SOURCES OF STRESS AND PROACTIVE COPING STYLE OF MMG

COLLEGE INCORPORATED STUDENTS

OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY

_______________________________

A Thesis
Presented to the
Faculty of Social Work
MMG College of General Santos City Inc.
General Santos City

________________________________

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Social Work

_________________________________

GINA P. MACAGCALAT

March 2020
 S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City
Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

APPROVAL SHEET

This thesis entitled: “SOURCES OF STRESS AND THE PROACTIVE COPING

STYLES OF THE STUDENTS OF MMG COLLEGE OF GENERAL SANTOS

CITY INC.,” prepared and submitted by Gina P. Macagcalat in partial fulfilment of

the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Work has been

examined and hereby approved.

RONALD TRES REYES,

MSPsy
Adviser

PANEL OF EXAMINERS

ROSALIE M. PORCELIN, RSW, MSSW, PhD

Chairman

MARISSA A. NOOB, RSW, MSSW ROLDAN A. CARPISANO, LPT

RSW
Member Member

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN SOCIAL WORK.

Comprehensive Examination: PASSED

 SANDRA YAID, RSW VIVIAN A. DELOROSO,
MBE
Program Head, College of Social Work Acting College Dean
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher would like to thank the following people, for their contribution

that led to the completion of this research

Ronald Tres Reyes, MSPsy, as an adviser who always there and has

supported this study with his patience and knowledge. The researcher is grateful

to his encouragement, unstoppable support, effort and sincerity to help;

Sandra Yaid, RSW, the program head in the College of Social Work for her

understanding, valuable comments and feedbacks which contributed a great

impact in shaping this study;

Roldan A. Carpisano, LPT, RSW, the mentor who always gave a word of

encouragement, good suggestion, and patience that really helped a lot for the

completion of this study;

To our School Vice President, Emilie Diagan who let us used computers

and internet to make our research paper successful;

To the students of MMG College from different Department, the

respondents for making this research possible and successful;

To my friends and relatives, whose efforts and support are unconditional,

for their help that made this research endeavour possible;

To my parents and loving aunt for their endless support and unconditional

love morally and financially; and

 Above all, To Almighty Allah swt for his greatness and devine guidance for

helping me to finish this research study and for the opulent blessings he has

given to me.

Gina P. Macagcalat

ABSTRACT
 This study aims to determine the source of stress and proactive coping

styles of students of MMG College Inc of General Santos City. The primary

purpose of this study was to identify the common source of stress that affected

the MMG College Inc. students such as school, money, relationship, and body,

mind and feelings. As well as to determine the proactive coping styles such as

reflective coping styles, strategic planning style and preventive coping styles in

managing their stress. The data were collected through modified questionnaire in

random sampling technique and were analyze using quantitative methods.

This study utilized the research and development method of research to

determine the level of stress and proactive coping styles that affects the students

of MMG College Inc of General Santos City. The researcher used the

quantitative methods to assess the feedback from the respondents.

It was revealed that the students in MMG College of General Santos City Inc.

have high level of source of stress but they managed it with the use of high level

proactive coping styles where they were able to combat stress. Result shows that

there is significant relationship between sources of stress and proactive coping

styles of students in the said institution, with a result of r=.454, p=.003. In which

p-value is less than .05(p<0.05), then there is significant relationship that exist.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRELIMINARIES

PAGE

TITLE PAGE………………………………….....................……................................

APPROVAL SHEET………………………………………………..............................i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………...…….....…….ii

ABSTRACT.................………………………………………………….....................iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................v-vii

LIST OF FIGURES

.............................................................................................viii

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................

ix

CHAPTERS

1 THE PROBLEM ………………………………………………….................... 1

Introduction .................................................................................................2

Statement of the Problem ..........................................................................

Conceptual Framework …………………………………………….................5

Theoretical Framework....……...………………………...........………........6-7
 Significance of the Study……………………………...…...........……............8

Definition of Terms………………………………….................................. 9-

10

2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……………………..........….....11-21

3 METHODOLOGY……………………………………………….....................22

Research Design.......................................................................................22

Research Locale.…………………………………………………................. 23

Research Respondents …………………….………………........................24

Researh Instrument……………………………………………......... ...........25

Data Collection ................………………………………………………......27

Statistical Tool………………………………………………..........................28

4 RESULTS……………………………………..........................................27-34

5 DISCUSSION……………………………………....................................35-41

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………...42

APPENDICES

A. Letter to Adviser Letter of Permission to the Study .............................43

B. Letter of Permission to conduct the Study ...........................................44

C. Letter of Permission to the validators .............................................45-49

 D. List of Validators and Validation Sheet.................................................50

E. Survey Questionnaire......................................................................51-54

G. Letter to Statistician and certification..............................................54-55

H. Letter to Grammarian and certification………….............................56-57

CURRICULUM VITAE.........................................................................................58
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1 Conceptual Framework 5

2&3 Map of the Philippines, General Santos City and MMG College 22
 LIST OF TABLES

Tables Page

1.1 Level of Source of Stress of Students in MMG College in

terms of School 27

1.2 Level of Source of Stress of Students in MMG College in

terms of Money 28

1.3 Level of Source of Stress of Students in MMG College in

terms of Relationship 29

1.4 Level of Source of Stress of Students in MMG College in

terms of Body, Mind and Feelings 30

2.1 Level of Proactive Coping Styles of Students in MMG

College terms of Reflective 31

2.2 Level of Proactive Coping Styles of Students in MMG

College terms of Strategic 32

2.3 Level of Proactive Coping Styles of Students in MMG

College terms of Preventive 33

3 The Significant Relationship of Sources of Stress and Proactive

Coping Styles of Students In MMG College of GSC 34

 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

This study investigated the source of stress and the methods of proactive

coping style that concerned MMG College of General Santos City Inc. students.

Stress is an uncomfortable feeling experienced by individuals that are too

demanding and a threat to their well-being especially when such demands

exceeded the personal and social resources the individuals were able to mobilize

(Nordqvist, 2017). Stress was a condition of mental pressure that led to so many

diseases. Increasing stress among young individuals was in an alarming

situation. It had been observed that all age groups from being a job professional

to students specifically college students. These feelings called stressors. It was

an unavoidable part of life. In a recent survey conducted by American College

Health Association (2017), 41.5 % of college students reported having more than

average level stress and 12.5% reported having the tremendous level of stress

(Dexter, Huff, Rudecki & Abraham, 2018).

In the previous research, stress was one of the most important subjects of

mental health research and one of the most complex areas in psychology and

sociology in the current century. It was considered a harsh threat to health that

needs attention. The reason for such extent of stress in human societies was the
complexity of social, personal and ecological environment humans (Mohammad,

et al, 2015). College student stress came many shapes and forms, they faced

variety of challenges in financial, emotional, relationship, and psychological

aspects.

There are limited literature of the proactive coping styles since these was

newly studied topic of positive psychology (Ersen & Bilgic, 2018) led to the

researcher to conduct a study on this topic and what was its relationship on the

sources of stress in the academic setting. In the same way, they mentioned that

stress had been one of the focuses of studies in psychology because of its

negative impact on people and their health. They further cited the effect of stress

that could lead to many problems like emotional distress, stomach disorder,

headaches, sleeplessness, loss of energy, and so on. Moreover, in the long term,

it could be more serious illnesses such as high blood pressure and

cardiovascular disease. For this reason, it was crucial to distinguished this

source of stress in school and identify the success of these proactive coping

styles in dealing with them.

When people face stress, they typically used some form of coping

mechanism to combat and lower their stress. Coiro, Bettis, and Compas (2017)

explained that successful coping involved an accurate understanding of the level

of control over the stressor as well as selecting an appropriate coping

mechanism to handle the stressor. It was important not only that college students

were selecting appropriate coping mechanisms to use, but that they were also

assessing their stress and their ability to handle it on their own. Successful
coping strategies helped students to perform markedly better in regards to their

studies as well as aid in relieving their stress (Khater, AkhuZaheya & Shaban,

2014). Proactive coping with stress for students was a dynamic and ongoing

process, aimed at survival and growth.

Salvacion studied the stress profile of students in the College of Dentistry

of the University of the Philippines, Manila. The study involved 149 dentistry

students-respondents. No significant differences in rankings were observed

between genders. There was undeniable similarity in the general stress profile of

different year levels. Common method of coping by the students include crying,

praying, talking, watching movies, and listening to music. Stress makes or breaks

a person. It is like a two-edged sword which can either motivate and stimulate a

student to peak performanceor reduce the student to ineffectiveness ( Mazo,

2015).
Statement of the Problem

The main objective of this research paper was to establish the relationship

of the sources of stress and proactive coping styles of students in MMG College

of General Santos City Inc. Specifically, It sought to find answers to the following

question:

1. What is the level of sources of stress among the students in MMG

College of General Santos City Inc. in terms of:

1.1. school;

1.2. money;

1.3. relationship; and

1.4. body, mind, and feelings?

2. What are the levels of proactive coping styles of the respondents

in terms of:

2.1. reflective coping styles;

2.2. strategic planning styles; and

2.3. preventive coping styles.

3. Is there any significant relationship between sources of stress and

proactive coping styles of students at MMG College of General

Santos City Inc.?

Hypothesis
 1. There is no significant relationship between stress and proactive

coping styles of students at MMG College of General Santos City

Inc.

Conceptual Framework

Figure l has shown the conceptual framework of the study. The sources of stress

were the independent variable. The concept of the source of stress identified as

intrapersonal and interpersonal stressors that college students may face. These

sources of stress such as money, school, relationship, mind, body, and feelings

can usually lead to poor academic performance of students.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Mmm

Source of Stress Proactive

Coping Styles

 Money
 Reflective Coping

Style
 Relationship
 Strategic Planning
 School Style

 Preventive
 Body, mind,
feelings Coping Style

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

 It was clear that students met different situations that provided stress,

such as relationships with new students; personal factors that varied from person

to person; e.g. movement from a small hometown or village to a big city;

changed in sleeping habits. This means when students have large academic

workloads, they often suffered from lack of sleep. They also have new

responsibilities and sometimes combined a job with the studies. Also, they might

have financial difficulties, if they should pay for their education. There might be

health problems and poor eating habits encountered in their studies. The

students did not have enough time to do physical activities and to cook for

themselves.

The dependent variable of the study was proactive coping styles. A proactive

coping style is an essential strategy in managing stress such as reflective coping

style, strategic planning style, and preventive coping style. These strategies are

all relevant to overcome different kinds of stress. Reflective coping style is

referred to the examining and planning in a systematic fashion in solving stress.

While, strategic planning style was the way a defining its strategy, or direction,

and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. Lastly,

the preventive coping style was referred to as the efforts that were taken to

reduce the likelihood of experience or lessen the impact of, the stress in the

future. These three coping styles could be helpful to lessen stress.

Theoretical Framework

This research paper was anchored on the paradigm of the relationship

between stress and proactive coping styles. The research conducted by

Espinwall (2011) pointed out that a proactive coping strategy was intended to

prevent the stress to be experienced by the individual to arise in the first

instance. Proactive coping styles was a set of processes through which individual

perceived potential stressors and act in advance to prevent them or to lessen

their impact. Proactive coping consists of the processes through which people

develop resources, attend to incipient or potential problems and learn from

preliminary efforts to prevent or offset sources of stress. It was seeking

knowledge pertaining to areas of potential risk created by stress.

This study used Cooley’s Symbolic Interaction theory as adapted by Mazo

(2015) causes, effects and coping mechanism of students in Philippines

University. Symbolic Interaction Theory claims that individuals are capable of

creating to solutions to their own problems. It adheres that the “self” is influenced

and shaped by social processes in this instance “stress” and the capacity to

symbolize. Human action was caused by complex interaction between and

within individuals. Dynamic social activities takes place among persons and they

act according to how they define their situation. Applied to this study, it means

that everyone has the ability to find ways and means to handle stress, thus,

students can cope up with the stress they encounter.

Another theory that supported this study the humanistic theory begins from

the perspective that all human beings are in a state of constant "becoming" that each

of us is always striving toward self-actualization through an emphasis on personal

strengths and greater mindfulness. Humanism emerged in psychology during the

early 20th century as a reaction to the psychodynamic and behavioralist theories of

Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner, respectively. Advocates like Abraham Maslow and

Carl Rogers pushed the focus of mental health treatment toward more personal

interests like individuality, creativity, and the search for meaning. In other words, the

individual seemed to be taking steps to be prepared for potential challenges. This

model was supported by the new conceptualization of coping that was proposed

by Schwarzer and Taubert (2002) as proactive coping styles that focus on a

proactive, goal-oriented, and adaptive way of coping stress. They furthered that

proactive coping styles, in response to stress, were purposeful in taking actions

and create opportunities to resolve it before it happens.

Significance of the Study

The result of this study would be beneficial to the following:

To the Faculty and Staff. It would give information to the teachers of

MMG College of General Santos City Inc.The result of this study would serve as

a source of information that was relevant to empower the level of their coping

styles for stress.

To the Readers. This study served as a tool for giving enlightenment with

the questions they have in minds concerning the improvements of coping style

ability in the 21st century that was significantly relevant to overcome student’s life

challenges. It would provide them a deeper sense of understanding and

knowledge as well as awareness on the said topic.

 To the Researchers. This would assist them with another source of

information for a similar study that would be conducted and would give them

knowledge about proactive coping styles of the students.

To the School Administrator. The result of this study would help the

school aministration in putting up an integrated stress information and guidance

system that plays a very helpful tool in guiding students towards possible

solution to combat diferent source of stress.

Scope and Delimitation

The focus of this research paper was to identify the sources of stress that

affected the MMG College of General Santos City Inc. students such as schools,

money, relationship, and body, mind, and feelings. As well as, to determine the

proactive coping styles such as reflective coping style, strategic planning and

preventive coping style in managing their stress. In this study, the researcher

employed a simple random sampling method. It means that the researcher

randomly selected 50 students from different program with the age ranging from

19 to 21 years old who were working and non-working students. It delimited the

study by excluding the Senior High School students who were also studying in

the same school.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally and conceptually for better

comprehension of the study:

 Source of stress. referred to the different kinds of stress that was often

accepted as being part and of student life such as school, money, relationship,

and body, mind, and feelings.

Stress. is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any

event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry or nervous.

Stressors. is anything that causes the release of stress hormones.

Proactive. Referred to as the process of anticipating potential stressors

acting in advance either to prevent them or to mute their impact (Aspinwall

& Taylor, 1997) such as reflective coping style, strategic planning style, and

preventive coping style.

Coping Styles. means to invest one’s own conscious effort, to solve

personal and interpersonal problems, in order to try to master, minimize or

tolerate stress and conflict.

Reflective Coping. refers to brainstorming alternative plans of action to

solve a problem and then mentally comparing their effectiveness.

Strategic Planning. is a tool that is useful for guiding day-to-day

decisions and also for evaluating progress and changing approaches when

moving forward.

Preventive Coping. refers to efforts that are taken to reduce the

likelihood of experiencing, or lessen the impact of stress in the future.

MMG College of General Santos City Inc.. referred to the school in

which the study was conducted.

 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter presents review of literature and studies on the source of

stress in the academe in terms of school, money, relationship, and body, mind,

feeling, and proactive coping stress in terms of reflective coping style, strategic

planning style and preventive coping style.

Source of Stress

Stress was defined as a condition or feeling experienced when a person

perceived that the demands placed on them exceeded the resources the

individual had available (Okoro, 2018). Stress was another attractive and

currently relevant topic for every college student. Jennings, Henderson, Erla,

Abraham, and Gillum (2018) affirmed “college students were vulnerable to stress

and they had set of stress that commonly affect them. Stress was a condition of

mental pressure for the particular individuals facing problems from environmental

and social well-being which led to so many diseases. Young age was the critical
period because at this time youth faced lots of changes in life. As a result of the

stress of this transition, college students relied on their parents for different types

of support (Carlson, 2014).

College and University life was one of the most fun and exciting phase of

young adulthood. It was a place where students gain the opportunity to

educational as well as to intellectual growth, unfortunately, young adults seem to

be having difficulty in handling life. Students encounter a lot of challenges in their

daily life hence the idea of a vibrant college or university life disclosed by these

challenges

contributed to stress. Many of them face hardships and difficulties in their studies

and working life and for some students, stress had become a way of living

(Parjat, et al., 2014).

Stress was an inescapable part of life generally touched a wide range of

groups of population with no regard to their age, gender, educational status or

socioeconomic status. Despite this fact, stress and other things was a prevailing

mental health problem among college students (Sofyan et al., 2018). It was

known that life itself was stress-related dependent on the individual’s lifestyle and

the type of cultural development. Stress increasingly became part of our lives.

Historically, the Latin word “stress” had been in common languages. Studies

showed was more complex than had been originally thought, and personal

factors must be taken into account (Lazaruz & Folkman, 2015). Stress issues

affected college students on their concentration academically.

 Stress could be healthy, and adaptive people’s response to the threat by

mobilizing energy towards the stressors (Khan, Lanin & Ahmad, 2015). It was

cited that college could be a stressful experience for students as they adjusted to

academic demanded of higher education, and in many scenarios, the transition

to a new city, living space, and social environment. As a result of these changes,

college students could experience heightened levels of stress compared to an

individual who did not attended college, in part because of increased specialized

workload and other presumed life changes (Sorrels, 2019). Additionally, a study

of stress Puri, Yadav, & Shekhawat in 2016 suggested that experience when the

transaction between person and environment was perceived as a threat

challenge,

or harm to personal well-being resulted in stress.

Stressors were anything that caused the release of stress hormones.

There were two types of stressors which included psychological stressors and

physical stressors (Center for Studies of Human Stress, n.d). Factors that led to

stress in college students could also include the increases in new opportunities,

independent decision-making, new financial obligations, evolving maturity levels

and the development of social and civic skills. It could be difficult for students to

meet new people and become socially integrated while focusing heavily on

academics. Moreover, joining extracurricular organizations, such as clubs, could

be difficult for college students because they might face complications learning

how to successfully manage their time (Puri, et al. 2016).

 It was also mentioned that academics and workload tuned out as the top

stressors of the students. The course they have, the assignment, requirements,

exams, other responsibilities and the meaningfulness of the task affected their

perception and experience of their workload in a semester as well as money;

relationship; school; and body, mind, and feelings (Dy, 2019). Comparatively,

students in tertiary education settings faced a wide range of ongoing stressors

related to academic demand, financial, emotional and psychological. The recent

survey reported that students experienced stress had lower well-being,

measured using psychological, social, cognitive and physical components

(OECD, 2015). Previous research showed that individuals undertaking higher

education, self-supported level of stress were associated with poorer quality of

and well-being (Rebeiro et al., 2017). Ongoing stress also precipitated the

development of more serious mental health issues such as anxiety and

depression (Hetrick & Parker 2019).

Stress was a condition of mental pressure for a particular individual from

environmental and social well-being which led to many diseases. Aside from

impairing overall health and well-being, depression and anxiety symptoms further

adversely affected academic achievement (Bernal-Morales, et al. 2015).

However, stress could also help rise to meet challenges. It was what keeps an

individual compelled during a presentation at school, sharpened attempting the

game-winning free show, or driven to study for an exam. But beyond a certain

point, stress stopped being helpful and start causing major damage to health,

mood, productivity, relationships and quality of life (Helpguide, 2019).

 In an academic situation, the source of stress that greatly affected

students were school, money, relationship, and body, mind, and feelings. It

alleviated the student’s concentration in the school. Money was one of the big

issues that affected student life that referred to financial problems. It was another

important factor that influenced the financial standing of college students, their

background, or more specifically, their parents’ financial status. Family income

usually the starting point for any students, and regardless of the current

dependency on parental finances, this background affected college student

perspectives and behaviors regarding money (Graves and Savage, 2015).

Theodora and Marti’ah (2016) stated that financial literacy was critical to help

students managed independently and make appropriate financial planning.

Knowledge and understanding related to personal finances significantly relevant

in making good and wise decisions in spending money (Gunardi, Ridwan, &

Sudarjah, 2017).

School campuses referred to the environment as the facilities available for

instructions and it possesses a strong influence in the teaching-learning process

(Okwelle, 2016). He added that there was a need for adequate classroom

buildings with good sitting arrangements for classroom instruction. Fayose (2016)

stated that there was a need to for standard library, it should be equipped with

relevant books, journals, periodically and many others. It was also important to

provide stable electricity supply, good lighting, and ventilation, maintained

tidiness of the learning environment (Puyate, 2016). School location was

important for college student either in an urban or rural area, but according to
Akubue & Ifelunni (2016) students in urban schools performed better than those

in a rural schools. Hence, the school campus could affect college experience

nearly as much as what the student study and hope.

The relationship was one of the indicators of the stress among college

students either from their parents, friend, teacher, and classmates. College

student connection to campus life could be sometimes unpredictable. But it was

a vital relationship that helped with the healthy and successful college

experience. Many studies have explored these relationships from different

angles. Some of the primary considerations included student-institution fit

(Denson & Bowman, 2015), student engagement (Flynn, 2014), and complexity

thinking (Forsman, Linder, Moll, Frazer, & Anderson, 2014). All these

explorations on student connectedness

Stemmed from the conceptual perspective of the researcher or an

institutional

framework.

According to Ruberman (2014), the connection had also been discovered

between strong parental relationships and the emerging adult ability to self-

regulate and successfully transition to college. Strong relationships between

emerging adults and parents with an authoritative parenting style have shown an

affirmative influence on competence, authoritative parenting predicted better

academic, social, and personal-emotional adjustment at university or colleges as

well as a greater sense of attachment to the institutions (Rubin & Kelly, 2015). It

was mentioned, effective communication that positively impacted the relationship

could create an open and sincere relationship between college students and

parent which was relevant to lessen the stress among students (Sorrel, 2019).

Teacher-student relationships played a significant role in student learning

and in the quality of teaching. This relationship would meaningfully influence the

educational surroundings, which in turn, impacted on learner’s motivation and

achievements (Boynton, 2015). According to Whitaker (2014), the main variable

in the learning environment was not the student, but the teacher. These teachers

identified the importance of involving with their students so that they would not

give more stress to the student. Students became energetic participants in their

own learning (Maulana, 2017). For this reason, the first priority to helping a

student became more motivated and involved, and thus, educationally

successful, was constructing and retaining positive teacher and student

interaction.

Stress could lead to physical and psychological symptoms that affected

the mind, body, and feelings. Physical symptoms involved headaches, upset

stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, poor eating habits and sleeping

problems. The research suggested that stress also could bring on or worsen

certain symptoms or diseases (Essel & Owusu, 2017). Psychological stress was

not a new problem for college students; however, it had emerged as an issue of

increasing concern, particularly within the context of increased efforts to curb

student attrition (Childs, Finnie, & Martinello, 2016). It was interesting to identify

the mechanism of stress generation and management among students (Deasy et

al. 2014b). Stress experienced by anyone could be inevitable.

Proactive Coping Styles

Coping was a crucial component of the stress response, however, the

exact definition of coping along with its function was not clear until Lazarus and

Folkman (2015) published stress, appraisal and the coping book which

revolutionized and shaped the core understanding of stress. Originally, coping

was explained from two distinct approaches; the biological and the

psychoanalytical, but according to Lazaruz and Folkman, (2015) these

approaches, although important, did not provide the coherent theory of coping. It

was stated that the concept of coping and its measurement was not yet fully

understood, but its study was essential for realizing the diversity of proactive

coping style, as well as providing insight into the adaptation process (Nedvedova,

2018).

Research had identified that coping strategies used by individuals

depended on temporal locations of stressors. It was important to note that life

satisfaction was affected by a variety of factors beyond the concept of stress.

Other major factors were social and cultural environments. Despite the fact that

different social

and cultural settings were experienced by the students and adolescents undergo

significant changes in this area. Another study of stress and life satisfaction

among college students revealed a high negative correlation between the two

constructs, demonstrating that high perceived stress associated with low life

satisfaction and further confirming previously obtained results (Puri, et al. 2016).
 The proactive coping style referred to the set of the process through which

individuals detected potential stressors and act in advance to prevent them or

mute their impact (Scienedirect.com, 2015). It was also defined as an individual’s

effort to go after achieving new challenges, created new opportunities and

enabled promotion toward challenging goals or strategies to eliminate or avoid

stressors before they occurred (Webster, n.d.). It had three indicators namely;

reflective coping style, strategic planning, and preventive coping style.

Personal choice in coping strategies was determined by personality traits

and type, and social context. Coping strategies could be either positive or

adaptive strategies decreased the amount of stress perceived and experienced

while negative or maladaptive strategies diminished symptoms of stress without

addressing the real problem disorder. The reflective coping style was defined as

examining and planning systematic fashion. Reactive coping style involved

emotional and cognitive item that involved in distorting the individual’s ability to

cope by depleting their resources and acting impulsively (Webster, n.d.).

Lazarus & Folkman (2015) described the various self-regulatory mechanism that

determined the outcome of stress. People attempt to cope with their stressors

using various coping strategies. Preventive coping style was one of the ways

to

cope with stress which defined as the process where individuals construct

resources and resistance towards the possible occurrence of stress in the distant

future (Ersen & Bilgic, 2018).

Correlation between Measures

 It was cited from the study of Maleknia, et al. (2015) that there was a

relationship between the source of stress and proactive coping styles. The

experience of stress varied between individuals and was determined by several

variables such as the support system of the individual. Stress coping styles have

several cognitive and behavioral components. On the other hand, for college

students, numerous responsibilities (e.g. academics, family, and personal

expectations) as well as new stressors (e.g. financial challenges, social conflict

or romantic partners, poor sleep habits, substance use), might led them to avoid

facing intrapersonal transgressions (Dexter, et al. 2018; Lee & Jang 2015).

Generally, coping was described as effort to enhance adaption with the

environment or avoid negative consequences under stressful circumstances.

Flexible behaviors and giving proper feedback in any given situation could be

useful depending on the nature of the situation and the individual’s vulnerability

and capabilities.

When people faced stress they typically used coping mechanisms to

combat and lowered their stress. Coiro, Bettis, and Compas (2017) explained

that successful coping involved, accurate understanding of the level of control

over the stressors as well as selecting an appropriate coping mechanism to

handle the stressors. It was important not only that college students were

selecting appropriate handling mechanism to use. But that they were also

assessing their stress and their ability to handle it on their own. In the previous

study, most college students recognized the effects of the stress and their

relationships with proactive styles which reduced their stress by using reflective,
strategic, and preventive style, according to the participants they managed their

stress very well during the class. Because the absence of coping mechanisms

among college students could affect mental health as well.

The way in which a person perceived stress was an important factor in

how they handled their stress. When students failed to understand it, it could

become more difficult to cope with stress. In Dexter et al. (2018) study, students

agreed most commonly with the statement, “creating better health in one area of

my life spills into other areas of my life” when asked to respond to statements

about their perceptions’ of stress in their lives. Students also acknowledged that

stress affected multiple areas of their lives and by bettering one area, their stress

levels could also decrease. In addition, (Saleh, et al. (2017) reported a

correlation between perceived stress and factors that could be considered as

negative ones, such as psychological distress and its four factors including

somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe

depression. Shatkin et al. (2016) studied the impact of a risk and resilience

course on stress, coping skills, and cognitive style among college students. The

study compared 36 undergraduate students to 62 students enrolled in a

psychopathology course. Undergraduate students learned about risk-taking

behaviors, decision-making and

coping skills (Shatkin et al., 2016).

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY
 This chapter presents and explain in detail the procedure to be followed in

conducting the study. This included discussions on the design of the research,

description of the locale of the study, description of respondents and its sampling

design and procedure, description of a research instrument to be used, steps in

collecting data, and appropriate statistics to use to analyze and interpret the data.

Research Design

This is a quantitative study which employs the use of descriptive –

correlational design. Furthermore, the research design was quantitative

considering that it deals with measuring and analysis variables in order to get

results. It involved the utilization and analyzing of survey questionnaire using

specific statistical techniques to answer an inquiry. It also explained the issue or

phenomenon through gathering data in numerical form and analyzing with the aid

of mathematical methods in particular statistics (Apuke, 2017). This is a

descriptive study since the researcher intended to describe the characteristics of

a population or phenomenon being studied. Notably, the researcher aimed to

address the "what" question as to identify the level of source of stress and level

of proactive coping styles (Shields, et al. 2013). On the other hand, it is at the

same time a correlational study as the researcher seek to determine whether

there is an existing relationship between the sources of stress and proactive

coping styles of students in General Santos City (Fraenkel, et al. 2015

Research Locale
 The location of the study was MMG College of General Santos City Inc.

located in General Santos City. The MMG College of General Santos City, Inc.

aimed to serve as a venue for students to discover their potentials, develop their

talents, and to enhance their productivity, skills, and abilities to become globally

competitive, thereby enabling them to fulfill their life’s purpose. For this reason,

by means of knowing what stressed them in relation to school and how they

handle these through proactive way influenced the researcher to select the

school as the venue for this research paper.

Figure 2. Map of the Philippines and location of Genearal Santos City

Figure 3. Map and location of MMG College Inc in General Santos City
Population and Sample

The whole population for this research paper consisted of students from

MMG General Santos College Inc. who were 19 – 21 years old. These

respondents comprised all of the working and non-working students. It excluded

the junior and senior high school who were also students at the same school. A

simple random sampling was employed. In the use of simple random sampling,

the researcher was able to ensure that each college student is chosen entirely by

chance and each member of the population had an equal and objective chance

of being included as respondent of the study (Fraenkel et al, 2015).

The researcher would utilize the table of random of number in ensuring to

obtain a representative random sample, which meant that, each and every

college student had an equal chance to be involved in this study. Fraenkel et al

(2015) mentioned that a table of random of number was more effective compared

to the manual selection of random samples using a card and dice. And this could

be simply done with the assistance of the EXCEL software. In fact, many of the

researchers were using Excel software to obtain a random sample.

The researcher chose randomly 50 college students enrolled in the school

year 2020 - 2021. Fraenkel et al (2015) proposed guidelines that would establish

an appropriate sample size that was needed for a particular form of study. They

suggested that 50 respondents for sample size for a descriptive and correlational

study were considered sufficient enough to determine the presence of a

relationship.

Research Instrument
 A standardized questionnaire of Barreca & Hepler that measured the

source of stress was utilized to determine the level of source of stress

experienced by college students while they were in school. It measured their

sources of stress in terms of school, money, relationship and body, mind and

feelings. The questionnaire was composed of 25 items that assessed the sources

of stress (Pandey & Pandey, 2014). The respondents of this research paper

answered using a 5-point Likert scale from “1” (strongly disagree) to ‘5” (strongly

agree) the level of source of stress felt by the college students while in school.

The survey form consisted of seven item questions about the stress in school,

eight about money, nine about their relationship and nine about their mind, body,

and feelings. The items in the level of source of stress feedback form were

answered by the selected college students using a five-point Likert scale as

follows:

Range of Descriptive Level Interpretation

Mean
4.20 – 5.00 Very High This purports that the items concerning
the source of stress are always
manifested.
3.40 – 4.19 High This purports that the items concerning
the source of stress are oftentimes
manifested.
2.60 – 3.39 Moderate This purports that the items concerning
the source of stress are sometimes
manifested.
1.80 – 2.59 Low This purports that the items concerning
the source of stress are rarely
manifested.
1.00 – 1.79 Very Low This purports that the items concerning
the source of stress are never
manifested.
 The researcher utilized the Proactive Coping Inventory to measures the

level of proactive coping styles (Greenglass, et. al., 1999). The Proactive Coping

Inventory was composed of 17-item questions that were modified and created

specifically to evaluate the proactive coping styles of college students. The

respondents chose from the 5point Likert scale from “1” (strongly disagree) to “5”

(strongly agree) on the extent of proactive coping styles that were utilized by the

college students in addressing the stress they experienced being in school.

Range of Descriptive Level Interpretation

Mean
4.20 – 5.00 Very High This purports that the items concerning
the proactive coping styles are always
manifested.
3.40 – 4.19 High This purports that the items concerning
the proactive coping styles are oftentimes
manifested.
2.60 – 3.39 Moderate This purports that the items concerning
the proactive coping styles are
sometimes manifested.
1.80 – 2.59 Low This purports that the items concerning
the proactive coping styles are rarely
manifested.
1.00 – 1.79 Very Low This purports that the items concerning
the proactive coping styles are never
manifested.

Data Collection

A contextualized survey tools were employed utilizing the standardized

questionnaire of Barreca & Hepler (Pandey & Pandey, 2014) and Proactive

Coping Inventory (Greenglass et al, 1999) were used to gather the data in

determining the level of the source of stress in terms of school, money,

relationship, and mind, body

and feelings; level of proactive coping styles and the correlation between source

of stress and proactive coping styles of college students in General Santos City.

The researcher asked a letter of permission to the administration of the

school to permit the researcher to conduct the said study. After obtaining the list

of students enrolled for the school year 2020 - 2021, the researcher used the

table of random of number using the EXCEL software for the selection of the

respondents. And then, a consent letter was sent to the selected college students

if they agree to be part of the research paper. A contextual questionnaire was

disseminated on the selected respondents with a letter assuring them of their

confidentiality and anonymity of their identity.

The researcher provided the respondent an option of being anonymous

because this would prevent preconceptions for the respondents to answer the

questionnaire with full honesty and effectiveness. The contextualized

questionnaire could be answered individually for 10 minutes. All of the instruction

at the top of the contextualized questionnaire test form was self-evident. The

respondents encircled the number of statements that described their choices.

Statistical Tools

In answering the inquiry in the research objectives, the researcher

employed the following statistical treatment.

Mean was employed in determining the level of source of stress that

experienced by the college students being in the academe in terms of school,

money, relationship, and mind, body, and feelings. And the correlation
coefficient was applied in establishing the relationship between the source of

stress and proactive coping styles of college students in General Santos City.

Chapter 4

RESULT

This chapter deals with the presentation and interpretation of data

gathered in research study. The various results were presented in the following

tables with corresponding discussion and explanation. It also answers the

specific problem stated in the previous chapter.

Source of Stress

As shown on table 1 are the general responses of the selected students in

MMG College of General Santos City Inc. with regards to their level of source of

stress in terms of school, money, relationship and body, mind and feelings that

has been subjected to source of stress experienced by the students of MMG

College of General Santos City Inc.

Table 1.1 The level of source of stress of students in MMG College of

General Santos City Inc. in terms of school.
School Mean Description
1. I study and passed the test/assignments. 3.95 High

2. My attendance is good. 3.87 High

3.87 High
3. I understand what my teacher teaches.
4. I am sure if I am able to do well in college. 3.87 High

5. I can pay attention in class 3.75 High

6. I am always on time for my class 3.60 High

 7. I’m fine with difficult assignments. 3.56 High

Total 3.78 High

Table 1.1 showed that most randomly selected respondents- students in MMG

College of General Santos City Inc. had a high level of source of stress in terms

of school that they have experienced while studying. First indicator got the

highest mean which described as high although most of the indicator got a high

level. Which described that students were stressed in terms of school with a

general mean resulted to 3.78 was obtained from the mean score of 3.41 to 4.20

or high for source of stress in terms of school.

Table 1.2 The level of source of stress of students in MMG College of

General Santos City in Terms of money.
Money Mean Description

1. I have trouble managing a budget 3.65 Moderate

2. I can get the money I need to pay for college. 3.15 Moderate

3. I am financially responsible for myself. 3.11 Moderate

4. I can get a job. 2.91 Moderate

5. My parents allowed me of how much I spend. 2.84 Moderate

6. I have the money to pay basic expenses. 2.65 Moderate

Total 3.05 Moderate

Table 1.2 showed that most randomly selected respondents- students in

MMG College of General Santos City Inc. had a moderate stress experienced in
terms of money because some of the students were supported by the

government in form of scholarship like the scholarship of Unifast, CHED, and

many others which really helps the student to pursue their education. and some

are supported by parents financially. Prior to that MMG college offers the lowest

tuition fee in the

city that helps the students and parents to mobilized their budget in school. A

general mean resulted to 3.05 was obtained from the mean score of 2.61 – 3.40

as moderate for source of stress in terms of money.

Table 1.3 The level of source of stress of students in MMG College of

General Santos City Inc. in Terms of Relationship.

Relationship Mean Description

1. A family member, friend has been well and grow. 4.37 Very high

2. I have harmonious relationship with my parents. 4.02 High

3. I am happy staying with my family. 3.67 High

4. I find it easy to express my problem 3.44 Moderate

5. I am fond meeting other people 2.88 High

Total 3.68 High

Table 1.3 showed that the most randomly selected respondents- students

in MMG College of General Santos City Inc. had a high stress experienced in

terms of relationship. First indicator got the highest level which described as the

highest level of stress in terms of relationship, because student relationship with

their peers, teachers, family and love ones were affected of covid19 pandemic.

When pandemic strikes this is where students relationship got affected because
there are precautionary measures and protocol that needs to be follow otherwise

you may suffer the consequence. Students just stay at home to observe socal

distancing. A general mean resulted to 3.68 was obtained from the mean score

of 3.41– 4.20 as high for source of stress in terms of relationship.

Table 1.4 The level of source of stress of students in MMG College of

General Santos City in terms of body, mind and feelings.

Body, Mind and feelings Mean Description

1. There are lots of fun things to do. 4.23 High

2. I know what to do for exercise. 4.15 High

3. I want to do things like I used to do. 3.98 High

4. I feel healthy. 3.88 High

5. I feel happy. 3.77 High

6. I feel like anyone cares about me. 3.69 High

7. I feel relaxed and well sleep 3.56 Moderate

Total 3.90 High

Table 1.4 showed that the most randomly selected respondents- students

in MMG College of General Santos City Inc. had a high stress experienced in

terms of body, mind and feelings. First indicator that says there are lots of things

to do got the highest level and the following indicators got also high and last is

moderate which says I feel relaxed and well sleep, It is because some of the

students were physically, emotionally and psychologically stressed while

studying. .A general mean resulted to 3.90 was obtained from the mean score of

3.41-4.20 as high for source of stress in terms of body, mind and feelings.
Proactive Coping Style

As shown on table 2 are the general responses of the selected students in

MMG College of General Santos City Inc. with regards to their level of proactive

coping styles in terms of reflective coping style, strategic planning style and

preventive coping style that are subjected proactive coping experienced by the

students in the said institution.

Table 2.1 Level of Proactive Coping Styles of students in MMG College of

General Santos City Inc. in terms of reflective.

Reflective Mean Description

1. I focus on my problem and make way to solved. 3.91 High

2. Rather than acting impulsively, I usually think of 3.67 High

various ways to solve a problem.
3. When I have a problem with my classmates, 3.67 High
friends, or family, I imagine beforehand how I will deal
with them successfully.
4. I tackle a problem by thinking about realistic 3.67 High
alternatives.
5. In my mind I go through many different scenarios in 3.56 High
order to prepare myself for different outcomes.
Total 3.69 High

Table 2.1 had suggested that most randomly selected respondents-

students in MMG College of General Santos City Inc. had a high proactive

coping style experienced in terms of reflective coping styles that means students

had an alternative plan of action to solve their problem before it became stress.

Table had shown that the indicator number one got the highest level which
described as student can focus on their problem and make way to solve it. A

general mean resulted to 3.69 was obtained from the mean score of 3.41 – 4.20

as high.

Table 2.2 Level of Proactive Coping Styles of students in MMG College of

General Santos City Inc. terms of strategic planning style.

Strategic Planning Style Mean Description

1. I often find ways to break down difficult problems 4.10 High
into manageable components.
2. I make a plan and follow it. 4.10 High
3. I break down a problem into smaller parts and 4.06 High
do one part at a time.
4. I make lists and try to focus on the most 3.90 High
important things first.
Total 4.00 High

Table 2.2 had suggested that most randomly selected respondents-

students in MMG College of General Santos City Inc. had a high result

experienced in terms of strategic planning styles which mean that students knew

to set their priorities and focused on their goal to determined positive outcome for

their problem. The first indicator explained that students got high level in terms

of finding ways to break down difficult problems into manageable component.

The next indicators also got high level of proactive coping that says student can

make list and focus on the most important things, which simply explain that

student can faced different stressors by using this strategic planning styles. A

general mean resulted to 4.00 was obtained from the mean score of 3.41 – 4.20

as high which describes that students has strategic planning styles in terms of

dealing stressors.
Table 2.3 The level of proactive coping style of students in MMG College of
General Santos City Inc. in terms of preventive coping style.

Preventive Mean Description

1. I develop my job skills to protect myself against 4.33 High
unemployment.
2. I plan for future eventualities 4.13 High
3. I think ahead to avoid dangerous situations. 4.08 High
4. I plan my strategies to change a situation before I 4.04 High
act.
5. I plan strategies for what I hope will the best 4.01 High
possible outcome.
6. I develop my job skills to protect myself against 3.85 VeryHigh
unemployment.
7. Before disaster strikes, I am well-prepared for its 3.78 High
consequences.
8. I prepare for adverse events 3.44 High
Total 3.96 High

As shown in the table, this suggested that the most randomly selected

respondents- students in MMG College of General Santos City Inc. had a high

rate of experience in terms of preventive coping styles which means that the

respondents exerted efforts that were taken to reduce or lessen the impact of

stress in the future. The first indicator that says students develop their job skills to

protect their selves against unemployment got the highest level of preventive

coping styles followed by planning future eventualities and last is preparing for

adverse events which got the lowest. A general mean resulted to 3.96 was

obtained from the mean score of 3.41 – 4.20 as high in terms of preventive

coping.

Relationship of Source of Stress between Proactive Coping Styles

Table 3 The significant relationship of stress and proactive coping styles of
students at MMG College of General Santos City Inc.

Variable proactive coping styles

Correlatio p- value Remarks Decision
n
coefficient
(r)
Stress Reject Ho
.454 .003 Significant

As shown in table 3, the result shows that there is significant relationship

between sources of stress and proactive coping styles of students in MMG

College of General Santos City Inc. with a result of r=.454, p=.003. In which p-

value is less than .05(p <0.05), then there is significant relationship that exist.

The result led to the rejection of the null hypothesis that there was no significant

relationship of stress and proactive coping styles of students at MMG College of

General Santos City Inc.

Chapter 5
 Discussion

In this chapter, a comprehensive deliberation of the collected data in

connection to the level of source of stress and proactive coping styles are

presented. The main objective of this research paper was to establish the

relationship of stress and proactive coping styles of working and non-working

students in MMG College of General Santos City Inc. in terms of stress, The

result is high as answered by the respondents on the items of school, money,

relationship and body, mind and feelings. This indicated that most of the

respondents answered that they were studied and passed the tests/assignments,

experienced trouble managing a budget, experienced family member/friend has

been well and grow and experienced knowing what to do for exercise and feel

healthy. In terms of level of proactive styles, the result is high as answered by the

respondents on the items of reflective, strategic and preventive. This indicated

that most of the respondents answered that they focused on the problem and

make way to solved, make lists and tried to focus on the most important things

first and developed job skills to protect themselves against unemployment.

The result of the study was confirmed by Lazaruz & Folkman, 2015 that

stress was an inescapable part of life generally touched a wide range of groups

of population with no regard to their age, gender, educational status or

socioeconomic status. Despite this fact, stress and other things was a prevailing

mental health problem among college students which was congruent to the study

of Sofyan et al., (2018). It was known that life itself was stress-related dependent

on the individual’s lifestyle and the type of cultural development. Stress

increasingly became part of our lives. Studies showed more complexity than had

been originally thought, and personal factors must be taken into account. Stress

issues affected college students on their concentration academically.

In addition, coping was a crucial component of the stress response,

however, the exact definition of coping along with its function was not clear until

(Lazarus and Folkman, 2015) published stress, appraisal and the coping book

which revolutionized and shaped the core understanding of stress. Originally,

coping was explained from two distinct approaches; the biological and the

psychoanalytical, but according to (Lazaruz and Folkman, 2015) these

approaches, although important, did not provide the coherent theory of coping. It

was stated that the concept of coping and its measurement was not yet fully

understood, but its study was essential for realizing the diversity of proactive

coping style, as well as providing insight into the adaptation process (Nedvedova,

2018).

Source of Stress

The general responses of the selected students from different program with the

age ranging from 19 to 21 years old who were working and non-working in MMG

College of General Santos City Inc. with regards to their high level of source of

stress of students in terms of School, money, and relationship that has been

subjective of source of stress of students in MMG College of General Santos City

Inc.
 The high level of stress was the outcome of a high rating provided be the

respondents and was congruent to the study of (Essel & Owusu,2017) that stress

could lead to physical and psychological symptoms that affected the mind, body,

and feelings. Physical symptoms involved headaches, upset stomach, elevated

blood pressure, chest pain, poor eating habits and sleeping problems.

Psychological stress was not a new problem for college students; however, it had

emerged as an issue of increasing concern, particularly within the context of

increased efforts to curb student attrition (Childs, Finnie, & Martinello, 2016). It

was interesting to identify the mechanism of stress generation and management

among students (Deasy et al. 2014b). Stress experienced by anyone could be

inevitable.

Proactive Coping Styles

The general responses of the selected students from different program

with the age ranging from 19 to 21 years old who were working and non-working

in MMG College of General Santos City Inc. with regards to their high level of

proactive styles of students in terms of School, money, and relationship that has

been subjective of source of stress od students in MMG College of General

Santos City Inc.

The high level of proactive coping style namely; reflective coping style,

strategic planning, and preventive coping styles were the result of high rating

provided by the respondents on the items. The respondents responded that they

know how to handle their stress very well before it will occur and was confirmed

with the study of Scienedirect.com (2015) that the set of the process through
which individuals detected potential stressors and act in advance to prevent them

or mute their impact. And was also suggested from webster (n.d.) individual’s

effort to go after that said achieving new challenges, created new opportunities

and enabled promotion toward challenging goals or strategies to eliminate or

avoid stressors before they occurred.

On the other hand, the high level of proactive coping strategies is

confirmed by the study of Dexter, et. al.(2018); Lee & Jang (2015). Generally,

coping by the study of for college students, numerous responsibilities (e.g.

academics, family, and personal expectations) as well as new stressors (e.g.

financial challenges, social conflict or romantic partners, poor sleep habits,

substance use), might lead them to avoid facing intrapersonal transgressions. It

is usually defined that coping was an effort to enhance adaption with the

environment or avoid negative consequences under stressful circumstances

Relationship of Source of Stress and Proactive Styles

It suggested that there was significant relationship between sources of

stress and proactive coping styles of students in MMG College of General Santos

City Inc. in terms of stress was the result is high as answered by the respondents

on the items of School. Money, relationship and body, mind and feelings and in

terms of level of proactive styles, the result is high as answered by the

respondents on the items of reflective, strategic and preventive.

The result of this study in relation with the source of stress and proactive coping

styles was congruent towards the study of Coiro, Bettis, and Compas (2017) that
stated successful coping involved, accurate understanding of the level of control

over the stressors as well as selecting an appropriate coping mechanism to

handle the stressors. It was not only important that college students were

selecting appropriate handling mechanism to use. But also they should know on

how to assess their stress and their ability to handle it on their own. In the

previous study, most college students recognized the effects of stress and their

relationships with proactive styles which reduced their stress by using reflective,

strategic, and preventive style, according to the participants they managed their

stress very well during the class, because the absence of coping mechanisms

among college students could affect them psychologically.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study, the researchers concluded the following:

The level of sources of stress through summary of ratings, suggested that

most of the respondent answer is high in terms of sources of stress. School got

the first highest source of stress stated as high, followed by relationship, third

was body, mind and feelings were stated as high and money stated as moderate.

Level of proactive coping styles summary of ratings, this indicated that most of

the respondents answered that they had high level of proactive coping styles.

Reflective got the first result, Strategic planning got the second result, and

Preventive got the third result. The respondents of level of proactive coping

styles summary of ratings reflective got the highest mean and strategic planning

got the lowest mean. The respondents of level of source of stress summary of

ratings with stated as high as they posted as overall numerical mean. The
respondents of level of proactive coping styles summary of ratings with stated as

moderate as they posted as overall numerical mean.

There is significance relationship between the stress and proactive coping

styles. When a students or any person has a high level of proactive styles such

as reflexive coping, strategic planning and preventive coping he or she can

overcome or face any stress or problem that may come in her/his life. It was

confirmed that if the level of proactive coping styles were high the students will

be able to overcome any kind of stress that may come in their life.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study and with the coclusions made, the

following recomendations are drawn:

 The school teachers shall develop solutions to plan an action about the

level of source of stress with regards to the results school the highest

mean and money the lowest mean.

 School shall seek coordination from among the respondents of level or

proactive coping styles on how to overcome and handle this matter in the

result of reflective got the highest mean and strategic planning lowest

mean.

 Related studies will be conducted to other school like public and private,

also considering other year level to validate the significance relationship of

stress and proactive coping Styles.

 Students who encountered level of source of stress have undergo to the

process of how to overcome this, they may go to doctors and specialist to

check their status.

 The government should initiate campaign by spreading awarenes for the

students regarding source stress and the importance of proactive coping

styles.

 To the family of the students or to the parents please give more time to

talk and take care more about your siblings to avoid stress and many

issues in life.
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 Appendix A

LETTER TO ADVISER

SG. Bldg. Narangita Street, General Santos City

Tel. # (083) 302-0596, email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com
_____________________________________________________________________________

February 04, 2020

Ronald Tres Reyes. MSPsy

College Instructor
RMMC/MMG
General Santos City

Dear Mr. Tres Reyes

I am 3rd year student of MMG College of General Santos City, would like to
request you to become my adviser in the research that I currently enrolled in the
degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Work entitled “SOURCES OF STRESS
AND PROACTIVE COPING STYLES OF STUDENTS IN MMG COLLEGE OF
GENERAL SANTOS CITY INC” as partial fulfillment in the requirements of
Bachelor of Science in Social Work. I believe that your knowledge and insights
will be valuable and will greatly enrich my work.

Thank you for your consideration and I hope you will be able to fulfill my request.

Respectfully yours,

Gina P. Mcagcalat
Researcher

Noted by:

ROLDAN CARPISANO RSW, LPT

Research Instructor
 Appendix B
LETTER OF PERMISSION TO CONDUCT THE STUDY

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

October 13, 2020

MA. THERESA L. ARENAS

MMG College of General Santos City Inc.
72 Narangita, General Santos City, South Cotabato
9500 Philippines

Dear Ma’am Arenas:

The undersigned is currently working on his thesis entitled, “Sources of Stress

and the Proactive Coping Styles of the Students in MMG College of General
Santos City Inc." as a requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Science in
Social Work.
In this regard, the researcher would like to request your approval to conduct the
study in your area of responsibility. Also, the confidentiality of the data will be an
utmost priority. Please find attached sample of questionnaire/interview guide to
be distributed to the respondents.

Looking forward for your favorable response on the said request.

Respectfully Yours, Noted by:

Gina P. Macagcalat RONALD C. TRES REYES, MSPsy
Researcher Research Adviser

Appendix C-1
Letter of Permission to the Validators

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

October 14, 2020

Sandra Yaid-Manansala, RSW

Program Head- Social Work Department
MMG College of General Santos Inc.
72 Narangita, Dadiangas North
General Santos City, South Cotabato
9500 Philippines

Dear Ma’am Sandra:

Greetings!
The undersigned is a Bachelor of Science in Social Work student of MMG
College of General Santos City, Inc. undertaking research entitled, “SOURCE
OF STRESS AND THE PROACTIVE COPING STYLES OF STUDENTS IN
MMG COLLEGE OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY”.
With your expertise, I am humbly asking your permission to validate the
attached survey form, for the study using the attached validation sheet for the
research questionnaire.
I am looking forward that my request would merit your positive response.
Thank you and more power.

Respectfully yours, Noted by: Ronald Tres Reyes,

MSPsy
 Academic Asistant
GINA P. MACAGCALAT
Researcher

Appendix C-2
Letter of Permission to the Validators

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

October 14, 2020

Roldan Ajero Carpisano, LPT, RSW

Program Head Consultant- Social Work Department
MMG College of General Santos Inc.
72 Narangita, Dadiangas North
General Santos City, South Cotabato
9500 Philippines

Dear Sir Roldan:

Greetings!
The undersigned is a Bachelor of Science in Social Work student of MMG
College of General Santos City, Inc. undertaking research entitled, “SOURCE
OF STRESS AND THE PROACTIVE COPING STYLES OF STUDENTS IN
MMG COLLEGE OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY”.
With your expertise, I am humbly asking your permission to validate the
attached survey form, for the study using the attached validation sheet for the
research questionnaire.
I am looking forward that my request would merit your positive response.
Thank you and more power.
Respectfully yours, Noted by: Ronald Tres Reyes,
MSPsy
Research Adviser
GINA P. MACAGCALAT
Researcher

Appendix C-3
Letter of Permission to the Validators

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

September 29, 2020

MARISSA L. NOOB, RSW, MSSW

Social Welfare Officer I
City Social Welfare and Development Office
Datu Udtog, Matalam Street, Roxas East Avenue
Brgy. Dadiangas East, General Santos City

Dear Ma’am NOOB:

Greetings!
The undersigned is a Bachelor of Science in Social Work student of MMG
College of General Santos City, Inc. undertaking research entitled, “SOURCES
OF STRESS AND THE PROACTIVE COPING STYLES OF STUDENTS IN
MMG COLLEGE OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY”.
With your expertise, I am humbly asking your permission to validate the
attached survey form, for the study using the attached validation sheet for the
research questionnaire.
I am looking forward that my request would merit your positive response.
Thank you and more power.
Respectfully yours, Noted by: Ronald Tres Reyes,
MSPsy
Research Adviser
GINA P. MACAGCALAT
Researcher

Appendix C-4
Letter of Permission to the Validators

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

September 29, 2020

VANESSA MAE TANION MARIANO, MSPsy

Human Resource Assistant
Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges
Pioneer Avenue, General Santos City
9500 Philippines

Dear Ma’am Mariano:

Greetings!
The undersigned is a Bachelor of Science in Social Work student of MMG
College of General Santos City, Inc. undertaking research entitled, “SOURCE
OF STRESS AND THE PROACTIVE COPING STYLES OF STUDENTS IN
MMG COLLEGE OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY”.
With your expertise, I am humbly asking your permission to validate the
attached survey form, for the study using the attached validation sheet for the
research questionnaire.
 I am looking forward that my request would merit your positive response.
Thank you and more power.

Respectfully yours, Noted by: Ronald Tres Reyes, MSPsy

Research Adviser
GINA P. MACAGCALAT
Researcher

Appendix C-5
Letter of Permission to the Validators

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

September 20, 2020

LEO LESTERE M. TAO-TAO, LPT, RMP

Psychometrician Test Specialist
Batang Star Foundation Counselor
Gensan Ville, Bula General Santos City
9500 Philippines

Dear Sir Tao-Tao:

Greetings!
The undersigned is a Bachelor of Science in Social Work student of MMG
College of General Santos City, Inc. undertaking research entitled, “SOURCE
OF STRESS AND THE PROACTIVE COPING STYLES OF STUDENTS IN
MMG COLLEGE OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY”.
 With your expertise, I am humbly asking your permission to validate the
attached survey form, for the study using the attached validation sheet for the
research questionnaire.
I am looking forward that my request would merit your positive response.
Thank you and more power.

Respectfully yours, Noted by: Ronald Tres Reyes, MSPsy

Research Adviser
GINA P. MACAGCALAT
Researcher
Appendix D

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

List of Expert Validators

1. Ms. Marissa Noob, RSW, MSSW

2. Ms. Sandra Yaid-Manansala, RSW

3. Mr. Roldan A. Carpisano, RSW, LPT

4. Mr. Leo Lestere M. Tao-Tao, LPT, RMP

5. Ms. Vanessa Mae Tanion Mariano, MSPsy

 Appendix E

Survey Questionnaire

QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE SOURCE OF STRESS AND THE PROACTIVE

COPING STYLES OF MMG COLLEGE INCORPORATED OF GENERAL
SANTOS CITY

S.G Blgd. Narangjita Street, General Santos City

Tel. No. (083)-305-9731 Email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

Name (Optional): __________________________________________________

Age:_____________

Dear Respondents:

Good day! I am a graduating student of MMG College of General Santos City

Inc. currently completing my study on level of source of stress and coping styles
of students. Please answer this questionnaire as honestly as possible. All the
information obtained from this questionnaire will be kept confidential and will only
be used for the purposes of this study.
 Instruction:
For LEVEL OF SOURCE OF STRESS: Encircle the number by indicating
how true each statement based on your feelings. Please answer by choosing the
scale of a certain item.

5 = strongly agree
4 = agree
3 = neutral
2 = disagree
1 = strongly disagree
LEVEL OF SOURCE OF STRESS

Level of Agreement

SCHOOL
1. I can pay attention in class.
5 4 3 2 1
2. I study and passed the tests/assignments.
5 4 3 2 1
3. I understand what my teacher teaches.
5 4 3 2 1
4. I am sure if I am able to do well in college.
5 4 3 2 1
5. My attendance is good.
5 4 3 2 1
6. I am always on timefor my class. 5 4 3 2 1
7. Im fine with difficult assignments. 5 4 3 2 1

MONEY
1. I can get the money I need to pay for college.
5 4 3 2 1
2. I have the money to pay basic expenses.
5 4 3 2 1
3. My parents allowed me of how much money I
spend.
5 4 3 2 1
4. I have trouble managing a budget. 5 4 3 2 1
 5. I can get a job. 5 4 3 2 1
6. I am financially responsible for myself. 5 4 3 2 1

RELATIONSHIP
1. A family member/friend has been well and
grow.
5 4 3 2 1
2. I am happy staying with my family.
5 4 3 2 1
3. I find it easy to express my feelings.
5 4 3 2 1
4. I am fond meeting other people.
5 4 3 2 1
5. I have harmonious relationship with my
5 4 3 2 1
partner/parents friends.

BODY, MIND AND FEELINGS

1. I know what to do for exercise.
5 4 3 2 1
2. I feel healthy. 5 4 3 2 1
3. I feel relaxed and well sleep. 5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
4. I feel happy.
5 4 3 2 1
5. I feel like anyone cares about me.
5 4 3 2 1
6. I want to do things that I used to like to do.
5 4 3 2 1
7. There are lots of fun things to do where I live.

Instruction:
For LEVEL OF PROACTIVE COPING STYLES: Encircle the number by
indicating how true each statements based on your feelings. Please answer by
choosing the scale of a certain item.

5 = strongly agree
4 = agree
3 = neutral
 2 = disagree
1 = strongly disagree

LEVEL OF PROACTIVE COPING STYLES

REFLECTIVE COPING STYLES Level of Agreement

1. I focus on my problem and make way to

solved.
5 4 3 2 1
2. Rather than acting impulsively, I usually think
of various ways to solve a problem.
5 4 3 2 1
3. In my mind I go through many different
scenarios in order to prepare myself for
different outcomes.
5 4 3 2 1
4. I tackle a problem by thinking about realistic
alternatives.
5 4 3 2 1
5. When I have a problem with my co-workers,
friends, or family, I imagine beforehand how I
will deal with them successfully.
5 4 3 2 1

STRATEGIC PLANNING STYLES

1. I often find ways to break down difficult

problems into manageable components.
5 4 3 2 1
2. I make a plan and follow it.
5 4 3 2 1
3. I break down a problem into smaller parts and
do one part at a time.
5 4 3 2 1
4. I make lists and try to focus on the most
important things first.
5 4 3 2 1

PREVENTIVE COPING STYLES

1. I plan for future eventualities.

5 4 3 2 1
 2. Rather than spending every cent I make, I like
to save for a rainy day.
5 4 3 2 1
3. I prepare for adverse events. 5 4 3 2 1
4. Before disaster strikes I am well-prepared for
its consequences. 5 4 3 2 1
5. I plan my strategies to change a situation 5 4 3 2 1
before I act.
6. I develop my job skills to protect myself 5 4 3 2 1
against unemployment.
5 4 3 2 1
7. I think ahead to avoid dangerous situations.
8. I plan strategies for what I hope will be the 5 4 3 2 1
best possible outcome.

Thank you for your time. ☺

Appendix E
LETTER TO STATISTICIAN

SG Bldg., Narangita Street, General Santos City

Tel. # (083) 302-0596, email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

December 10, 2020

Jeanybev Cariaga, LPT

Statistician
College Instructress
MMG College of General Santos City, Inc.
Dear Ma’am,

Good day.

I, the undersigned, fourth year student of MMG College of General Santos

City pursuing a degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Work and currently
enrolled in Social Work Research II.

I write to humbly request your service and expertise to serve as my

Statistician for my thesis in title “THE SOURCES OF STRESS AND
PROACTIVE COPING STYLES OF STUDENTS IN MMG COLLEGE OF
GENERAL SANTOS CITY INC”. I have followed your lessons and subjects
which are of great help to me. I believe that your knowledge and insights will be
valuable and will greatly enrich my work.

Thank you for your consideration and I hope you will be able to fulfill my
request.

Respectfully yours,

GINA P. MACAGCALAT
Researcher
Appendix F
Letter to Grammarian

SG Bldg., Narangita Street, General Santos City

Tel. # (083) 302-0596, email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com

February 6,2021

Jiff Bien T. Batiancila, Lpt, Maed

Grammarian
SDRR Coordinator/ Faculty Vice President
LNHS-Polomolok North District
Dear Sir:

Good day.

I, the undersigned, fourth year student of MMG College of General Santos

City pursuing a degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Work and currently
enrolled in Social Work Research II.

I write to humbly request your service and expertise

to serve as my Grammarian for my thesis in title “THE
SOURCES OF STRESS AND PROACTIVE COPING
STYLES OF STUDENTS IN MMG COLLEGE OF
GENERAL SANTOS CITY INC”. I have followed your
lessons and subjects which are of great help to me. I
believe that your knowledge and insights will be valuable
and will greatly enrich my work.

Thank you for your consideration and I hope you will

be able to fulfill my request.

Respectfully yours,

GINA P. MACAGCLAT
Researcher

SG Bldg., Narangita St., General Santos City

Tel. # (083) 302-0596, email: mmgschoolgensan@gmail.com.

Gina P. Macagcalat
Purok London, Brgy. General Santos City.
Cell # 09157335525

PERSONAL DATA:

Date of birth : February 19,1982

Age : 38 years old
Place of birth : General Santos City
Height : 5’3
Weight : 68 kgs
Religion : Islam
Sex : Female
Civil Status : Single
Nationality : Filipino
Language/Dialect spoken : Maguindana, Cebuano, Tagalog and English,
Arabic and Malay

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY:
MMG College of General Santos City
SY: 2020-2021
SECONDARY:
Ramon Magsaysay Memorial (College) High School
SY: 1998-1999
PRIMARY:
Bawing Elementary School
SY: 1994-1995
WORK EXPERIENCE

Used to be an OFW for 10yrs 2008-2018

Batang Star Philippines Inc. OJT/ intern/volunteer 2020