A Correlational Study Between Psychological Distress and Time Spent in Online

Learning and Leisure of Grade 12 ISBB SHS STUDENTS

Keanu Ynigo Oblea

International School for Better Beginnings

Grade 12 – STEM

December 2021
 INTRODUCTION

This research focuses on the relationship between psychological distress and the

time spent in online learning and leisure in Grade 12 Senior High School students. The

American Psychological Association (APA) dictionary of psychology characterizes

psychological distress as "a collection of distressing mental and physical symptoms that

most people connect with mood swings. Many ostensibly self-report depression and

anxiety tests are supposed to gauge it.” (American Psychological Association, 2021).

Moreover, leisure is defined by the dictionary of Merriam-Webster as the freedom provided

by the cessation of activities .

The World Health Organization (WHO) received notification on December 31, 2019,

that a cluster of pneumonia patients with an unknown origin had been discovered in

Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. On the 7th of January 2020, Chinese officials identified

SARS-CoV-2 as the causal virus, and on the 11th of February 2020, WHO designated the

sickness Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (World Health Organization, 2020). As

such, several governments worldwide had taken action to counteract the risk of disease

spreading. Travel restrictions, obligatory travel quarantines, social distancing, prohibitions

on public meetings, school and university closures, company closures, self-isolation,

requiring individuals to work from home, curfews, and lockdown are amongst the

measures that have been implemented . 

As a result of the outbreak, more than one billion children in 129 countries

throughout the world were unable to attend school. Educational institutions in 192 nations
have temporarily suspended or adopted localized closures, affecting over 1.7 billion

students globally (UNESCO, 2020). In order to adapt, numerous institutions, including

those in the Philippines, postponed or canceled all campus engagements in order to

reduce exposure to the virus. This led to schools to have classes via online platforms and

switch to emergency remote teaching. 

That being said, the COVID-19 pandemic, was and is a catastrophic health

emergency that has spread faster than what was anticipated worldwide. Government

Health Organizations in almost every country scrambled to develop a vaccine and then

release the steps to the public towards controlling the spread of the disease.. 

The responsible decision by our government holds advantages with the current

situation of the country, as it allows teachers and students to attend class from home to

not risk anyone getting sick (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,

2020). However, it also holds its disadvantages as it can stress a young learner’s mental

health who is trying to adapt to the new setup. A new learning modality comes with its

many changes. Students are tasked to adapt to not only the pandemic, but also in their

new schedules and workloads. 

While we have been focused on keeping our bodies healthy and safe during this

time, we must not forget about the psychological consequences that have been brought

about by this pandemic. It is evident that this pandemic has taken its toll on our society not

just physically, but also financially, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. From Health care

workers, blue-collar workers, to even students, no one can doubt that this pandemic is no

laughing matter. As such, it is necessary to take action to create resilience and to cope
with the stressors brought by a pandemic. Specifically, we must focus and gain more

knowledge on the psychological distress that has impacted our mental health.

Objectives

a. To determine the amount of time students spend during online learning such as

synchronous and asynchronous classes, as well as studying after classes. 

b. To measure how often are students able to engage in leisurely activities amidst

online classes. 

c. To assess how often students felt distressed while accomplishing their

requirements. 

d. To identify the correlation between leisure time amidst online classes and

psychological distress.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Our psychological, cognitive, and sociological well-being are all components of our

mental health. It has an impact on how people we perceive, react, and respond. It also

influences how we cope with stress, interact with other people, and make judgments.

Psychological distress, on the other hand, is a cluster of long - term negative

symptoms that the majority of individuals experience as a result of regular mood changes.

Psychological distress can signal the onset of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder,

schizophrenia, or a multitude of other clinical illnesses. Many ostensibly self-report

depression and anxiety tests are supposed to evaluate it . 

 Why these terms are mentioned is due to them being applied during this

CoronaVirus 2019 pandemic in the context of online classes. Online Classes, otherwise

known as E-Learning, are done by studying at home using computers and courses

provided on the internet. It is evident that this pandemic has taken its toll on our society

not just physically, but also financially, mentally, and emotionally. As such, it is necessary

to take action to create resilience and to cope with the negative effects of psychological

distress that have impacted our mental health. The findings of this study aims to contribute

to society's knowledge of the negative effects of online learning on students' mental

health. It also seeks to provide significant information for the systems to be adjusted or to

enhance the approach, and to recognize the negative effects on one's mental health.

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

With the term, “Correlation” incorporated into its title, this research study utilizes a

quantitative approach. As such, quantitative research methods (e.g. use of quantitative

viewpoints, data collection, statistical analysis, inference techniques, etc.) were used in

order to interpret the numerical data collected from the Grade 12,  Batch 2021-2022

students at the International School For Better Beginnings.  

Population and Sampling

The locale in the selection of respondents of the study was at the University of

Santo Tomas Senior High School. As such, the inclusion criteria was that participants

must be bonafide Batch 2021-2022 students at the University of Santo Tomas Senior

High School. The demographic targeted in order to be eligible for participation was that
 at the time of the study, the students were at the 12th grade level at the International

School For Better Beginnings.  

Instrumentation and Tool

In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers chose to deploy an

online survey questionnaire using Google Forms (Google LLC, Mountain View California).

The questions of the said questionnaire were modified and adapted from the Kessler

Psychological Distress.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baxter, C. (1997). Race Equality in Health Care and Education. Philadelphia: Ballière Tindall.

Gaudio, J. L., & Snowdon, C. T. (2008). Spatial Cues More Salient Than Color Cues in
Cotton-Top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) reversal learning. Journal of Comparative
Psychology, 122, 441-444. doi:10.1037/0735-7036.122.4.441

Hyde, J. S.,& Delamater, J. (2008). Human Sexuality (10th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.

Research Initiatives. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2007, from MIT, Comparative Media
Studies website, http://cms.mit.edu/research/index.php

Boesenberg-Smith, K. A., Pessarakli, M. M., & Wolk, D. M. (2012). Assessment of

DNA yield and purity: an overlooked detail of PCR troubleshooting. Clinical
Microbiology Newsletter, 34(1), 1-6.

Boom, R., Sol, C.J., Salimans,M.M., Jansen, C.L., Wertheim-van Dillen, P.M., van der
Noordaa, J. (1990). Rapid and simple method for purification of nucleic acids. Journal
of Clinical Microbiology, 28(3), 495.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. (2014). Submission of shrimp samples for
disease diagnosis. DA-BFAR. Retrieved October 2, 2014 from:
http://www.bfar.da.gov.ph/services?id=17

Buckingham, L. (2011). Molecular diagnostics: fundamentals, methods and clinical

applications. FA Davis.

Cabansag, Y.C., Lazaro, J.V., Yambot, A.V. (2014). Quantitative gene expression of C-
Type lectin in Litopenaeus vannamei collected from shrimp farms with white spot
syndrome virus disease outbreak. Philippine Agricultural Scientist, 97(1), 92-95.
Caipang, C., & Aguana, M.P.N. (2010). Rapid diagnosis of vibriosis and white spot
syndrome (WSS) in the culture of shrimp, Penaeus monodon in Philippines.
Veterinary Research Communications, 34(7), 597-605. doi:10.1007/s11259-010-
9434-x.

Loh, P.C., Cesar, E., Nadala, B. Jr., Tapay, L.M., Lu, Y. (1998) Recent developments in
immunologically based and cell culture protocols for the specific detection of shrimp
viral pathogens. In Flegel,T.W. (ed) Advances in shrimp biotechnology. National
Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Bangkok.

Lowry, R. (2016). McNemar's Test: For Correlated Proportions in the Marginals of a

2x2 Contingency Table. Retrieved June 5, 2016 from:
http://vassarstats.net/propcorr.html

Maeda, M., Itami, T., Furumoto, A., Hennig, O., Imamura, T., Kondo, M., Hirono, I.,
Aoki, T., Takahashi, Y. (1998). Detection of penaeid rod-shaped DNA virus (PRDV) in
wild-caught shrimp and other crustaceans. Fish Pathology. 33, 373–380.

Magbanua, F., Natividad, K.T., Migo, V.P., Alfafara, C.G., de la Pena, F.O., Miranda,
R.O., . . . Mahilum-Tapay, L. (2000). White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in cultured
Penaeus monodon in the Philippines. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 42(1), 77-82.
doi:doi:10.3354/dao042077