Adjustment problems, coping strategies, protective factors, and academic performance of the vulnerable youth

Abstract

This mixed-method research examined the relationship of adjustment problems, coping strategies, and protective factors on the academic performance of the ESGP-PA grantees enrolled at West Visayas State University, during the Academic year 2015-2016. In the qualitative phase, 12 grantees participated in the focus group discussion while 189 served as respondents in the quantitative phase. Themes and ideas were generated from the oral narratives. The pieces of information derived from the FGD were the bases in constructing the three survey instruments; namely, the Adjustment Problems Questionnaire (APQ), Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CPQ) and Protective Factors Questionnaire (PFQ). Mean, rank and standard deviation were used for descriptive statistical analysis while the t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s r and multiple linear regression were employed for inferential statistical analysis. Significance level was set at .05. The qualitative results revealed that the grantees encountered various adjustment problems in the following areas: personal/self, social/interpersonal, academic and environmental. The grantees employed coping strategies in dealing with their adjustment problems. Moreover, the grantees identified their families, the school, and community to offer moral and financial support to the grantees. The quantitative results revealed that there was a very small negative correlation between adjustment problems and coping strategies, moderately small positive correlation between coping strategies and protective factors, and small positive correlation between academic performance and coping strategies. Among the identified variables, only the coping strategies, was a significant predictor of academic performance.