THE EFFECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL COHERENCE (ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION)

IN THE ACADEMIC LEARNING OF GRADE 11 STUDENTS

A Concept Paper

Presented to the Faculty of

Dr. Vicente F. Gustilo Memorial National High School

Senior High School Department

In Partial Fulfillment of the Subject

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

By:

Cabarles, Jeron V.

Pabilona, John Albert R.

Apolinar, Via Patrice H.

Bautista, Elisa C.

Diaz, Ronnielyn L.

Panganiban, Diane Xerxane L.

Timban, Jowena M.

September 2019
Background of the Study

One of the most important stages of life is adolescence, and since it is so important we

should focus our efforts to solve the challenging conditions like depression, anxiety and stress. It

is not that simple on an account of the multifactorial changes that are taking place in that period

such as biological, physiological and psychological. Psychiatric disorders in this period are a

major public health concern because of their impact on the life in almost every aspect from poor

academic performance, substance abuse to the suicide attempts.

Anxiety and depression is a normal part of childhood, and every child goes through

phases. A phase is temporary and usually harmless. But children who suffer from an anxiety

disorder experience fear, nervousness, and shyness, and they start to avoid places and activities.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, community-based studies

revealed an overall prevalence rate for mental disorders around 20% in several national and

cultural contexts. An earlier study on Saudi secondary school boys indicated that 38.2% had

depression, while 48.9% experienced anxiety and 35.5% suffered from stress. Another study was

done on girls in Abha showed that depression was accounted as 41.5%; anxiety was 66.2% and

52.5% experienced stress. (J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Feb; 8(2): 504–510.)

About 50% of adult sufferers of anxiety disorders identify that their symptoms began in

childhood. Furthermore, the stress is escalating at an alarming rate among adolescents according

to many researchers. Depression (major depressive disorder), is a major cause of disability and

suicide, has a prevalence of 5% in the general population and approximately 10–20% in

chronically ill medical outpatients. The feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities

once enjoyed can cause depression. Also, it is linked to a variety of emotional and physical
problems and can decrease a person's ability to function at work and home. (J Family Med Prim

Care. 2019 Feb; 8(2): 504–510.)

Anxiety is a large heading where disorders such as general anxiety; social anxiety are part of it. It

is manifested as nervousness, apprehension, and fear and worrying. Besides, it may cause

physical symptoms and disturbance. A mild form of anxiety is hazy and disturbed, while severe

anxiety can impair the normal function of life. (J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Feb; 8(2): 504–

510.)

Preliminary Literature Review

Academic performance becomes relevant at a young age. In grade school,

children are given report cards to inform their caretakers on how they are doing. In

middle school, academic performance determines whether you are in remedial, regular, or

advanced courses. In high school, students that perform well academically can take

advanced placement (AP) classes which can lead to college credit, depending on AP test

scores. At the high school level, grade point average (GPA) and class ranking carry more

weight as they are relied on by college admissions staff. Students study for and take

Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) and American College Tests (ACT) and hope to get

higher scores to increase their chances of getting accepted to the colleges that they apply

to. The pressure increases to perform well academically as a student journeys through the

education system, and after high school this pattern continues. College students are under

immense pressure internally and externally to succeed. Most higher educational settings

reinforce the message that performing well academically is critical to being successful.
 Many universities invest resources to assist students to succeed, such as tutoring,

supplemental instruction, or other support services, such as SOAR. SOAR provides

support and connects students to available resources. Some students perform better than

others in this environment depending on a multitude of factors. Intellectual aptitude,

cognitive ability, physical health, and mental health are just some of the factors that affect
students’ ability to be successful in college (Dusselier, Dunn, Wang, Shelley, & Whalen,

2005).

Factors such as past academic performance as well as standardized testing

influence academic performance (Larson, Orr, & Warne, 2016). Standardized test scores

and GPA are frequently used to measure intellectual aptitude. There is much debate as to

how effectively grades measure academic performance. One of the arguments for this is

the subjective nature of grades. Grades given by different professors can vary

significantly for the same level of work. Some may even say that this undermines a GPA

as a reliable measurement of academic achievement (Koper, Felton, Sanney, & Mitchell,

2015). It may be useful to have some brief background on how grades arose in the

educational setting.

There are several constituencies of higher education that are interested in a way to

assess institutions and students. These constituencies include, but are not limited to,

governmental agencies (such as the Department of Education), non-profit organizations

(foundations), and corporations (Felton and Koper, 2005). This can be to assess funding

of the colleges and universities, as well as distributing financial aid. There are many

merit-based grants and scholarships that allocate these funds to students using their GPA

as a measurement. In addition, a GPA provides graduate programs with a tangible way to

evaluate applicants and organizations with information that may be used in the hiring

process. It is often a flawed system, but grading as a measurement has been used by some

colleges as early as the 1860s (Bluemle, 2002). Acknowledging the drawbacks to the

GPA measurement, Felton and Koper (2005) state:

As the political demands on the educational establishment require some

assessment of educational performance, the focus of the effort should be on

grades since other forms of assessment are subject to the same limitations and

political pressures that generate inflated grades. Other forms of assessment will be

no less corrupt than grades and would be redundant if relatively meaningful

grading standards were in effect. (p. 562)

GPA is influenced by a variety of factors such as cognitive ability, physical

health, and mental health. Intellectual aptitude and other cognitive factors can have an

influence on how students perform academically in a higher educational setting. Only

approximately twenty-five percent of variance in academic performance is attributed to

cognitive factors. (Wolfe & Johnson, 1995). The rest of variance in academic

performance can be attributed to factors related to physical and mental health. To

understand mental health of college students, it is important to be aware of the

developmental challenges and strengths that this demographic faces.

A study done by Larson, Orr, and Warne (2016) explored both physical and

mental health issues. Some of the physical health difficulties the study measured included

asthma, allergies, mononucleosis, strep throat, and urinary tract infections. The study

found that mental health issues were significantly and negatively associated with GPA.
 The results of the study also showed that physical health issues were often correlated with

mental health issues. For example, students who had high levels of stress, or difficulties

handling stress, reported physical health issues affecting their diet and sleep. In working

with students with anxiety and depression, the physical health symptoms are often reported as
the presenting problem because they are the symptoms that are externalized

(Dusselier, Dunn, Wang, Shelley, & Whalen, 2005; Hartley, 2011).

Erikson’s (1966) theory of psychosocial development is made up of eight stages

in which an individual is confronted with various challenges. Because most individuals

entering college are young adults, many of them are in the fifth and sixth stages of

psychosocial development. The fifth stage is labeled identity vs. role confusion and the

sixth stage of psychosocial development is labeled intimacy vs. isolation. This means that

college students are trying to figure out their identity as well as learning to interact and

connect with others. Social interactions and experiences can also affect and reshape

identity by shifting values, attitudes, and goals (Brook & Willoughby, 2015).

Many individuals go to college or a university to pursue the career they would

like, and for many, it is the logical next step. There are other benefits to higher education,

such as lower crime rates, lower welfare rates, health, and happiness (McMahon and

Oketch, 2013). Students in college or attending a university face several challenges.

Increased academic expectations, meeting new people, being away from family for the

first time, living on their own, increased exposure to alcohol and drugs, are some of the

trials that this population experience. (Mitchell, MacInnes, & Morrison, 2008). Many

college students can get through this transition successfully, but others have difficulty

adjusting academically and/or psychosocially (Brook & Willoughby, 2015).

 Because of these challenges, college students are a population that are at a high

risk for mental health issues (Khubchandani, Brey, Kotecki, Kleinfelder, & Anderson,

2015). Depression and anxiety are found to be the most common mental health issues that

are reported by this population. Difficulties with mental health symptoms can become serious
and even fatal if they go untreated. In a study done by Drum, Bronson, Denmark

& Smith (2009), it was found that eighty percent of college students that committed

suicides had no current or prior counseling. These results were found after surveying

university and college counseling center directors and indicated that many students with

mental health issues suffer silently and do not seek or receive treatment. Psychological

distress, including depression and anxiety, has been associated with lower GPAs

(Drybye, Thomas, & Shanafelt, 2006; Holliday et al., 2016). It is also important to note

that sometimes academic pressures as well as adjusting to college can contribute to

psychological disorders (Tanaka & Huba, 1987).

Statement of the Problem

This section aims to determine the effects of psychological coherence (anxiety and

depression) in the academic performance of the grade 11 students by making a questionnaire that

respondents must answer.

Specifically the study sought to answer the following questions:

1. Can psychological coherence (anxiety and depression) affect the academic

performance of the grade 11 students?

 2. Is there any significant relationship in the psychological coherence (anxiety and

depression) in the academic performance of grade 11 students?

Abridged Methodology

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that depression and anxiety

have on academic performance among grade 11 students, as well as analyze how that

relationship affects base on the level of social support. This study is design to

decipher whether students with anxiety and depression symptoms may prevent lower

academic performance through social support.

Research Design and Sample

Data will be collected using a room to room survey. The requirements to

participate include being 16 years of age or older and having been enrolled at the

Dr. Vicente F. Gustilo Memorial National High School as of 2019. The inquisitors will prepare

a set of questionnaire that questions will give answers to the statement of the problem.

Conceptual Framework

This figure will describe the result of psychological coherence (anxiety and depression) by
means of the result of the survey in a social support.
 Social support

Anxiety Academic
Performance

Depression

Timeline

This section aims to discuss the time of completion of the paper.

Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. April

Identify 15th
research area
Formulate
research
questions
Formulate
research
strategy,
research design
and select
methods
Write research
proposal
Negotiate
access
Literature
review
Data collection
Data analysis
Write first
draft
Write second
draft
Write final
draft
Dissertation 28th
due
References

Koper, P. T., Felton, J., Sanney, K. J., & Mitchell, J. B. (2015). Real GPA and real SET:

Two antidotes to greed, sloth and cowardice in the college classroom. Assessment

& Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(2), 248-264.

doi:10.1080/02602938.2014.904272

Larson, M., Orr, M., & Warne, D. (2016). Using student health data to understand and

promote academic success in higher education settings. College Student Journal,

50(4), 590-602. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.acu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dir

ect=true&db=pbh&AN=120245394&site=eds-live&scope=site

Felton, J., & Koper, P.T. (2005). Nominal GPA and real GPA: A simple adjustment that

compensates for grade inflation. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education

30(6), 561–569. doi: 10.1080/02602930500260571

Bluemle, S. (2002). Was Augusustana the first school to use letter grades? Augustana

College. Retrieved from http://augustana.net/x21668.xml

Wolfe, R.N., & Johnson, S.D. (1995). Personality as a predictor of college performance.

Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55, 177-185. doi:

10.1177/00131644950550020

Dusselier, L., Dunn, B., Wang, Y., Shelley, M.C., & Whalen, D.F. (2005). Personal,

health, academic, and environmental predictors of stress for residence hall

students. Journal of American College Health, 54(1), 15-24. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.acu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?di

ect=true&db=hch&AN=17940988&site=eds-live&scope=site
J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 February. “Depression and anxiety among high school student at
Qassim Region.” 8(2): 504–510. Retrieved from https//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.