STRESS COPING MECHANISM AMONG GRADE 11 STEM STUDENTS IN MAHONRI

ACADEMY AND SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL

A Research Paper Presented To

Mahonri Academy and Science High School

Senior High School Department

In partial fulfillment

Of the requirement for the subject

Practical Research I

By

AURINO, JERIC LOUIS

BALISCAO, REYBOY

GUTTAN, RONALD JR.

MORALES, KYLA

PARDO, ZEDRIC
 S.Y 2017-2018

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Coping mechanisms are ways to which external or internal stress is managed, adapted to or

acted upon. Coping is an activity we do to seek and apply solutions to stressful situations or

problems that emerge because of our stressors. Actually, the term "coping" is more associated

with "reactive coping", because in general, we see coping as a response to a stressor. On the

other hand, there's also what we call "proactive coping", wherein the coping response is aimed

at preventing a possible encounter with a future stressor. Stress occurs when an individual is

confronted with a situation that is perceived as overwhelming and with which they cannot cope.

Students face various stressors that leads to stress when they are not able to cope up

with these stressors. Stress can be explained in terms of sadness, worries, tension, frustration

which leads to depression which is temporary or may last long. Stress impedes the abilities of a

student to succeed academically, compromises their mental health functioning, and foster risk

behavior. Some common reasons of stress can be with parents, siblings, and academics. Coping

strategies are the specific efforts, both behavioural and psychological, that individuals employ

to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimise stressful events. Approaches in coping with stress are

influenced by ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic characteristics. This study can help the

students to get ways of coping with stress.

 This study aims to distinguish the coping strategies of the Grade 11 STEM students and

how they manage to escape of the stressors and focused on their academics. Furthermore, this

study will be benefited all the students especially the incoming Grade 11 STEM students. It

may assists them to handle the stressors so that, they will be more focused on their academics.

This study also aimed to assess the perceived sources of stress among Grade 11 STEM Students

and coping strategies used to manage stress.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

There are multiple frameworks which apply directly to understanding stress and the role that

coping plays in managing stress. These theories can provide a basis for understanding how methods of

coping influence the level of stress an individual experiences when faced with a potential stressor.

Two main categories of stress coping theories exist. The first category is trait based

theories, which focus on coping as a product of personality among all diverse life situations. Many of

these theories are based on Selye’s (1956) work in systemic stress, which related stress to physiological

responses. Examples of trait based theories include Byrne’s (1964) measure of repression-sensitization

which measures personality related to confrontive actions, Gleser and Ihilevich’s (1969) Defense

Mechanisms Inventory which assesses an individual’s reference between five protective actions, and

Goldstein’s (1959) measure of coping-avoiding, which relates reactions to personality characteristics.

Although trait based coping has some relevance to determining an individual’s preference for the use of

specific coping mechanisms, research indicates that it has a low predictive value in regard to the coping

process, and may underestimate the complexity of the coping process (Cohen & Lazarus, 1973;

Kaloupek, White, & Wong, 1984).

The second category of stress coping theories looks at coping as a process and is

well defined by Lazarus’ (1966) theory which views coping as a process characterized by the
continuous appraisal and reappraisal of a person’s interaction with his/her environment (Folkman et al.,

1986). This theory is especially relevant to the research of coping mechanisms used by agriculture

teachers and serves as the framework for this study.

According to Lazarus (1966), coping is a process which is based on shifts in the way

an individual views a potential stressor. The way a person views the stressor is based on the outcome

he/she expects from the situation. This view of a stressor was originally called an “appraisal” by Arnold

(1960) and elaborated by Lazarus in regard to stress (1966). Shifts in the way an individual views stress

may come from the environment or situations outside of the individual’s control, or they may come

from efforts to manage the stress by the individual. This theory suggests that research examining

coping mechanisms related to a specific event, rather than as generalized statements, will yield a more

accurate appraisal of individual coping strategies.

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

OUTPUT

The stress coping mechanism that have acquired in Mahonri Academy and Science High School.

PROCESS

The researchers will use an unstructured interview to gather a qualitative data.

INPUT

The main objective of this study is to determine the stress coping mechanism of STEM students in

Mahonri Academy have conquered and how does it essential to their academics.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

General Problem: To determine the habits of coping with stress among Grade 11 STEM students in

Mahonri Academy and Science High School.

Specific Problem:

1) What are the causes of stress among Grade 11 STEM students in Mahonri Academy and

Science High School?

2)What are the effects of stress among Grade 11 STEM students in Mahonri Academy and Science

High School?
 3) What strategies in coping with stress being employed by the Grade 11 STEM students in Mahonri

Academy and Science High School?

4) How beneficial are these strategies in coping with stress among Grade 11 STEM students in

Mahonri Academy and Science High School?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the stress coping mechanism of Grade 11 STEM students in Mahonri Academy

and Science High School specifically on their academics. This study can be a guideline to the students

especially for incoming Grade 11 students. The researchers limits the study to current Grade 11 STEM

students of Mahonri Academy and Science High School.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study is to know the coping styles of the Grade 11- STEM students and how

they manage the stress, to be more focused in their academics. The researchers made this study for

them to be motivated since STEM Strand is hard as they thought. The researchers’ goal is to help the

current and future STEM students to the risks even they will undergo different fields among the other

strands. The results of the study may guide the following people:

• Students. Results from this study may serve as source of information to better understand the

stress and its stressors related to their responsibilities in school and how to deal and cope and

deal with it.

• Teachers. Results from this study may serve as reference to better understand attitudes of

students which are commonly driven by stressors inside the school in such manner they could

implement approaches to minimize stresses among the students for them to have the right

attitude towards learning processes.

 • Parents. The study will provide information about the hardship experienced by

learners/students in juggling their academic tasks and home chores. Further, provide support to

their children to finish their academic courses.

• Researcher. The experiences to be learned from this study will be very significant to help them

improve their capacity to cope and deal with the stressors of their academic courses.

• Future Researcher. The study may serve as reference for future related research on stress and

coping mechanism of senior high school students.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Coping Mechanism: Methods by which students cope with the stress encountered as a result of the

school environment and the resulting areas of responsibility.

Stress: Stress is a body's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and

bad experiences. When people feel stressed by something going on around them, their bodies react by

releasing chemicals into the blood.

Stressors: The very specific situations or events that evoke the feeling of stress.