CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

An infinitesimal non-living microorganism crumbled the whole world in the year 2019.

The virus that causes the Covid-19 pandemic made actions on all countries at halt, businesses,

education, social gatherings, and even markets where the needs of people can be accessed. Its

transmission is rapid that the governments and leaders around the world ordered abrupt

lockdown on their own countries uncertain how long it will last. People all over the world were

forced to stay on their own houses. However, before mass-lockdown, the survival instincts of

people have caused hoarding and panic buying of supplies that resulted for running out of stock,

especially on necessities. As the pandemic stays consistent for years, the economy massively

plunges to its worse that caused the cut of workforce, no salary pays, which resulted to financial

difficulties of every family. Students were stopped from going to their schools and universities

and the way people enjoy outdoor activities were restricted. As the number of positive covid

patients reduced, the world is slowly opening the economy for the people to have a new normal

lifestyle. Resilience is a skill that not individual instills already, it is built through time as

experiences happen (Harvard, 2022). People are now having own ways that can make them adapt

and be able to survive the life during pandemic. The workforce of companies and managements

started to have online work and even schooling were done online too, to avoid close contact with

other people.

The Philippines was one of the country that establish an initiative which included

Enhanced Community Quarantine ( Medialdea, 2020). Lockdowns and quarantines ensue, along

with a significant number of unemployment, academic suspensions for students, and a

diminution in interpersonal interaction, all of which have an influence on people's psychological

well-being. According to a study analyzing the psychological effects of COVID-19 during its

early phase in 2020 with 1,879 respondents, there is 1 in 4 respondents reported having moderate

to severe anxiety, and 1 in 6 reported having moderate to severe depression. (Tee et al., 2020).

Even though amidst the pandemic numerous Filipinos struggle with the adjustments in their

everyday routine, social interactions, and mental wellbeing, there are still those people who are

more resilient and can grasp the silver lining in their circumstances. This study will not solely

emphasize on the detrimental consequences of COVID-19 but will assess how people perceive

the positives experiences throughout the pandemics challenging time.

Various amounts of research and studies point out the common uncertainties faced by

people and how it relates to the ability to bounce back or their level of resilience in general.

However, few studies have examined both uncertainties and resilience during the pandemic,

specifically in the Philippine context. Several studies from different countries were found online,

and only a few of them were conducted in the Philippines. There is a lack of research that

distinguishes which groups have diverse uncertainties in terms of their demographic profile like

age, gender, socioeconomic status, and course, and how it contributes to resilience. It is evident

that there is limited information regarding the uncertainties faced in relation to social status,

particularly those people who were not given relief goods because they are already “capable

enough” to buy their own. In addition, past findings primarily focused on measuring the level of

uncertainties and resilience during the pandemic, and they fail to determine the experiences and

motivation behind it through qualitative analysis.

 The COVID-19 related uncertainties resonates everyone. The danger and scope of the

pandemic has led many people to experience an unexpected emotional turmoil (Wu et al., 2021).

Nevertheless, this event may have an effect on one's mental health because of the significant

changes with people's everyday routines and their transition to the new normal. Everyone

encountered the lockdown; some might be a survivor or a person who takes care of the survivor.

With the hindrance presented with the crisis of the pandemic, individuals’ response differently

with the circumstances. Some people nevertheless find a glimmer of optimism amid the

hardship, using the impediment as a sense of hope by embracing and coping with it. The

researchers are interested to know how the students from Bataan Peninsula State University

Balanga Campus handle and recover from the pandemic's difficult moments. Is it conceivable

that uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 produced resilience?

One of the pressing reasons why the researchers conducted the study is because the pandemic

left a huge impact on people’s lives; both positive and negative. The researchers want to know

the role of resilience as a coping mechanism, particularly the life experiences of exposed

students on how they faced and surpassed the challenges they had faced. Also, to gain a better

understanding of the uncertainties and difficulties experienced during the pandemic and what are

the possible interventions to improve the overall health of an individual. The researchers want to

analyze more of this since resilience is deeply rooted in Filipino culture. According to the article

entitled ‘Embracing Resilience in Trying Times: A glimpse of Filipino culture and a formula for

success’ by Reyes (2021), Filipino people are known for being resilient despite any calamity or

disaster that had happened. Moreover, the researchers conducted this study because of the

limited information in the past research about this concept, particularly in the Philippines. This

area is needed to be studied because uncertainties and resiliency are both rudimentary ingredients
 that play a crucial role in the overall well-being of students. In general, this concept caught the

attention of the researchers since it is timely and relevant to the present condition.

Statement of the Problem

Significance of the Study

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

References

Reyes, C. (2021, January 12). Embracing Resilience in Trying Times. Haworth.

https://www.haworth.com/na/en/spark/articles/2021/q1/embracing-resilience-in-trying-

times.html

1. Medialdea S. (2020). Community Quarantine Over the Entire Luzon and Guidelines for the

Management of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation. Official Gazette of the

government of the Republic of the Philippines. Available

at: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/03mar/20200316-MEMORANDUM-

FROM-ES-RRD.pdf (Accessed March 16, 2020).

Tee ML, Tee CA, Anlacan JP, Aligam KJG, Reyes PWC, Kuruchittham V, et al. Psychological

impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Journal of affective disorders. 2020.

Wu T, Jia X, Shi H, Niu J, Yin X, Xie J, Wang X. (2021) Prevalence of mental health problems

during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord.

281:91–98. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Three ways to build resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Center on the Developing Child at
Harvard University. (2021, March 11). Retrieved November 4, 2022, from
https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/how-to-help-families-and-staff-build-
resilience-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/