Psychological Vulnerabilities and Mental Health Measures of the iGeneration Students
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Dec 29, 2023
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Abstract
This study looked into the psychological vulnerabilities such as depression, anxiety, stress, and self-harming behavior of iGeneration students. The scales used were the DASS-21 scale and the Self-harm Inventory among the iGeneration in a Philippine local university. The baseline data were then used to develop curriculum interventions for selected general education subjects to address the mental health needs of the respondents. On the other hand, life skills and mental health protective behaviors of the iGeneration were analyzed as variables that need to be strengthened in local mental health programs. Notable results show that the mental health needs of the iGeneration are very apparent, especially in terms of their anxiety level where the majority of the respondents were under severe to extremely severe levels. An alarming result is that almost half of the respondents admitted to engaging in self-harming behaviors. Also, around 7% of the 1548 respondents admitted having attempted suicide. On the other hand, only 10% of the surveyed respondents were seeking professional mental health care. For the respondents’ main source of social support, family and friends are the topmost support followed by school and relatives. Only a few had identified religious groups and community groups serve as a source of social support. Also, life skills in communication and interpersonal relations, creative and critical thinking, and decision-making are the top three priority sets of life-skills identified. With such a scenario, it is crucial to enhance and improve collaborative mental health care initiatives for students.
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References
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Bethune, S. (2019). Gen Z more likely to report mental health concerns. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/01/gen-z
Bresin, K., & Schoenleber, M. (2015). Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Non-suicidal Self-injury. Clinical Psychological Review, 38:55-64. 10.1016/j.cpr.2015.02.009
Galicia, J.R.U., & Bautista, T.D. (2018). Prevalence of Non-suicidal Self-Injury and Suicide Attempt among Young Adult University Students. Acta Medica Philippina, 52(1). https://doi.org/10.47895/amp.v52il.460
Garcia, A. (2018). Positive Sororities: Positive Institutions for Student Wellbeing Amidst a National Campus Mental Health Crisis. University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons. https://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstoneabstracts/167/
Gomez, J. (2018). Liaison Psychiatry: Mental Health Problems in the General Hospital. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429456206
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Greca, A.M., & Harrison, H.M. (2010). Adolescent Peer Relations, Friendships and Romantic Relationships: Do They Predict Social Anxiety and Depression?. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(1): 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3401_5
Green, J.D., Kearns, J.C., Ledoux, A.M., Addis, M.E., & Marx, B.P. (2018). The Association Between Masculinity and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury. American Journal of Men’s Health, 12(1): 30-40. 10.1177/1557988315624508.
Harandi, T.F., Taghinasab, M.M., & Nayeri, T.D. (2017). The Correlation of Social Support with Mental Health; A Meta-analysis. Electronic Physician, 9(9): 5212-5222. 10.19082/5212
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Lally, J., Tully, J., & Samaniego, R. (2019). Mental Health Service in the Philippines. BJPsych International. 10.1192/bji.2018.34
Latimer, S., Covic, T., Cumming, S.R., & Tennant, A. (2009). Psychometric analysis of the self-harm inventory using Rasch modelling. BMC psychiatry, 9, 53. 10.1186/1471-244X-9-53
Le, M.T.H., Tran, T.D., Holton, S., Nguyen, H.T., Wolfe, R., & Fisher, J. (2017). Reliability, convergent validity and factor structure of the DASS-21 in a sample of Vietnamese adolescents. PLoS ONE 12(7): e0180557. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180557
Maddah, D., Kabakian, T., Zeidan, R., Elsaady, N., Alami, N., & Salameh, P. (2020). Health Behaviors, Life Skills, Mental Health, and Demographic Factors Associated with Mental Health among University Students in a Developing Country. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-60870/v1
Magtubo, C.A. (2016). Mental Health in the Philippines: By the Numbers. MIMS Today. https://today.mims.com/mental-health-in-thephilippines--by-the-numbers
Meshkat, M., & Nejati, R. (2017). Does Emotional Intelligence Depend on Gender? A Study on Undergraduate English Majors of Three Iranian Universities. SAGE Open, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017725796
Nieuwenhuijsen, K. (2003). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Detecting Anxiety Disorder And Depression in Employees Absent From Work Because of Mental Health Problems. Occupational And Environmental Medicine, 60 (>90001), 77i-82. 10.1136/oem.60.suppl_1.i77
Ndetei, D. M., Mutiso, V., Gitonga, I., Agudible, E., Tele, A., Birech, L., Musyimi, C., & McKenzie, K. (2018). World Health Organization Life-Skills Training is Efficacious in Reducing Youth Self-Report Scores in Primary School Going Children in Kenya. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 13(5). https://doi/org/10.1111/eip.12745
Norton, M.J. (2021). Co-production within child and adolescent mental health: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22): 11897.
Philippine Congress. (2018). RA 11036: Philippine Mental Health Law. https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/ republic_acts/ra%2011036.pdf
Punay, E. (2019). 3.3. Million Pinoys suffer From Depression. Philippine Star Global. https://www. philstar.com/headlines/2019/08/29/1947 360/33-million-pinoys-suffer-depression
Quintos, M.A.M. (2017). Prevalence of Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempts among the Filipino Youth and Its Relationship with the Family Unit. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 5(2): 11-23. http://www.apjmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/APJMR-2017.5.2.2.02
Raza, A. Abbasi, N.U.H., Khursid, M., & Ansari, M.I. (2018). The Relationship Between Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Self-Harm Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Pakistan Armed Forces Med Journal, 68(1): 137-42.
Rosen, L. (2011). Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the way they Learn. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2(3): 255-256.
Sansone, R.A., & Sansone, L.A. (2010). Measuring self-harm behavior with the self-harm inventory. Psychiatry, 7(4): 16–20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2877617/
Silva, H.A., da, Passos, M.H.P., dos, Oliveira, V.M.A., de, Palmeira, A.C., Pitangui, A.C.R., & de Araújo, R.C. (2016). Short version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21: is it valid for Brazilian adolescents? Einstein (São Paulo), 14(4): 486–493. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-45082016ao3732
Shubina, I., & Kulakli, A. (2019). Critical Thinking, Creativity and Gender Differences for Knowledge Generation in Education. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), 10(1): 30863093. https://infonomics-society.org/wp-content/uploads/Critical-Thinking-Creativity-and-Gender-Differences.pdf
Snider, A.M., & McPhedran, S. (2013). Religiosity, Spirituality, Mental Health and Mental Health Treatment Outcomes in Australia: A Systematic Literature review. Journal of Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 17(6): 568-581. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676
Tomacruz, S. (2018). A Cry for Help: Mental Illness, Suicide Cases Rising Among the Youth. Rappler. https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/suicide-cases-mental-health-illness-youth-risingphilippines.2013.871240
UCR-CHS. (2021). Mental Health on the Move in the Philippines. https://www.urc-chs.com/news/mental-health-on-the-move-in-the-philippinesmeet-the-lusog-isip-app/#:~:text=The%20DOH%20estimates%20that%20at,mood%20disorders%20like%20bipolar%20disorder.
University of the Philippines Population Institute. (2021). 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study. https://www.uppi.upd.edu.ph/research/yafs5
Weist, M.D., Bruns, E.J., Whitaker, K., Wei, Y., Kutcher, S., Larsen, T., Holsen, I., Cooper, J.L., Geroski, A., & Short., K.H. (2017). School Mental Health Promotion and Intervention: Experiences from Four Nations. School Psychology International, 38: 343-362. doi.org/10.1177%2F0143034317695379
World Health Organization. (1999). Partners in Life Skills Education: Conclusions from a United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting. Mental Health Promotion. Department of Mental Health WHO. Geneva. https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/30.pdf
World Health Organization. (2014). Mental Health: A State of Well-being. https://www.who.int/newsroom/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mentalhealth
Adult Development Study. (2014). Study of Adult Development. Harvard Second Generation Study. https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/grantandglueckstudy
Batani, R.S., Anongos, S.J., Gapasin, M., De Guzman, R., Listino, B., & Sa-ao, B. (2013). Pansig’dan: Promoting Well-being in an Agricultural Community in Northern Luzon, Philippines. Policy Brief: Benguet State University
Beaufort, I.N., De Weert-Van Oene, G.H., Buwalda, V.A.J., de Leeuw, J.R.J., & Goudriaan, A.E. (2017). The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) as a Screener for Depression in Substance Use Disorder Inpatients: A Pilot Study. European Addiction Research, 23:260-268. doi.org/10.1159/000485182
Bengwasan, P.D., Bernardo, A.B.I., & Maximo, S.I. (2022). Translation and Initial Validation of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) in Ilocano. Psychol Stud. https://doi.org/10.007/s12646-022-00696-1
Bethune, S. (2019). Gen Z more likely to report mental health concerns. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/01/gen-z
Bresin, K., & Schoenleber, M. (2015). Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Non-suicidal Self-injury. Clinical Psychological Review, 38:55-64. 10.1016/j.cpr.2015.02.009
Galicia, J.R.U., & Bautista, T.D. (2018). Prevalence of Non-suicidal Self-Injury and Suicide Attempt among Young Adult University Students. Acta Medica Philippina, 52(1). https://doi.org/10.47895/amp.v52il.460
Garcia, A. (2018). Positive Sororities: Positive Institutions for Student Wellbeing Amidst a National Campus Mental Health Crisis. University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons. https://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstoneabstracts/167/
Gomez, J. (2018). Liaison Psychiatry: Mental Health Problems in the General Hospital. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429456206
Gunnell, D., Kidger, J., & Elvidge, H. (2018). Adolescent Mental Health in Crisis. BMJ 361:k2608 doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2608
Greca, A.M., & Harrison, H.M. (2010). Adolescent Peer Relations, Friendships and Romantic Relationships: Do They Predict Social Anxiety and Depression?. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(1): 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3401_5
Green, J.D., Kearns, J.C., Ledoux, A.M., Addis, M.E., & Marx, B.P. (2018). The Association Between Masculinity and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury. American Journal of Men’s Health, 12(1): 30-40. 10.1177/1557988315624508.
Harandi, T.F., Taghinasab, M.M., & Nayeri, T.D. (2017). The Correlation of Social Support with Mental Health; A Meta-analysis. Electronic Physician, 9(9): 5212-5222. 10.19082/5212
Kao, L.E., Peteer, J.R., & Cook, C.H.C. (2020). Spirituality and Mental Health. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, (10)1: 42-54. doi.org/10.1080/20440243.2020.1726048
Lai, C.M., Mak, K.K., Watanabe, H., Jeong, J., Kim, D., Bahar, N., & Cheng, C. (2015). The mediating role of Internet addiction in depression, social anxiety, and psychosocial well-being among adolescents in six Asian countries: a structural equation modelling approach. Public Health, 129(9): 1224–1236. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2015.07.031
Lagman, R. A., Yoo, G. J., Levine, E. G., Donnell, K. A. & Lime, H. R. (2014). “Leaving it to God” Religion and Spirituality among Filipina Immigrant Breast Cancer Survivors. Journal of Religion and Health, 53, 449-460. doi.org/10.1007/s10943-012-9648-z
Lally, J., Tully, J., & Samaniego, R. (2019). Mental Health Service in the Philippines. BJPsych International. 10.1192/bji.2018.34
Latimer, S., Covic, T., Cumming, S.R., & Tennant, A. (2009). Psychometric analysis of the self-harm inventory using Rasch modelling. BMC psychiatry, 9, 53. 10.1186/1471-244X-9-53
Le, M.T.H., Tran, T.D., Holton, S., Nguyen, H.T., Wolfe, R., & Fisher, J. (2017). Reliability, convergent validity and factor structure of the DASS-21 in a sample of Vietnamese adolescents. PLoS ONE 12(7): e0180557. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180557
Maddah, D., Kabakian, T., Zeidan, R., Elsaady, N., Alami, N., & Salameh, P. (2020). Health Behaviors, Life Skills, Mental Health, and Demographic Factors Associated with Mental Health among University Students in a Developing Country. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-60870/v1
Magtubo, C.A. (2016). Mental Health in the Philippines: By the Numbers. MIMS Today. https://today.mims.com/mental-health-in-thephilippines--by-the-numbers
Meshkat, M., & Nejati, R. (2017). Does Emotional Intelligence Depend on Gender? A Study on Undergraduate English Majors of Three Iranian Universities. SAGE Open, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017725796
Nieuwenhuijsen, K. (2003). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Detecting Anxiety Disorder And Depression in Employees Absent From Work Because of Mental Health Problems. Occupational And Environmental Medicine, 60 (>90001), 77i-82. 10.1136/oem.60.suppl_1.i77
Ndetei, D. M., Mutiso, V., Gitonga, I., Agudible, E., Tele, A., Birech, L., Musyimi, C., & McKenzie, K. (2018). World Health Organization Life-Skills Training is Efficacious in Reducing Youth Self-Report Scores in Primary School Going Children in Kenya. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 13(5). https://doi/org/10.1111/eip.12745
Norton, M.J. (2021). Co-production within child and adolescent mental health: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22): 11897.
Philippine Congress. (2018). RA 11036: Philippine Mental Health Law. https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/ republic_acts/ra%2011036.pdf
Punay, E. (2019). 3.3. Million Pinoys suffer From Depression. Philippine Star Global. https://www. philstar.com/headlines/2019/08/29/1947 360/33-million-pinoys-suffer-depression
Quintos, M.A.M. (2017). Prevalence of Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempts among the Filipino Youth and Its Relationship with the Family Unit. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 5(2): 11-23. http://www.apjmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/APJMR-2017.5.2.2.02
Raza, A. Abbasi, N.U.H., Khursid, M., & Ansari, M.I. (2018). The Relationship Between Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Self-Harm Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Pakistan Armed Forces Med Journal, 68(1): 137-42.
Rosen, L. (2011). Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the way they Learn. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2(3): 255-256.
Sansone, R.A., & Sansone, L.A. (2010). Measuring self-harm behavior with the self-harm inventory. Psychiatry, 7(4): 16–20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2877617/
Silva, H.A., da, Passos, M.H.P., dos, Oliveira, V.M.A., de, Palmeira, A.C., Pitangui, A.C.R., & de Araújo, R.C. (2016). Short version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21: is it valid for Brazilian adolescents? Einstein (São Paulo), 14(4): 486–493. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-45082016ao3732
Shubina, I., & Kulakli, A. (2019). Critical Thinking, Creativity and Gender Differences for Knowledge Generation in Education. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), 10(1): 30863093. https://infonomics-society.org/wp-content/uploads/Critical-Thinking-Creativity-and-Gender-Differences.pdf
Snider, A.M., & McPhedran, S. (2013). Religiosity, Spirituality, Mental Health and Mental Health Treatment Outcomes in Australia: A Systematic Literature review. Journal of Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 17(6): 568-581. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676
Tomacruz, S. (2018). A Cry for Help: Mental Illness, Suicide Cases Rising Among the Youth. Rappler. https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/suicide-cases-mental-health-illness-youth-risingphilippines.2013.871240
UCR-CHS. (2021). Mental Health on the Move in the Philippines. https://www.urc-chs.com/news/mental-health-on-the-move-in-the-philippinesmeet-the-lusog-isip-app/#:~:text=The%20DOH%20estimates%20that%20at,mood%20disorders%20like%20bipolar%20disorder.
University of the Philippines Population Institute. (2021). 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study. https://www.uppi.upd.edu.ph/research/yafs5
Weist, M.D., Bruns, E.J., Whitaker, K., Wei, Y., Kutcher, S., Larsen, T., Holsen, I., Cooper, J.L., Geroski, A., & Short., K.H. (2017). School Mental Health Promotion and Intervention: Experiences from Four Nations. School Psychology International, 38: 343-362. doi.org/10.1177%2F0143034317695379
World Health Organization. (1999). Partners in Life Skills Education: Conclusions from a United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting. Mental Health Promotion. Department of Mental Health WHO. Geneva. https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/30.pdf
World Health Organization. (2014). Mental Health: A State of Well-being. https://www.who.int/newsroom/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mentalhealth