TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages
Title Page i
Approval Sheet ii
Abstract iii
Acknowledgement iv
Table of Contents v
List of Tables/Figures vi
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 3
Hypothesis 4
Framework of the Study
5
Schematic Diagram of the Study 11
Significance of the Study 11
Scope and Limitation of the Study
13
Definition of Terms 14
Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY 16
Research Design 16
Respondent of the Study 16
Research Instrument 17
Validity of the Research Instrument 18
Reliability of the Research Instrument 18
Data Gathering Procedures 20
Data Analysis /Statistical Tools and Treatment 21
Chapter 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
24
Chapter 4 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
38
References 42
Appendices 46

1
 Chapter 1

Introduction

Background of the study

In the new normal, learning. It is not entirely new to blended learning. Blended

learning has been used by Philippine institutions, such as the University of the

Philippines Open University. All schools would have combined or solely on-line courses

in the new normal. For both teachers and students, instruction in the use of teaching and

learning platforms will be available (Tanhueco-Tumapon, 2020)

And it result to learners of all age groups had their school link cut off in person,

losing their peers' physical access. Senior students have had their graduations cancelled

around the country. And poor internet access for so many students around the country

meant that they simply could not communicate or participate at the level they needed. All

of these conditions pose real setbacks for learners and place a burden on their emotional

and mental health and can discourage them from succeeding (Falt, 2020).

According to Eisenburg et al (2010) mental health issues can influence many

aspects of the lives of students, reduce their quality of life, academic performance,

physical health, and college experience satisfaction, and have a negative effect on

relationships with friends and family members. These concerns may also have long-term

effects for learners, impacting their future careers, earning opportunities and overall

health.

2
 Furthermore, returning back to school and university will be welcomed and

exciting for many, some students may feel particularly anxious and worried about this

prospect. The reality that students are facing with going back to school is that everything

is unknown. Students may be social distant in the classrooms, split up into smaller groups

and not with friends or worried about the spread of the virus. This can trigger a lot of

stress, anxiety and affect student’s mental health (Hanifan, 2020).

In addition, heightened levels of psychological distress and downstream negative

academic consequences are prevalent under normal circumstances (American College

Health Association, 2019). This could lead to students failing in class.

Moreover, students and especially those living in poverty have been impacted by

the school closure and social isolation. Emerging mental health crisis adds to the damage

to their learning, as a result many students lost access to the services offered by the

school (Terada, 2020).

In this new normal, many students are engaged in online learning. Coping

strategies were used by students to be able to cope with the new normal. According to

Chandra (2020) many of the students diverting themselves to various creative activities

and taking up courses to learn new technical skill. These helped them to distance

themselves to boredom and depressive thoughts, these were the way students cope with

the new normal.

The researcher aims to know the status of mental health of Marine Transportation

students in the new normal.

3
Statement of the Problem

This research aims to know the status of the mental health of Marine

Transportation students in the new normal.

Specifically, to answer the following question:

1. What is the status of mental health of Marine Transportation students in the new

normal in the following dimensions:

a. Emotional

b. Psychological

c. Social well-being

2. What are the common mental health challenges faced by Marine Transportation

students in the new normal environment?

3. What are the coping strategies adapted by Marine Transportation students in

responding to the mental health challenges in the new normal?

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

The Coping Theory Carver. (2010) suggest that the focus-oriented state and trait

theories of coping recognize a person’s internal resources and mental capacities for

evaluating how well he can adapt to a situation. On the other hand, the approach-oriented

micro and macro analytic coping theories revolve around how concrete or abstract the

coping mechanisms are. This explains that people develop traits to adapt on his or her

current situation.

4
 A global health problem affecting many nations is the COVID-19 pandemic, with

over 720,000 cases and 33,000 confirmed deaths reported to date. These widespread

outbreaks are associated with detrimental effects for mental health. With this in mind,

current COVID-19 outbreak literature related to mental health was retrieved from the

PubMed database through a literature search. Published articles have been grouped and

summarized according to their overall themes. Preliminary evidence indicates that

symptoms of anxiety and depression (16-28%) and self-reported stress (8%) are typical

psychological reactions to the pandemic of COVID-19 and may be related to disturbed

sleep. This risk is moderated by a set of individual and structural variables. Both the

interests of the people involved and the appropriate preventive guidelines must be taken

into account in planning services for such populations. The literature available has

originated from only a few of the countries affected and does not represent the experience

of individuals living in other parts of the world. In conclusion, a typical answer to the

COVID-19 pandemic is sub-syndromal mental health issues. More representative

research is required from other affected countries, particularly among vulnerable

populations (Rajkumar, 2020).

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic had an important effect on the mental health

of the public. Monitoring and monitoring of the mental health of the population during

crises such as pandemics is therefore an immediate priority. The purpose of this study is

to examine current research work and observations in relation to the prevalence of stress,

anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population.

COVID-19 not only causes concerns about physical health, but also leads to a number of

psychological disorders. The spread of the new corona virus in various communities can

5
affect people's mental health. Therefore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential

to maintain the mental health of individuals and to develop psychological interventions

that can improve the mental health of vulnerable groups (Salari, et al, 2020).

One study in the people in Greece has primarily used positive/active methods to

respond to the stress caused by the epidemic. The reduction of the possible mental health

consequences of the epidemic may have contributed to this behavioural trend.

Dysfunctional tactics have never been embraced. The need to increase the sense of

personal control over the epidemic and improve the self-efficacy of the population is one

primary finding important from a public health perspective. Strategies for public health

often try to increase perceptions related to the vulnerability or severity of the disease.

However, our findings show that efforts to increase the perception of personal control and

to disseminate practical approaches to risk reduction may be more effective in protecting

the population's mental health and enhancing compliance with the restrictions imposed. It

is likely that part of Greece's success in containing the spread of the outbreak can be

attributed to the perceptions of common sense disease and the functional behavioural

patterns that were prevalent during this period to cope with stress. Finally, the media's

role during the pandemic should be re-examined and specific guidance should be

developed by the health authorities and organizations on the extent to which the extreme

spectrum of the disease is reported (Skapinakis, et al, 2020).

6
 Figure 1 below shows the schematic diagram the connection between dependent

variable Status of Mental Health of Maritime Students in the New Normal and

independent variables Mental Health, Mental health components, and Coping

Strategies.

Mental Health

Mental Health Components

Status of Mental Health of
1. Emotional Maritime Students in the New
2. Psychological Normal
3. Social Well-being

Coping Strategies

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Study

Significance of the Study

University/Colleges. The data gathered would greatly help the university and

colleges to see the status of mental health of maritime students in the new normal. This

research would provide them idea to conduct programs and seminars that tackles mental

health to be able to lessen the mental health issues faced by the students.

7
 Students. The data gathered would greatly help the students to see the status of

mental health of maritime students in the new normal. This research would give them an

idea how to cope in the new normal.

Future Students. The data gathered would greatly help the future students to see

the status of mental health of maritime students in the new normal. This research would

give them a heads up about what mental challenges they would face and have coping

strategies for it.

Educator/Instructor. The data gathered would greatly help the educator and

instructor to see the status of mental health of maritime students in the new normal. This

research would give them idea on how to deal with students who have mental health

challenges and help them how to cope with it.

Future Researcher. The data gathered would greatly help future researchers to

see the status of mental health of maritime students in the new normal. This paper would

be able to help them in their research if it tackles mental health of students.

Scope and Limitation

The main purpose of this study is to know the status of mental health of maritime

students in the new normal. This study collects the name (optional) and the Section of the

respondent.

The researcher limited the study to 179 second year maritime students enrolled in

the first semester of A.Y. 2020-2021 of John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation-Bacolod.

8
Each of the students would be given a questionnaire to answer. the students were

randomly selected among the section to prevent biases and get objective answer.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are significant to the study. The terms were defined

conceptually and operationally to assist the reader to better understand the study.

Status. Defined as an individual’s position in a group or society as characterized

by certain benefits and responsibilities as determined by an individual’s rank and role

(Bell, 2013).

In this study it is used to show the condition of mental health of marine

transportation students in the new normal.

Mental Health. It is someone's state of emotional well-being. It's the subjective

feeling of contentment and life satisfaction despite the problems, challenges, and

upheavals of life (Peterson, 2019)

Maritime. Is defined as relating to the sea or it is more specifically related to

shipping, navigation, law and naval affairs (Hildebrand and Schröder-Hinrichs, 2014).

In this study it is used as the field of course of the students, who were the

respondents of this study.

Student. It is defined as one who studies something (Simanek, 2017).

In this study it is used as the respondents of the research.

9
 New Normal. It is defined as the new a new way of living and going about our

lives, work and interactions with other people (Y.L.M., 2020).

In this study it is used as the factor that affects the status of mental health of

maritime students.

Chapter 2

Methodology

Research Design

This research utilized descriptive research design using a survey method.

Descriptive method main purpose is is to accurately and systematically describe a

population, situation or phenomenon. It can answer what, where, when and

how questions, but not why questions (McCombes, S., 2020). Furthermore, this research

used survey method it is defined as the collection of information from a sample of

individuals through their responses to questions (Check & Schutt, 2012). Since this

research focuses on the status of the mental health of maritime students in the new

normal it is appropriate to use.

Respondents

The respondents of this study were the second year marine transportation students

of JBLCF-Bacolod who were officially enrolled in the first semester of the A.Y. 2020-

2021. A sample size of 174 students was taken from 308 total populations of BSMT 2

students of JBLCF-Bacolod using Slovin’s formula. To identify the respondents, the

10
researcher utilized stratified random sampling to have a true picture of the respondents.

Table 1 shows the distribution of respondents.

Table 1

Section N n

A 40 22

B 30 21

C 39 22

D 40 22

E 40 22

F 40 22

G 40 22

H 39 21

Total 308 174

Research instrument

The researcher used a self-made multiple choice survey questionnaire. This

survey 5 questions which has multiple choices. All they have to do is to tick their choice

that answers the question. They can have multiple answers per question.

Validity of Research Instrument

11
 Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to

measure. If research has high validity, which means it produces results that correspond to

real properties, characteristics, and variations in the physical or social world (Middleton,

2019). A panel of jurors who are expert in the field with master’s degree holders and

active in the field of research ensured the validity of the instrument by using the criteria

of for validation set forth by Good and Scates. The correction, suggestion, and

recommendation of the jurors were considered for the finalization of the instrument. The

result of the validation obtained a mean score of 3.7 which showed that the survey

questionnaire was “Excellent’. The content and the validity of the instrument were rated

by the jurors using the following scale.

Mean Score Verbal interpretation

4.21-5.00 Excellent

3.41-4.20 Very Good

2.61-3.40 Good

1.81-2.60 Fair

1.00-1.80 Poor

Reliability of Research Instrument

Reliability refers to how consistently a method measures something. If the same

result can be consistently achieved by using the same methods under the same

circumstances, the measurement is considered reliable (Middleton, 2019). After the

validity of research instrument had been ensured, it was subjected to reliability test using

Cronbach Alpha method. Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of internal consistency, that is,

how closely related a set of items are as a group.    It is considered to be a measure of

12
scale reliability (Bruin, 2006). It is used to measure the scale of reliability. The validated

survey questionnaire was given to 30 First Year level Marine Transportation Student,

who was not part of the research respondents. The resulting value obtained .91

interpreted as “Excellent”. Thus this instrument in considered reliable. The table below

show the interpretation of the result.

Cronbach’s Alpha Internal Consistency

α ≥0.9 Excellent

0.9> α>0.8 Good

0.8> α>0.7 Acceptable

0.7> α>0.6 Poor

0.5> α Unacceptable

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher first identified the respondents of the research and the sample size

needed when they are grouped per section and as a whole. The researcher then

formulated a questionnaire which is subjected to validity and reliability test. After the

research questionnaire’s validity and reliability ensured, the questionnaire is now valid

and reliable. After that the questionnaire has been put in the Google forms and has been

given to the respondents Messenger accounts personally by the researchers. After this, the

researchers collected the data and tallied the result. The data gathered was the tallied,

tabulated, analyse, and interpreted with the help of statistician and the research instructor.

Statistical Tool

13
 To identify the status of mental health of maritime students in the new normal, the

data result has been processed using appropriate statistical treatment.

For Problem No. 1, to determine the status of mental health of Marine

Transportation students in the new normal, mean was used. Mean implies average and it

is the sum of a set of data divided by the number of data. Mean can prove to be an

effective tool when comparing different sets of data; however this method might be

disadvantaged by the impact of extreme value (Dudovskiy, 2018). To interpret the result

of the data, the following table of interpretation was used.

Mean Range Verbal Interpretation Description

4.21-5.00 Strongly Agree The respondents strongly agree

that his/her status of mental health
is affected by the new normal (1)
Emotional (2) Psychological (3)
Social well-being.
3.41-4.20 Agree The respondents agree that his/her
status of mental health is affected
by the new normal (1) Emotional
(2) Psychological (3) Social well-
being.
2.61-3-40 Neutral The respondents were neutral that
his/her status of mental health is
affected by the new normal (1)
Emotional (2) Psychological (3)
Social well-being.
1.81-2.60 Disagree The respondents disagrees that
his/her status of mental health is
affected by the new normal (1)
Emotional (2) Psychological (3)
Social well-being.
1.00-1.80 Strongly Disagree The respondents strongly disagrees
that his/her status of mental health
is affected by the new normal (1)
Emotional (2) Psychological (3)
14 Social well-being.
For Problem No.2, to determine the common mental health challenges faced by the

marine transportation students in the new normal, mode was used. Mode is the value that

appears the most. A given set of data can contain more than one mode, or it can contain

no mode at all. Extreme values have no impact on mode in data comparisons, however,

the effectiveness of mode in data comparisons are compromised in the presence of more

than one mode (Dudovskiy, 2018).

For Problem No.3, to determine the coping strategies adapted by Marine

Transportation students in responding to the mental health challenges in the new normal,

mode was used. Mode is the value that appears the most. A given set of data can contain

more than one mode, or it can contain no mode at all. Extreme values have no impact on

mode in data comparisons, however, the effectiveness of mode in data comparisons are

compromised in the presence of more than one mode (Dudovskiy, 2018).

Results and Discussion

On the Status of Mental Health of Maritime Students in the New Normal

The results of the data gathered in determining the status of the status of mental

health of maritime students in the new normal is shown in table 2, 3, and 4.

Table 2

Mental health is affected by the new normal.

Mean Interpretation

Dimensions

15
• Emotional

1. The new normal makes you feel

sad about the happenings around you. 4.27 Strongly Agree

2. The new normal increases your fear

because of the pandemic 4.21 Strongly Agree

3. The new normal increases your worry

about the situation of the country 4.32 Strongly Agree

• Psychological

1. The new normal increases your stress. 4.29 Strongly Agree

2. The new normal affected your ways

of thinking. 4.27 Strongly Agree

3. The new normal increases your

difficulty in concentrating. 4.26 Strongly Agree

• Social Well-Being

1. The new normal affected your

connection with your friends and family

away from you. 4.30 Strongly Agree

16
2. The new normal hindered you to

have new friends because of the fear

of the virus. 4.23 Strongly Agree

3. The new normal makes you scared

to make contact with your relatives that

work as a front liner. 4.18 Agree

The table 2 shows that the maritime students of John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation-

Bacolod strongly agrees that their mental health was affected by the new normal due to

the Covid-19 pandemic. The result shows that the majority of the students were greatly

affected by the new normal.

Table 3

What are the challenges faced by maritime students in the new normal?

Challenges Percentage

Poor Internet Connectivity 65.6%

Low Specs Gadget 59.4%

Financial Instability 56.7%

Anxiety 31.7%

Stress 35.6%

17
Depression 26.1%

Wasting time procrastinating 12.2%

Poor grades/not studying or reading enough 12.2%

Poor sleeping habits 15.6%

Feeling overwhelmed by school works 9.4%

Table 3 shows the challenges faced by maritime students in the new normal. Poor

internet connectivity got the highest percentage with 65.6% out of the 174 participants. It

is followed by low specs gadget who got 59.4% and financial instability who got 56.8%

percentage. It is followed by stress who got 35.6% and anxiety who got 31.7%. The

depression, procrastination, poor grades, poor sleeping habits and overwhelmed of school

works who gathered the least percentage. The results shows that the low standard of

internet and the financial impact of the new normal due to Covid-19 pandemic in the

Philippines induced the challenges.

Table 4

What coping strategies you adapted to respond in your mental health challenges in the

new normal?

Coping Strategies Percentage

Playing Mobile/Computer Games 71.1%

Watching movies, TV series and/or anime 81.7%

18
Eating 43.9%

Talking problems with others 38.3%

Exercising or playing sports 0.6%

Posting rants on social media 27.8%

Meditating 11.1%

Online dating 9.4%

Table 4 shows the strategies coping strategies adapted by maritime students to respond

to their mental health challenges in the new normal. The 4 coping strategies that most of

the students adapted were playing mobile/computer games, watching movies, TV series

and/or anime, eating, and exercising/playing sports. The Watching movies, TV series

and/or anime got the highest percentage garnering 81.7% while posting rants on social

media got the least percentage garnering 8.1% only. This shows that the students do not

post on social media about their problems and issues. This result also show that the most

of the students coping strategies are for their entertainment and satisfaction of their taste

buds.

Summary, Conclusion, Implication, Recommendations

Summary of the Findings

Based on the data that has been gathered, the following are the results that have been

revealed.

19
 1. The maritime students strongly agrees that their mental health was affected by the

new normal.

2. The most common mental health challenges faced by maritime students were poor

internet connectivity, low spec gadget, and financial instability.

3. The most common coping strategies adapted by maritime students were eating,

watching movies, TV series, and/or anime, playing mobile/computer games, and

exercising/playing sports.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the study, it is concluded that the mental health of the

maritime students was affected by the new normal due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The

findings also concluded the most common challenges faced by the maritime students that

were poor internet connectivity, low spec gadget, and financial instability. The findings

concluded the common coping strategies as well, such as eating, watching movies, TV

series, and/or anime, playing mobile/computer games, and exercising/playing sports.

Implication

The maritime students of JBLCF-B strongly agrees that their mental health is affected

by the new normal. It is a strong proof that the performance of the students in class are

affected by the new normal. This also represent many students in the community, since

all of the students are also affected by the new normal and facing challenges in their

respective manner. The findings can help the students cope with the challenges they faced

in the new normal. The finding of this study can help future researchers to know the

20
effect of a pandemic to the mental health of students and how they cope up with the

challenges they face.

Recommendation

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were drawn.

1. Parents of the students should keep an eye to their children mental health so that

they could help them when they are in need or needing help. This can help them

reduce further damage to the mental health of the students.

2. Students need to adapt a more productive coping strategy rather than for

entertainment and satisfaction only, so that the time they spent will not be wasted

and complete more tasks.

References

American College Health Association. (2019). American College Health Association:

National College health assessment II: Reference group executive summary spring 2019.

American College Health Association. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1080/24745332.2019.1620558

21
Bruin, J. (2006). Newtest: Command to Compute new test. UCLA: Statistical Consulting

Group. Retrieved from https://stats.idre.ucla.edu/stata/ado/analysis/

Carver, C. & Connor-Smith, J., (2010). “Personality and Coping.” Annual Review of

Psychology.

Check, J. & Schutt R.K. (2012). Research methods in education. Thousand Oaks. pp.

159–185

Chandra, Y., (2020). Online Education During COVID-19: perception of academic stress

and emotional intelligence coping strategies among college students. Emerald Insight.

Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AEDS-05-2020-

0097/full/html

Eisenberg, D., Gollust, S. E., Golberstein, E., & Hefner, J. L. (2007). Prevalence and

correlates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among university students. American

Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77(4), 534–542.

Falt, E. (2020). How Do We Protect the Mental Health of Students in a Pandemic.

UNESCO. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/news/how-do-we-protect-mental-health-

students-pandemic

Hanifan, O. (2020). Techniques to help students cope with anxiety in the new normal.

Middleton,F. (2019). Reliability vs Validity: what’s the difference?. Scribbr. Retrieved

from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/reliability-vs-validity/

Mentimeter. Retrieved from https://www.mentimeter.com/blog/interactive-

classrooms/techniques-to-help-students-cope-with-anxiety-in-the-new-normal

22
Hildebrand, L.P. & Schröder-Hinrichs, J.U., (2014). Maritime and marine: synonyms,

solitudes or schizophrenia?. WMU J Marit Affairs 13, 173–176. Retrieved from ).

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13437-014-0072-y

Peterson, T. (2019). Mental Health Definition: What Is Mental Health?, Healthy Place.

Retrieved on 2020, November 13 from https://www.healthyplace.com/other-info/mental-

illness-overview/mental-health-definition-what-is-mental-health

Rajkumar R. P. (2020). COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature.

Asian journal of psychiatry, 52, 102066.Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102066

Salari, N., Hosseinian-Far, A., Jalali, R., Vaisi-Raygani, A., Rasoulpoor, S., Mohammadi,

M., Rasoulpoor, S., & Khaledi-Paveh, B. (2020). Prevalence of stress, anxiety,

depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic

review and meta-analysis.

Globalization and health, 16(1), 57.Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-

00589-w

Simanek, D. (1997). On Being a Student. Lock Haven. Retrieved from

https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/goodstud.htm

Skapinakis, P., Bellos, S., Oikonomou A., Dimitriadis, G., Gkikas, P., Perdikari, E. &

Mayreas, V. (2020). "Depression and Its Relationship with Coping Strategies and Illness

Perceptions during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Greece: A Cross-Sectional Survey of the

Population", Depression Research and Treatment. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3158954

23
status. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from

https://sociologydictionary.org/status/

Terada, Y. (2020). Covid-19’s Impact Tanhueco-Tumapon, T. (2020). Education and the

“New Normal”. Manila Times. Retrieved from

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/06/04/campus-press/education-and-the-new-

normal/729288/

on Students’ Academic and Mental Well-Being. Edutopia. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/article/covid-19s-impact-students-academic-and-mental-well-

being

Y.L.M. (2020). Covid-19: What does the ‘new normal’ mean?. The Star. Retrieved from

https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/health/2020/05/21/covid-19-what-does-the-

039new-normal039-mean

24