks because of an equine influenza outbreak

reported high psychological distress during the outbreak, compared with around 12% in the

Australian general population.

A study done by Sprang (2013), comparing post-traumatic stress symptoms in parents

and children quarantined with those not quarantined found that the mean post-traumatic stress

scores were four times higher in children who had been quarantined than in those who were not
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

quarantined. 28% (27 of 98) of parents quarantined in this study reported sufficient symptoms to

warrant a diagnosis of a trauma-related mental health disorder, compared with 6% (17 of 299) of

parents who were not quarantined.

In another study of Liu (2012), it says there that hospital staff examined symptoms of

depression 3 years after quarantine and found that 9% (48 of 549) of the whole sample reported

high depressive symptoms. In the group with high depressive symptoms, nearly 60% (29 of 48)

had been quarantined but only 15% (63 of 424) of the group with low depressive symptoms had

been quarantined.

All other quantitative studies only surveyed those who had been quarantined and

generally reported a high prevalence of symptoms of psychological distress and disorder. Studies

reported on general psychological symptoms, (Mishami et al., 2009) emotional disturbance,

(Yoon et al., 2016) depression, (Hawryluck et al., 2004) stress, (Conley et al., 2014) low mood,

(Lee et al., 2005) irritability, (Lee et al., 2005) insomnia, (Lee et al., 2005) post-traumatic stress

symptoms, (Reynolds et al., 2008) (rated on Weiss and Marmar's Impact of Event Scale–

Revised), (Coffey et al., 2007) anger, and (Hunter et al., 2003) emotional exhaustion. Low mood

(660 [73%] of 903) and irritability (512 [57%] of 903) stand out as having high prevalence (Lee,

2005).

People quarantined because of being in close contact with those who potentially have

SARS reported various negative responses during the quarantine period: over 20% (230 of 1057)

reported fear, 18% (187) reported nervousness, 18% (186) reported sadness, and 10% (101)
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

reported guilt (Reynolds, 2008). Few reported positive feelings: 5% (48) reported feelings of

happiness and 4% (43) reported feelings of relief. Qualitative studies also identified a range of

other psychological responses to quarantine, such as confusion, fear, anger, grief, numbness, and

anxiety-induced insomnia (Badji et al., 2017).

Only one study compared psychological outcomes during quarantine with later outcomes

and found that during quarantine, 7% (126 of 1656) showed anxiety symptoms and 17% (275)

showed feelings of anger, whereas 4–6 months after quarantine these symptoms had reduced to

3% (anxiety) and 6% (anger) (Jeong et al., 2016).

After quarantine, many participants continued to engage in avoidance behaviors. In the

study of Greenglass et al. (2007), as for health-care workers, being quarantined was significantly

and positively associated with avoidance behaviors, such as minimizing direct contact with

patients and not reporting to work. A study of Reynolds et al. (2008), people are being

quarantined because of potential SARS contact noted that 54% (524 of 1057) of people who had

been quarantined avoided people who were coughing or sneezing, 26% (255) avoided crowded

enclosed places, and 21% (204) avoided all public spaces in the weeks following the quarantine

period. On the same study of Brooks, PhD, et al. (2020), it has also been stated that the state of

fear, anger, annoyance, frustration, guilt, helplessness, isolation, loneliness, nervousness,

sadness, worry, and were less happy are the results of having been affected by the quarantine.

On the review study of Dr. Snipes, PhD, (2020) on the research of Brooks, PhD, et al

(2020), preventions to a certain global dilemma is a must. That is why she further discussed the
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

different preventions in which an individual could do during the quarantine. The following

preventions are the following:

 Provide a unified public message about what is happening, safety measures that are being

undertaken, emergency plans, the likelihood of deterioration of the situation and long it

will continue.

 Providing meaningful and productive activities while in quarantine.

 Ensure basic supplies (such as food, water, and medical supplies) are available.

 Reinforcing the sense of altruism and safety.

 Those involved with public safety and healthcare are in uniquely dangerous positions and

require additional organizational support and “disaster planning” to mitigate risk.

 Health officials charged with implementing quarantine, who often have reasonable jobs

security, should also remember that not everyone is in the same position.

SYNTHESIS

Community quarantine has a positive impact upon containing the spread of COVID-19.

On the contrary, it brings the pessimistic impacts on the emotional and social aspects of an

individual. This leads to answering questions or problems in which the researchers desired to

identify. These problems are to be used by the researchers as a basis for the gathering of data

collection. The first problem answers the question on what are the different effects of community

quarantine to the emotional and social aspects of the students? According to a study done by

Disord (2020), there are three common effects which fall under the emotional aspect and these
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

are: a.) Stress b.) Anxiety and c.) depression. Hence, the study of Brooks, PhD, et al. (2020) have

reported some of the effects which can affect the emotional well-being of students and these are:

(Mishami et al., 2009) emotional disturbance, (Yoon et al., 2016) depression, (Hawryluck et al.,

2004) stress, (Conley et al., 2014) low mood, (Lee et al., 2005) irritability, (Lee et al.,

2005) insomnia, (Lee et al., 2005) post-traumatic stress symptoms, (Coffey et al., 2007) anger,

and (Hunter et al., 2003) emotional exhaustion. Low mood (660 [73%] of 903) and irritability

(512 [57%] of 903) stand out as having high prevalence (Lee, 2005). From this, there is a small

consistency with the result coming from the different studies. On the other hand, separation from

loved ones, the loss of freedom, uncertainty over disease status, and boredom can, on occasion,

create dramatic effects on some social aspects (Brooks, PhD, et al., 2020). Some effects to social

aspects have also been lifted up in the study of Disord (2020) and they are: prolonged home-

quarantine, financial uncertainty, inadequate food supply, inadequate valid information on covid-

19 Fear of infection, and excessive exposure to the news of outbreak & death on social media.

And the second problem asks the question on how do these effects influence student’s

way of thinking? According to the research done by Vincenzo et al. (2020), when an individual

experiences these effects, an individual may feel unworthy of him/herself. In similar to what

Huang (2020) studied, people who experienced the tragic effects of being quarantined may feel

fear of falling sick or dying, helplessness, and increased the levels of self-blame. Also, a study

done by Sani (2020) states that the feeling of being alone can also be a result of having these

effects. That is why his study has presumed that suicide can come after this. On the other study

done by Roy and Tripathy (2020), the anxiety reflected in a large population group may result in
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

panic buying which will eventually lead to exhaustion of necessary daily resources. From this,

the researchers are assuming that these particular negative results affiliate with different

interventions and mitigations in which the target students can acquire.

And the third problem answers the question on what are the different strategies or

preventions on the negative effects of community quarantine? The findings on the research done

by Koo and Kim (2018) has shown that students involved with various activities like physical

exercise (26.73%), recreational activity (54.46%) and household chores (55.45%) have coped

with the situation better. These findings are consistent with the previous studies that suggest

physical activity to have a positive effect on mental health and stress-coping capacity. In

connection, the research of Brooks, PhD, et al. (2020) also provides different preventions to

avoid the particular dilemmas during quarantine. These suggestions are: keeping the time of

quarantine as short as possible, providing adequate supplies, reducing the boredom and

improving the communication, and reinforcing the sense of altruism and safety. While on the

study of Disord (2020), some ways to avoid the effects of quarantine are the online social

networking, by doing some recreational and physical activities, religious activity (through

virtual), and educational activity. All in all, the findings from the different studies already gave

an idea to the researchers on what are the tentative outcomes upon gathering their data.
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

This study is a quantitative-descriptive paper that examines the different impacts of

community quarantine on the social and emotional dimensions of those students who have

endured the heft of mandatory community quarantine. Moreover, descriptive research design is

use in this paper as it will describe the situation of those students who are subjected to

community quarantine. In particular, it will quantify and investigate whether the different effects

and concept which was shown in the figure 1 is consistent with the answers from the High

School Students of La Salette of Cabatuan.


La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

Hence, this study is bringing an in-depth enlightenment about the struggles of the

students during the abundance of community quarantine and how do these consequences affect

them upon doing what they want. The researcher’s secondary goal is to discover the different

practices or strategies which might help the students to deal with the negative effects of being in

mandatory quarantine.

RESEARCH LOCALE

The research locale shall be conducted at La Salette of Cabatuan which is consisting of

10 sections in the high school department including SHS and JHS students. Respondents shall be

given an online questionnaire. The researchers will communicate to the respondents for the

giving of instruction which will be done through some accessible online conversational platforms

such as messenger, zoom, google meet, and phone calls.

RESEARCH RESPONDENTS

This research shall consist of 80 respondents for the process of surveying through online

form. There will be 8 respondents per section on the high school department. The sampling

technique which will be used to draw the respondents is the convenience sampling because

participants are selected based on their availability and willingness to take part of the

questionnaire. Researchers selected these respondents who believe and acknowledge that the

type of information they will provide is accurate and sufficient answers that this study will

require.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

This research uses a google form with close ended, visual analog, multiple choice, and

Likert scale research questions that provide the researchers an information to respond the present

problems. In addition, these types of questions are used to obtain adequate and accurate data.

Through the use of online form for surveying, it will help the researchers to easily and

conveniently gather some ideas amidst of the pandemic, that will also improve their data

collection. The questions on the form shall be clearly analyzed in order for the respondents to

give their substantial and relevant answers. The researchers will manipulate data through the use

of some online platforms like google drive and google form.

RESEARCH PROCEDURE
Before the conduction of the study, the researchers have chosen a particular sampling

technique for the data gathering procedure, and this sampling technique shall be the convenience

sampling. After, the researchers will communicate to the advisers of the junior and senior high

school through online platforms that they may provide their selected students who will be going

to answer the form. After receiving the approval, the researchers will already distribute the link

of the google form (questionnaire) to the selected respondents. They will be given a time to

answer the questions for the assessment of their experiences during the quarantine. Furthermore,

since this analysis is a descriptive study, it may include or use categorical variables such as

nominal and ordinal variables as it will be using graphs and charts which will be used for the

data presentation. The paper uses these tool as it will be focusing on the effects of community

quarantine to the emotional and social aspects of the students. After, the accumulation of data
La Salette of Cabatuan
Cabatuan, Isabela
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Senior High School Department

shall occur, and then the researchers will analyze, criticize, scrutinize, and tally the following

answered questions on the form as to be used in their presentation of results.

DATA TREATMENT
After the retrieval on the answers of respondents, the researchers will organize them for

the data treatment which shall be used for the interpretation on the accumulated results. The data

treatment which shall be utilized in this paper is the descriptive statistics, it will utilize the

measures of position, and the measures of central tendency. These will be useful for the

researchers as it will show percentile ranks, and illustrate how an average or most commonly

indicated response. The researchers will use data treatment to analyze and easily quantify the

collected data in its simplistic definition.

You might also like