CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

3.1Hypothesis
If the children and young people of Oasis Christian School have suffered psychological
and physical violence or a traumatic event at some point in their lives, they may suffer from
a depressive disorder.

We have opted for the previously written hypothesis, because the central point of this
research is the causes of depression. Our purpose is to find the reason or the root from
which depression arises.

We have taken into account that the first years of life are fundamental in the human being.
This is where personality is created. Therefore, emotional stability, self-esteem and security
depend a lot on this. If in the stage of development as a human being the person has
suffered psychological or physical violence or both and it is not treated in time, it is likely
that they will fall into a state of depression. This state of depression can become a disorder
and finally a pathology.

As a result of an inadequate development or a relevant fact in the life of a person, this can
present depression. Because of this, persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety or "emptiness"
can arise; feelings of hopelessness or pessimism, irritability, frustration, or restlessness; of
guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness. Depression can also cause other disorders and
sometimes even suicide. Depression becomes worse when it’s not controlled.

Depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and

psychological factors.
3.2 Sampling procedure

Based on the necessity of knowing and understanding the causes of depression, the
researchers called 9 students from 4th to 11th graders from oasis Christian School and some
specialist on the field. The research team implemented the convenience sampling procedure
taking into account the participant´s time, accessibility and willingness to participate in the
development of this research to enhance the knowledge of the causes of depression.

3.3 Preliminary Phase

This problem was approached when as a group we analyzed the complexity of depression
and the factors that can cause it. In the next paragraph the research team explained the main
reasons that caused them to do this research. This section also includes the explanation of
how they will find the main causes of depression with the application of different tools and
techniques. Finally, the research team described the problem and its relevance.

3.3.1 Approaching the field of study 

During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 many suicides arose around the world. It
was deduced that many of them were caused by confinement and fear of disease. However,
in 2022 the research team wondered why there was such a number of suicides, the
hypothesis was reached that its cause was depression, and it was understood that it was
during the period in which they were at home and lived more with their families. From that
idea came the question of what had really caused the depression.

Based on the observations carried out in students from 4th to 10th grade of Oasis
Christian School, Santa Ana, the research team found out that very students suffer from
depression. With this knowledge, the research team interviewed and carried out different
certified psychological tests to find out the percentage of students with depression and then
understand the causes.
 3.3.2 Definition of the problem

With the analysis of the preliminary results, the research team could define the
problem and identify the elements of the scope of this action research work. First,
nowadays many students are suffering for depression; in this research the main objective is
to find out the main causes that cause depression to arise. It´s known that depression is
something that occurs and is constantly present. It is something important and serious since
this condition can lead to death. Depression is multicausal, however the most common
causes are endogenous, somatic and psychic causes in which in general terms, these can be
defined as bullying, intrafamily violence, genetics, self-esteem, mourning, among others.
As a consequence of depression, various factors can be triggered, self-harm, self-
devaluation, violence, misconduct, health problems, poor academic performance, suicide,
among others. 

Some of the solutions that the research team have in mind are, for example, seeking
help from a professional, both for mild cases and for major cases and thus make that
depression go away, even they themselves will provide help for cases where the person is
just beginning to present symptoms, another solution will be to provide slightly simpler
solutions that would be some advice to follow to overcome depression, as well as physical
exercise, to stop being afraid to express oneself, etc. and finally we are going to suggest
places for recreation or distraction since it is something very important to get rid of stress
and remove the sadness that in this case leads to depression.

3.4 Planning Phase

Once the sample to be studied was identified, the question was identified and information
was gathered from various sources, including websites and books, to define an appropriate
theoretical framework. The research team identified the variables that they would primarily
focus on and analyze during the study. After specifying the variables, the researchers
identified specific metrics to use during the survey. Therefore, data collection techniques
were developed to gather information about the subject under investigation in the most
efficient and authentic manner, thereby giving credibility to the research and populating it
with reliable data have a clearer information.

3.4.1 Literature Review

According to World Health Organization, in recent years, we have seen a considerable

increase in the prevalence of depression around the world. At the same time, a decrease in
the age at which it begins is noticed. Depressive disorder is an illness that affects the body
(brain), mood, and way of thinking.1 Depression involves a wide range of mental health
problems characterized by the absence of positive affectivity. In El Salvador, some studies
reveal that mental health problems have a prevalence ranging from 34 to 65.5% of the
population. 2

Depression can come in various ways. This is multicausal, however, the different and
infinite causes have been classified into three categories; psychic causes, somatic causes
and endogenous causes. Having this classification, the causes can be organized according to
their type. Just as depression has its causes, it also has its consequences. The most frequent
are the deterioration of physical health; causing insomnia, bulimia, anorexia, lacerations,
among others and those of mental health, these reduce self-validation, produce low self-
esteem and can lead to suicide. The most common symptoms that can demonstrate the level
of depression are: Significant decrease in interest or pleasure in all or nearly all activities
most of the day, nearly every, insomnia or hypersomnia almost every day, significant
weight loss without dieting or weight gain, recurrent thoughts of death, among others.

3.4.2 Operationalization of variables

To operate variables, the first thing that was done is to divide the variables into indicators.
This helps the research team to discard information that is not necessary for the work. The
research team did not compare the variables with other studies because the purpose was to
support their analysis and conclusions by the information collected. In order to collect
reliable information, the research team separated and suggested the indicators in the
theoretical framework already carried out, analyzed and measured the results. These

1
Nicholson A, Kuper H, Hemingway H
2
Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social (MSPAS). (2003). Estadísticas nacionales de atención
primaria en salud. San Salvador, El Salvador.
indicators are essential to advance efforts to develop the necessary tools. To do this, the
research team will provide a clear interpretation of all the indicators so that the information
does not yield results that are not related to the study.

3.4.3 Data collection instruments

By using mixed approach, the research team designed different tools and instruments to
identify the main causes of depression of students from 4th to 10th grade. In this section, the
research team provide a description of each tool to gather necessary information for the
development of this project.

3.4.3.1 Interviews for specialists in the field ‘Psychologists’ (APPENDIX

A)

In the intervention process, the first data collection was interviews addressed to specialists
in the field that in this case are Psychologists. The purpose of the interviews was to acquire
and gather more information about depression, how it works, how to identify it and also to
get certified test to be able to apply them anonymously to the population being studied.

3.4.3.2 Observation (APPENDIX B)

The second data collection was observation. The purpose was to observe all the students of
each grade to then choose the sample and know their behavior during classes, this gave a
hypothesis to be based on possible students with depression and thus choose the sample that
was useful in the following tool. Most of the time kids and teenagers acts in front of the
people according of how the feel. Their behavior depends on the confidence that they have
in a certain group of people.

3.4.3.3 Questionnaires for students (APPENDIX C)

The third data collection was questionnaires addressed to the selected sample based on the
observation. There were created questionnaires for kids and for teenagers, two for each
group or division of people. The first questionnaires had the main questions as closed-
ended questions and the second one was most about opened-ended questions. The objective
of this type of questionnaire was to have a general plan and to know more easily who
suffers from depression and the percentage. In the second questionnaire the purpose was to
open a space for them to express themselves and tell their experiences and thus, together
with tests, to know their causes.

3.4.3.4 Certified tests (APPENDIX D)

The last data collection was tests addressed to students. Certified tests were applied in order
to obtain a proven and accurate result about the existence of depression and at the same
time its causes. The research team was trained in interviews with specialists in the field to
be able to carry out these tests. Finally, the psychologists were in charge of reviewing them
and giving a verdict.

3.4.4 Validation of Data Collection Instruments

The research team took into account the operationalization of the hypothesis to create
adequate instruments according to the indicators of each variable of the variables as well as
the objectives of this research work. To guarantee that each item was well focused, clear
and understandable, the research team validated the data collection instruments with the
intervention of three professionals.

3.4.5 Validity and Reliability

The analysis reported below was conducted using individuals as samples, specifically
students. Sample included college students who were administered study questionnaires in
the context of mental health screening conducted as part of a larger project on depression
prevention. We used this sample to conduct the factor analysis and to examine concurrent
validity.

For each selected article, data was extracted regarding the study population, sampling
strategy, sample size, inclusion criteria, depression instrument, and type of reliability and/or
validity evidence provided. The numbers of cases of probable depression (study
participants whose scores on a screening instrument or symptom rating scale exceeded a
specified threshold) and of major depressive disorder.

3.4.6 Ethical Aspects

In order to include the ethical aspects in the action research work, the research team took
into account the main basic ethical principles. For instance, researchers respected the "non-
maleficence norm" because the team did not intend to harm anybody's integrity during the
process. Also, they respected the identity of the people being investigated.

In the investigation we take care of the integrity of each person integrated into the data
collection process, their personal data is protected, everything is anonymous.

3.5 Execution Phase