Page 9 - IRC Research Abstracts _ Souvenir_Neat 9 6

AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING EMOTIONAL
DISTRESS AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN
METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES

4
Mariam Aburayyan , Francine Cruz , Carl Lorenzo Estomo , Kenneth Chiang and
4
2
1
Ma. Carmelita Villegas RN, MAN, MAP, PGCE 5
1 College of Nursing, Southville International School and Colleges
Las Pinas, Philippines

2 College of Nursing, Southville International School and Colleges
Las Pinas, Philippines

3 College of Nursing, Southville International School and Colleges
Las Pinas, Philippines

4 College of Nursing, Southville International School and Colleges
Las Pinas, Philippines

5 Dean, College of Nursing, Southville International School and Colleges
Las Pinas, Philippines

ABSTRACT

Emotional distress is a prevalent mental health problem, depicted as comorbid anxiety and
depression that is usually undetected in a primary health care setting. As of 2017, 3.29 million
people in the Philippines are suffering from depression, with an equal amount of people suffering
from anxiety. This study is an exploratory analysis that aims to identify the variables that may
affect emotional distress scores of adolescents in Metro Manila, Philippines. To answer the
problem statements, the researchers conducted a five-page questionnaire with grade 11 and 12
students in varied educational institutions which contain questions focused on the factors being
investigated in the study. Namely: type of educational institution enrolled in, gender, sexual
orientation, monthly family income, family structure, lifestyle (smoking practice, drinking
practice, and physical activity), adverse childhood experience (ACE), self-esteem and body
image, and perceived support systems (family, peers/friends, teachers, significant other, religion,
and social media). Results show that the factors most influential to emotional distress include:
ACE score (p-value of 0.003), perceived support system (p-value of 0.005), smoking practice
(p-value of 0.020), and physical activity (p-value of 0.044). This suggests that higher ACE
scores, perceived support from social media, and smoking may lead to an increase in symptoms
of anxiety or depression, the two constituents of emotional distress. While more perceived
support from friends or peers, religion, teachers, family, and significant other, and exercising
regularly will decrease the overall symptoms of emotional distress.