Teenagers Dealing with the Separation of their Parents: How it affects their

Academic Performance

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject Practical Research 1 in

Accountancy, Business and Management

Presented By:

Alog, Pearl Kisses J.

Arevalo, Katherine DV.

Cabrito, Kerby Angelo S.

Casimiro, Shania Mae A.

Cruz, Ed Raven M.

Cruz, Psyche Madisson A.

Garcia, Danielle DG.

Isaig, Jessie Anne F.

Lapig, Ma. Ericka Jane K.

Peralta, Anne Bea I.

Presented To;

Ms. Melissa L. Acuña

June 2022
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers wish to express their overwhelming and heartfelt gratitude and

appreciation to those people who have extended their valuable assistance, help and

guidance in the preparations and completion of this research.

First of all the researchers would like to thank the Almighty God for giving

knowledge, strength, patience and guidance to pursue this study. The researchers would

also like to acknowledge their dear teacher, Ms. Melissa L. Acuña for her valuable

assistance and suggestions for the improvement of this study, for her patience in

reminding us and for keeping us on track for the completion of the study. The researchers

wholeheartedly appreciate her kindness and generosity for introducing us into the world

qualitative research methodology. We valued each never ending advices, concerns,

understanding and unconditional support and encouragement in motivating the

researchers to finish this study.

The researchers would also like to extend their massive gratitude to the parents

for the unending support and guidance, for the patience and understanding toward this

study.

The researchers really appreciate the help of those generous people who

contributed in whatever aspect. Thank you for making all of these possible.
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ABSTRACT

Marriage in the Philippines is frequently seen as a sacred pledge made by two

human beings in love. When that vow is broken, it affects not only the couple but the

entire family. The separation between parents and the issues that arise. When parents

split, teenagers suffer and struggle with coping after the divorce, and they will want

assistance and support from their parents. This research will appraise the impact of

parental divorce as well as the contributing factors that can strengthen or weaken the

academic performances of teenagers. The researchers selected 5 participants out of all the

potential participants that have been asked, to conduct an interview and answer specific

questions from the researchers towards the participants. The researchers administered an

interview with their participants through Google Meet and their answers is recorded via

audio and video recording. The researchers applied thematic analysis to identify and

describe the patterns from the responses of the participants of the study. The process of

thematic analysis identified 4 organizing themes: (1) Importance of a whole family

according to teenagers, (2) Factors contributing to the academic performance of

teenagers, (3) Changes in academic performance of teenagers due to parents’ separation,

(4) Ways of teenagers to deal with parental separation. The researchers found out that the

way teenagers to cope with parental separation is to find distractions, learn to accept,

focus on what’s important and have a strong mind. The conclusion of this study

concluded what is the effects of parental separation to teenagers’ academic performances

how they cope with the situation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ..…………………………………………………………….……………………2

Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND …………..……….…………..5

Introduction …….…………………………….………..……………………….....5

Background of the Study ………………………….…………..………………….6

Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………7

Theoretical Framework …………….……………………………………………..8

Conceptual Framework ……….………………………..………………………..11

Significance of the Study ….…………………………………………………….13

Scope and Limitations of the Study ……………………………………………..13

Definition of Terms ………………………………..…………………………….14

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDIES .…..……..

…….16

Importance of a whole family ………………………………………………..….16

Factors contributing to the academic performance of teenagers ………………..20

Effects of parents separation to the academic performance of teenagers………..26

Teenagers dealing with parental separation …………………………….……….33

Synthesis ………………………………………………………………………...39

Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY …………………………………………....41

Introduction …………………………………………………………………..….41

Research Design ………………………………………………………………....41

Research Locale ………………………………………………………………....42

Participants of the study …………………………………………………………42

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Sampling Technique

……………………………………………………………..43

Data Gathering procedure ……………………………………………………….43

Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………………44

Chapter 4 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ……………………………

45

Participant’s Profile

……………………………………………………………...45

Presentation of Data ……………………………………………………………..46

Statement of the Problem 1 ……………………………………………...46

Statement of the Problem 2 ……………………………………………...50

Statement of the Problem 3 ……………………………………………...55

Statement of the Problem 4 ……………………………………………...65

Chapter 5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………………...………….…………………..71

Summary of Findings ……………………………………………………………71

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………75

Recommendations ……………………………………………………………….76

APPENDICES ..…………………………………………………………………………78

References ……………………………………………..………………………...78

Appendix A Raw Transcript …………………………………………………….87

Participant 1 ……………………………………………………………..87

Participant 2 ……………………………………………………………..90
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Participant 3 ……………………………………………………………..95

Participant 4 ……………………………………………………………101

Participant 5 ……………………………………………………………104

Appendix B Questionnaire ……………………………………………………..109

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The idea of having a true family is a having a father, a mother, and the fruit of the

parents love for each other, their child or children, and each of them must form love and

happiness that will result on a strong bond between them. They are meant to stick

together and not to be separated by any circumstances, they must support, care and love

each other. Family is always the first, first stage when we showcase and enhance our

skills, first school to learn academic and non-academic lessons, first people to accept and

love us no matter what we are, first people to help us decide what path of life we must

take and first people to defend us in every war we may face. Every childrens’ beliefs also

start with the family and it is influenced by their parents.

Some families, when losing one member, are often branded as broken family, and

one of the most common reasons why they are called broken family is because of divorce

or parent separation. Everyday in the whole world, the divorce rate and parents separation

rate is getting high, in fact, according to Haimi M and Lerner A (2016) , the highest

divorce rate is in the United States, where about half of all first marriages end in divorce

and more than a million children experience their parents’ divorce each year. In the

Netherlands, nearly 40% of first marriages end in divorce (Centraal Bureau voor
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Statistiek 2016) and more than half of these cases, children and teenagers are involved.

Given the large number of children affected by divorce and parent separation every year,

a key question is formed, whether and how children adjust to their parents’ divorce or

parents separation and how do they deal with that kind of situation.

Cited by Nusinovici et al., (2018) parental separation has been associated with

reduced cognitive development and educational performance. Since parental separation

can result in multiple negative effects, including perceived guilt, blame, stressors, and

diminished resources for the children, it is not surprising that parental separation has also

been reported to negatively affect a child’s motivation, engagement, and learning-related

behavior in the classroom. Therefore, parent separation is a huge cause why some of the

children and teenagers in school have low academic performance that results on having

low grades and being inactive in every activities.

Background of the Study

This study assessed the negative impact of the separation of parents on the

academic performance of a teenager. Marriage in the Philippines is frequently seen as a

sacred pledge made by two human beings in love. When that vow is broken, it affects not

only the couple but the entire family. Imagine the impact it will hold on their child's

mental health. The separation between parents and the issues that arise as a result of it is

one of the most intense and intricate aspects of any family law case. Children from one to

seven years are most susceptible when one or both parents are apart for an extended

period. Parent-child separation can occur as a consequence of a variety of circumstances,

including the death of a parent, separation or divorce, military deployment, or parental

incarceration. Children as they grow up, tend to feel stressed, Teenagers are caught
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between their parents, and they must play both sides to avoid things becoming worse.

Because teenagers are increasingly capable and autonomous, parents may rely on them to

assist with younger siblings or undertake additional responsibilities. Some parents even

improperly vent to them or rely on them to act as intermediaries between themselves and

their other parents (Morin, 2021). However, this does not still change the fact that they

are not yet adult peers. When parents split, teenagers suffer and struggle with coping after

the divorce, and they will want assistance and support from their parents.

According to research, while dealing with their own personal experience with a

parental divorce, children may also be concerned about how the parent is coping with the

new shift (Wallerstein & Lewis, 2004). Among the numerous concerns that children have

is if their parents will remarry or if their relationship with their parents would collapse.

Most importantly, studies have revealed that the percentage of people who have suffered

from parental divorce and are attending college is rather low, ranging between 16% and

20% (Grant, et al., 1993).

This study will seek to address the following question: "Does parental divorce

effect children's academic achievement in school?" Parental divorce/separation increases

the likelihood of child and adolescent adjustment problems such as scholastic challenges

(e.g., poorer grades and school dropout), disruptive behaviors (e.g., conduct and drug use

problems), and sad mood (D’Onofrio & Emery, 2019). Other studies have suggested that

divorce may have a more negative impact on teenagers than on elementary school-age

children, or that the age of the kid had no influence on the effect of divorce on academic

success. Finally, relatively few research has been conducted to examine the impact of

parental separation on very young children (Nusinovici, et al., 2018). This research will
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appraise the impact of parental divorce as well as the contributing factors that can

strengthen or weaken the academic performances of teenagers.

Statement of the Problem

The main problem of the study is how do teenagers deals with the separation of

their parents and how it affects them, particularly in their academic performance. The

researchers aim to answer this problem by researching information that is reliable and

accurate.

Specifically, the study aimed to provide answers to the following questions:

1. What is the importance of a whole family?

2. What are the other factors contributing to the academic performance of teenagers?

3. What are the effects of parents separation to the academic performance of

teenagers?

4. How teenagers deal with parental separation?

Theoretical Framework

The surrounding environment around teenagers have many effects on them,

specifically when their parents are separated. Environmental happenings especially

parental separation affects teenagers’ studies which may lead them to poor academic

performance and many more effects regarding school.

To give support and to give more in-depth understanding about the topic of the

research paper, the researchers considered these following theory:

The theory that supports this research paper is from a Russian-born American

psychologist, Urie Bronfenbenner and his human ecology theory also known as the

ecological systems theory. This theory views child development as a complex system of
 9

relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment, from immediate

settings of family and school to broad cultural values, laws, and customs. In order to

study a child's development, we must look not only at the child and his/her immediate

environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well (Evans 2020).

Additionally, Bronfenbrenner divided the child’s environment into five different

systems: The Microsystem, The Mesosystem, The Exosystem, The Macrosystem, and

The Chronosystem.

The most influential level of the ecological systems theory and the first level of

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, the Microsystem. This are the things that are

directly contacted with the child in their environment, such as their parents, siblings,

teachers and school peers. Relationships in this level are called bi-directional, which

means a child or a teenager can be influenced by those who are in the Microsystem level.

Moreover, the reactions of a child or a teenager on those people in his/her

microsystem, will affect how the child or teenager will treat them in return. For example,

if a child perceives that his/her mother is scary, the child will be afraid when he/she

approaches his/her mother. Therefore it is important for those people in a child’s

Microsystem to act on what they want to be treated.

Next level on the ecological systems theory is the Mesosystem. In this stage, there

is an interaction between the people on a child’s Microsystem. It involves linkages

between the parent and the teacher, the friend/s of the child and the parent, and any other

relationships or interactions that can occur inside the Mesosystem. In simpler words, the

Mesosystem is a system of Microsystem.

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For instance, if a child’s parents interacts with the child’s teachers, this interaction

may influence the child’s development. So, putting into a situation, if the child’s parents

and teachers produced a good relationship, this will have positive effects on the child’s

development. Likewise, if the child’s parents and teacher did not get along well, it will

have a negative effect on the child's development.

Third level of the ecological systems theory is the Exosystem. This level is almost

similar to the Mesosystem, but the difference between them is at least one setting in the

relationship is not directly related to the child or teenager. Example of this is when the

father of the child and the father’s boss had misunderstanding, and when the father come

home, he may pour out his anger onto his family resulting to negative effects on the

development of the child.

Next level on the ecological systems theory is the Macrosystem. This focuses on

how cultural elements affect a child's development, examples are, religion, ethnicity,

current financial status of the family, culture in community, and many other cultural

elements. The Macrosystem has a big difference on the other stages on the ecological

systems theory, because unlike other environments, this level is already established even

before the child was born.

One best example of this stage is for example, a child is living in a slum, a place

inhabited of many poor people. So, as the child develops, the child will be affected by

what he/she sees around, like they lack in food and water, the surroundings are very

unhealthy. Therefore that child will be very different from those children who lives in

other wealthier places.

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Last level of the said theory, and the most connected one to the research paper is

the Chronosystem. This level demonstrates all of the environmental changes in the

child’s lifetime which can affect their development. Examples are the positive and

negative life events, like happenings graduation, moving onto a new house, some family

member became sick, and parent separation.

The Chronosystem is the main focus of the research paper, because it shows that

all of the events occurring in a child or teenager’s life will affect on how they live.

Parents separation can be a big factor on how the child will grow, maybe the child or

teenager will be worried about his/her parents, they can question themselves or find out

what are the reasons why his/her parents separated. There are many things that can be

affected by parents separation like, the child’s mental health, emotional health, self-

esteem, and the focus of the research study, academic performance.

Conceptual Framework

In this part of the research paper, the graphic organizer will represent the

connection of the variables of the topic which is how teenagers deal with parental

separation and how it affects their academic performance. Through the help of the

graphic organizer created by the researchers, this will determine what will be the effect of

the parental separation to a teenager and its academic performances. The researchers also

stated the factors that affects a teenager’s academic performance.

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Figure 1

Figure 1 represents the conceptual framework of the research study. From the

figure shown above, the main point of the framework shows that one of the most

common family problem is parent separation. Parent separation can have both physical

and mental effects on the teenagers. Separation of parents from teenagers tends to pose a

serious threat to their academic performance since they lack the necessary parental role or

care from parents. This is a problem that needs to be addressed to avoid any possible

backwardness in the academic attainment of the teenagers

Lastly, the four (4) boxes connected to teenagers represents some of the factors

contributing to teenagers’ academic performance. To enumerate it, these are : parental

background, school environment, peers and friends characteristics and the personal traits

of a specific teenager.
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Significance of the Study

This research study entitled “Teenagers dealing with the separation of their

parents: How it affects their academic performance” aims to know the effects of being a

teenager from a broken family towards their performance academically. Specifically, the

findings of this study will be significant to the following:

To the teenagers. The findings of this study will help them assess and determine

how their environmental situation affects their ability to learn and their academic

performance as a whole.

To the teachers. The findings of the study will allow them to come up with

varying approaches in teaching and find different ways on how learnings can be

improved among the respondents.

To the family of the respondents. The findings of the study will allow them to

be aware of the impact of the environment and hopefully make something to improve

their living and as well as the academic performance of respondents.

To the administration of the school. They are the ones responsible for looking

and helping students out.

To the future researchers. The result of the study can be used as a reference by

the future researchers especially if they want to pursue this study.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study will solely focus on how teenagers deal with the separation of parents

and how this situation affects their performance academically. The collection of answers

will be conducted among all teenagers with separated parents living in Sta. Maria

Bulacan and Norzagaray Bulacan. No teenagers outside of the said place will be part of
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the research study. The study will utilize a qualitative approach to evaluate the answers

given by the respondents.

Additionally, this research study will not answer any other questions except the

questions stated on the statement of the problem that will later on broaden and asked on

the questionnaire prepared also by the researchers.

Definition of terms

For broader and clearer understanding of the study, the following terms are the

most common terms used in the research paper and are conceptually and operationally

defined:

Academic performance. As stated in BallotPedia it is the measurement of

student achievement across various academic subjects. Teachers and education officials

typically measure achievement using classroom performance, graduation rates and results

from standardized tests. In this research paper, academic performance is one of those

areas affected in teenagers due to their parent’s separation.

Broken family. According to Very Well Mind, a broken family is one that

includes unhealthy or severed relationships within the family unit. They are often

associated with divorce but certainly can occur in an intact family where various

members are in conflict with or estranged from each other. In this research paper, broken

family is the title given to those family that is missing a member, or in a teenager, a

parent is missing.

Divorce. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, it means to become or

cause to become disunited or disjointed to legally dissolve one's marriage with or in other

words, to end marriage by divorce to dissolve the marriage contract between a couple. In
 15

this research paper, it is defined as the result of the parents being separated, the parents

can file a divorce and cut their relationship, leaving the teenager with one parent.

Family. According to Britanicca, it is a group of persons united by the ties of

marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each

other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and

siblings. In this research paper, family is one of the factors affecting the teenager in their

academic performance and family also has the biggest influence on a teenager’s life.

Parent. Defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, parent is one that begets or

brings forth offspring. In this research paper, parent is defined as the ones who affects

their child’s academic performance because of their separation.

Parental separation. is a major adverse childhood experience. Parental

separation is generally preceded by conflict, which is itself a risk factor for child problem

behavior.

Separation. As what Oxford Dictionary and Google Dictionary indicates, it is the

action or state of moving or being moved apart. In this research paper, it is defined as the

action did by the parents of a teenager resulting to many things particularly in academic

performance.

Teenager. According to Standford Childrens org. The teenage years are also

called adolescence. This is a time for growth spurts and puberty changes (sexual

maturation). In this research paper, teenager is the most affected due to the separation of

their parents. It brings anorexia, anxiety and depressions, the feeling of lack of oneself

and family and poor performance in school.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDIES

Related Studies

This chapter of this research study presents the review of related literature and

studies regarding on how do teenagers deal with parents separation and how it affects

their academic performance.

Specifically, the review of related literatures and studies consists of four parts.

First is the importance of a whole family, and why a whole family is important to a

teenagers’ life. Second is the other factors aside from parent separation, that is

contributing to the academic performance of teenagers, this includes parental

background, peer/friends characteristics, school environment and personal traits of a

teenager. Third is the effects of parental separation to the academic performance of

teenagers. Lastly is, how do teenagers deal with parental separation.

The literature and studies included in this research study are from both reliable

local and foreign sources. These resources aims to answer the problems of the study.

Importance of a whole family

Families are important to individuals for several key reasons. The definition of

family seems to change with the times, but it usually includes a group of people related to

each other and/or living together. Like many healthy social relationships, strong bonds

with family members can have great benefits for society and individuals. Family support

is important to individuals for various reasons, most of which are related to one's personal

well-being. Family is crucial to people because it can benefit a person's physical,

 17

emotional, and mental health, and what it offers human beings can't be found anywhere

else (Meleen 2021).

According to Ensio (2021), family is the most important and valuable gift that god

has given us. It is the first lesson in relationships with others. Family is really an

important word. It means to feel secure, to have someone who you can count on, whom

you can share your problems with. But it also means to have respect for each other and

responsibility. What family means is love and someone that will always be there for you

through the good times and the bad. It is about encouragement, understanding, hope,

comfort, advice, values, morals, ideals, and faith. These things are all important because

it makes an individual feel secure and happy inside regardless of what is going on in

someone’s life. This is one of the main reasons why the family is important in our life.

According to Allison Academy (2021), family probably has the most important

influence on a child’s life from the first encounter with the world and first emotions to

unconsciously forming one’s own attitude and views. Since birth, our family influences

our world view and guides us toward rational decision making, playing a big role in our

development well into early adulthood. In an ideal world, a family is supposed to provide

a safe, stable, and loving environment which will enable each member, especially

children, to develop without limitations and in accordance with their potential.

As stated by Hanley Foundation (2022), family can exist in many forms. What

lies in the epicenter of that are the people who consider themselves family and the love

that they have for one another. These bonds are important because family helps us get

through the most disastrous times and the best times. Family is important because they

can offer support and security coupled with unconditional love; they will always look to
 18

see and bring out the best in you even if you cannot see it for yourself. Family is

important because they will, for the most part, be the only ones who can really

understand you and bring you back to that place of peace.

In addition in what they said, family is also very crucial to guide you down the

path of morality when it comes to outside influences such as dealing with drugs, alcohol,

peer pressure, bullying, or someone saying negative things to you. Your family might not

be able to shield you from everything, but they will be able to assist you through the hard

times and give you the tools you need to diffuse or avoid the situation. Family will

provide you with a home if you do not have one and they will point you in the right

direction so that you can get back on your feet. Family will tell you what you do not want

to hear, but they do it out of love to help you grow.

Another reason family is so important is because they can teach us to know our

family history, which can shape our persona into something positive and give us a sense

of direction. Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past

history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” (Kids Count Data Center 2020).

According to the Kid’s Data Center, in 2016, When family comes together, they

can make the impossible become possible, and give hope to those that they love so dearly

and give them a fighting chance in this life. Parents, both married and single, and elders

must hold each other accountable because our children are worth it. “One generation

plants the trees and another gets the shade.”

Cited by John Donovan (2016) in his article, it says that families, almost from

their start, face forces that could pull them apart. When a family begins to mature, that

potential loss of connection, that feeling of something changing, is difficult to confront.

 19

And it makes communication even more important. “This idea of feeling connected

becomes very reinforcing, to all of us, and it contributes to happiness, it contributes to

mental health and it does contribute also to physical health,” says John Northman, a

psychologist from Buffalo, NY. “It’s well known that when people feel better connected,

that they feel better physically, they’re certainly less likely to feel depressed — or if they

do, they’re in a better position to get out of being depressed. “Overall, it leads to a feeling

of a greater degree of support and connection psychologically,” he said.

Family is one of the most valuable assets we possess, particularly among

Filipinos. Filipino families, in fact, impacted our values, actions, and way of thinking. It

instilled in us good principles, values, and qualities. Families create an environment for

personal development. It is the single most essential influence in a child's life; they rely

on their parents to protect them and provide for their needs from the minute they are born

(Ensio, 2021). If both parents raise the child, there is a greater favorable impact to the

child's physical and psychological well-being (Lucas et al., 2008; Pillsworthand Haselton,

2005). For the traditional Filipino family, it is important when a father and a mother is

present when raising a kid. There are many living arrangement patterns forming, such as

relationships involving one parent and a kid, both parents and child, simply parents, or

parents with their in-laws and the child. (Medina, 2001). Changes in the Filipino family's

relationship patterns and living arrangements may be influenced by factors like

education, social status, and job (Jones, 2009; Alcantara, 1994).

The nuclear family structure is preserved, with male and female parents placing

equal weight on the significance of having both parents involved in child-rearing. When

both biological parents participate in child-rearing, the child's growth is maximized.

 20

(Lucas et al., 2008; Amato, 1993). Except for ethnic origin, the necessity for children to

grow up with parents appears to be the greatest common value among Filipino

communities. This valuation agrees on the necessity of both parents being present for the

kid's growth and development, which stems from an instinctual desire to support and be

with one's child (Morillo, et al., 2013). When a family deviates from the norm, the kid

bears the burden, even sometimes result in a traumatic experience (Carandang, 2007).

A perfect family is a shining example for the entire society. Father, mother, and

children must all work together to create a great family. If any of them failed, the entire

family would crumble. Family has a large influence on society, and society has a large

impact on the country. As a result, a perfect country is created not only by the

government, but also by each and every family member.

Factors contributing to the academic performance of teenagers

A. Parental Background

One of the vital factors that influence the academic performance of a teenager is

in connection to the natural environment he or she belongs to. According to Mallet

(2016), achievements of their parents this is for the reason that, literate parents can share

their insights and help teenager students during the learning process through imparting

knowledge. Furthermore, parents with academic achievement can help their teenager

learners with regards to school activities that involve parent’s participation and that is as

so (Thompson et al,. 2013).

In addition, families with higher social economic status can make use of their

advantages to gain access to better education opportunities for their children, to enhance
 21

their possibilities of obtaining higher education (Li 2006; Liu 2008; Zhao and Hong

2012). Research shows that the parental social economic status can affect their children’s

schooling quality significantly. The higher the social economic status of a family, the

better schools their children attend (Wen 2006; Chen and Fang 2007; Li 2008; Wu 2013).

In connection to parenting style, according to Dixon (2003) as cites in chimienti

(2021), traditional parenting is still ideal. Their research shows that less than 35% of

families get divorces and there is a direct relationship between teengaer’s high academic

performance and school success due to this parenting style. Thus, a teenagers raised in a

complete family with the traditional parenting style results to good academic

performance compared to those from broken families.

In the Philippines, there are many reasons why parents’ actions towards their

child can affect their academic performance. First, rearing a child to have desirable

characteristics is considered a parent’s primary duty, attributed to proper discipline,

supervision, and teaching “right and wrong.” Conversely, negative child outcomes are

due to lax or neglectful parenting (Dela Cruz et al., 2001; Durbrow et al., 2001).

Parental involvement or parental background refers to the amount of participation

a parent has when it comes to the schooling of his/her children. Parenting is important in

the Philippine society because family is viewed as a center to one's social world. But,

social contexts in which Filipino families are embe dded have changed rapidly over the

past ten years (Ochoa & Torre, n.d.). Children’s learning is increasingly moving toward a

broader vision of the 21st century learning

In relation to the impacts of family educational background on children’s

academic achievement as cited by Yawman and Appiah Kubi (2020), it says that parents
 22

with high level of educational qualification are likely to create an environment that is

intellectually stimulating for their child in education and social life. This high level of

educational qualification could make parental support systematic, proper and timely

Filipino parents across all social class levels typically regard education as

essential to their children's success and are willing to go to great lengths to help their

children through school, retention is a major concern in Philippine school, as many

students do not continue past their elementary grades (Blair, 2014). In his Comparative

study of Filipino and U.S. Parents which uses Questionnaires from six different

measures, it concludes that Filipino parents are engage in their children's education, and

want them to succeed, yet the filial responsibilities engrained in their culture necessitates

the needs of the family ahead of the needs of the individual child. In his study, it uses

theories which envision the flow of family capital. It recommends future studies to

attempt to examine more international samples, so as to explore cultural variations, and

develop theories which can more readily account for both structural and cultural traits.

In addition, in the study of Monteflor (2006), parent interview and survey

questionnaires in Cebu, Philippines is use to determine some over-weighting of parents

on the academic achievement Parental Involvement In The Philippines: A Review Of

Literatures 44 in their children. It reveals that parents’ motivation is associated with

preschool performance. It recommends that longitudinal studies on parent–child

developmental strategies should be done to help learn more about early childhood

education. These future researches can contribute to the later growth and development of

children, income generation and occupational success, and offsets for observed

vulnerabilities in disadvantaged environments.

 23

B. Peer/ Friends characteristics

In the study of Temitope (2015), by observing and imitating the behavior of

others, learners can avoid wasteful actions and come close to behaviors which are

acceptable within the group. If a learner spends more time together with brilliant student

then he or she will imitate this attitude and behavior towards learning for the better. Thus,

peer and friends characteristic affect the academic performance of students through the

process of imitation.

Furthermore, a study by Bankole and Ogunsakin (2015) supported the same

findings of Bandura (2016) and states that the academic performance of students and

agrees that peer influences has a huge impact on how learner performs at school. The

relationship between individuals behavior and other group members behavior results to

diverse affects which includes academic performances.

Peer influence has factors that affect adolescent behavior positively and

negatively (Padilla-Walker and Bean 2009). Peers may help students to encourage and

engage their selves towards academic success (You 2011). Besides, Peers may also

influence adolescent decision making due to the changes of their brain’s reward system

as they go through adolescence in contrast to the immaturity of their cognitive control

which associates with each other in a complex manner (Albert et al., 2013).

According to Modena and Legaspino (2020), peers are the people in which you

have a close relationship with each other and they have regular interactions. They share

views, opinions, and exchange ideas with each other and do activities together. Peer

group composed of equal status, that all students within a given peer group are of the

same age, and came from the same social status.Somehow, peer influence affects
 24

the performance of the students either inside or outside the school campus.

Performance tasks as part of the student’s performance in school, probably this might be

influenced by peers of the students. They conducted a survey in Jagobiao National High

School, it has been observed that students belong to a specific peer group. This peer

group might help the students to improve their work on the performance task. Also, it is

one of the sources of motivation for some students in doing well on their tasks.

In the study of Calingayan et al,. (n.d.), the results of their survey revealed that

there were significant differences in the level of influence of peers in the study habits of

students when classified as to age, sex, civil status, ethnic affiliation and year level.

Based on the results of the study, the respondents attained good grades since they are

provided with positive influences.

C. School environment

Different researches agree that there is a relationship between social environment

and academic performance of students (McCullough et al., 2014). They mentioned that a

leaner who have a good social environment and receives positive attitude from their

parents can perform well academically. Thus, having an environment that helps a

students acquire better learning is necessary for their academic performance in general.

The findings of the study of Onukwo (2013), a conductive environment enhances

the child’s growth and development. A healthy social environment allows learner become

happy and motivated whereas schools placed in social situation as urban places, are

associated with deficits in mental concentration that leads to poor performance of

students. The student performs better academically depending on the type of social

situation they are in.

 25

The academic performance of students is significant for every teacher who has

contributed his or her knowledge for the development of every student. Many learning

factors should be addressed by the Department of Education and teachers in order to

achieve the educational goals they strive to achieve. Learning factors greatly influence

the performance of each Filipino student. The student is the center of the teaching and

learning process where the attitude of their study regarding a particular subject can be

considered a huge challenge to the teacher (Abad et, al., 1996). Students’ learning

attitudes towards Filipino affect the performance of their learning (Villafuerte and

Bernales, 2008).

D. Personal traits

Multiple studies have shown that academic achievement is strongly correlated

with various measures of individual personality types. The term “Personality” is

considered the most meaningful term that carry a lot of meanings with several

psychological concepts, which is one of the most difficulty terms to be understood

because, as (Abdel-Qawi, 2010) shows, “personality” represents the personal traits of the

individual and the patterns of behavior, through which one can identify the individual’s

adaptation to the surrounding environment and predict their responses in various

situations. Furthermore, students differ in their personal values; they receive and process

information differently; their personality is different and hence, so also is their

understanding. It is often argued that a blend of personality characteristics is necessary

for people to be successful in their career (Hough, 2007).

Extraversion and Introversion are relevant factors that affects academic context

among students. (Rolfhus et al,. n.d.). Introverts, who preferred to be silent, withdrawn,
 26

and comfortable being isolated, obtain higher grades. However, extraverts, who are

talkative, dominant, and open in expressing their insights, can successfully manage

situations that lead them to better outcomes. Extraverts seem to be more motivated in

groups than introverts and by that resulting to less individual academic performance and

otherwise for introverts.

Emotional stability is considered as a predictor rather for contextual performance,

which is associates with the behaviors involved in the different ways to achieve the goal,

performances in different school activities which involve strict realization. This means

that an emotionally stable individually, who can manage different stressful situations can

have better academic performance compared to those who are not (Tabak et al,. n.d.).

In the survey conducted by Inte (2020) in Loon South National High School,

Bohol, regarding the connection between personal traits and academic performance of

teenagers, the results showed that respondents have moderately high level of

conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experiences and extraversion and slightly

high level of emotional stability. The most dominating personality was agreeableness and

the least dominating was emotional stability. In general, respondents have satisfactory

academic performance in mathematics. Personality trait as a whole was found to be

insignificantly correlated with academic performance in all grade levels. An insignificant

difference was found between personality traits and gender while a significant difference

was found between academic performance and gender.

Effects of parents separation to the academic performance of teenagers

Children whose parents separated are, on average, less likely to complete high

school and attend and complete college. Sociologists have, unsurprisingly, suggested that
 27

a decline in family income is a central mechanism in the association between parental

separation and children’s educational attainment (Thomson and McLanahan 2012;

Thomson, Hanson, and McLanahan 1994).

Family instability offers another plausible explanation. Relationship transitions

occur more frequently following parental separation, and such instability disrupts

children’s lives and their schooling (Lee and McLanahan 2015; Sweeney 2010). With the

loss of a parent in the household, typically fathers, mothers generally have fewer

economic resources. It is well known that resource reduction negatively impacts

children’s education, especially the ability to attend and complete college. Agulana

(1999) pointed out that the family lays the psychological, moral and spiritual foundation

in the overall development of the child. The educational pursuit of every child is

relatively determined by the pattern of family or home he/she comes from, be it wealthy

or poor, educated or otherwise. Parents are primarily responsible for the educational and

career development of their children (Salami and Alawode, 2000).

The correlations between parental separation and educational outcomes are partly

due to selection (Amato 2000, 2010; Härkönen 2014; Härkönen et al. 2017, this issue). In

many countries, separating couples are less educated than those who do not separate

(Härkönen and Dronkers 2006) and they also differ on many other characteristics—such

as levels of conflict—which may predict lower educational performance. Nevertheless,

many findings indicate that parental separation can have a negative causal effect on

education, even though these effects are substantially weaker than the crude associations

(Amato 2010; McLanahan et al. 2013).

 28

The negative effects of parental separation on educational outcomes have been

explained by socioeconomic, psychological, and social pathways. Separation often leads

to a loss in socioeconomic resources, and it is an important predictor of transitions into

poverty, particularly for women (DiPrete and McManus 2000; Uunk 2004; Callens and

Croux 2009). Loss of socioeconomic resources and economic disadvantage explain part

of the parental separation penalty on educational outcomes (McLanahan and Sandefur

1994; Thomson et al. 1994; Jonsson and Gähler 1997; Bernardi and Boertien 2017, this

issue). Parental separation often also means residential mobility, potentially because of

the above-mentioned socioeconomic consequences, which can destabilize children’s

social networks and other aspects of their life (McLanahan and Sandefur 1994; Amato

2000).

Scholars have also attended to the degree to which children’s skills—both

cognitive and noncognitive—explain the lower level of educational attainment of

children whose parents separated. Some prior research treats these two components of

children’s skills as parallel mechanisms that decline in response to family disruption

(e.g., Kim 2011). Yet such a view obscures the way in which such skills develop over

childhood. Although cognitive skills become relatively stable by early childhood,

noncognitive skills, such as emotional and behavioral wellbeing, evolve and change

throughout childhood and thus may change in response to disruptive family events

(Borghans et al. 2008; Cunha and Heckman 2009; Hsin and Xie 2016; Roberts, Wood,

and Caspi 2008).

A field study was designed by Amato (2001) to identify and quantify damage in

the mediating variables between parental separation and school failure (i.e., external
 29

school adjustment, aversion to institution, aversion to learning, aversion to instruction,

aversion to teachers, indiscipline). Parental separation is linked to negative effects on

children in terms of psychological adjustment, academic performance, behavioral

disorders, self-concept, and social adjustment. The results of the survey conducted by

Amato said that the estimates on the average damage are around 17% in psychological

adjustment; a 14.6% increase in the rate of academic failure (school repetition rate) and a

16.9% fall in academic performance; a rise in the mean rate of 13.2% in disruptive and

11.8% in aggressive behavior (behavioral disorders); a mean decrease of 32% in

academic, 27% emotional, 22% physical, and 37% family self-concept; as well as in

social adjustment as measured by a mean loss of 16% in self-control in social relations,

and an increase of 21% in social withdrawal (Seijo et al., 2016). Moreover, some of these

spheres may act as protective factors safeguarding from maladjustment (e.g., in academic

performance, self-concept), whereas in others they reflect the level of damage such as

psychological adjustment, behavioral disorders, and social adjustment. In particular,

academic performance may prompt the risk or protect against violence and delinquency

(Jolliffe et al., 2016), psychological distress (Lyndon et al., 2014), and dysfunctions in

self-concept (Huang, 2011). The Reciprocal Effects Model provides a reasonable

explanation for the relationship between self-concept and academic achievement

sustaining that prior self-concept affects subsequent academic achievement, and

conversely prior academic achievement impacts on subsequent academic self-concept,

i.e., the influence is reciprocal (Marsh et al., 2005).

Bearing in mind that parental separation does not affect the child’s aptitudes (e.g.,

IQ), mediators serve to explain the decrease in the damaged domains. The literature has
 30

identified beliefs and attitudes toward the educational system (Baker, 2006; Lee, 2016),

school engagement (Wang and Holcombe, 2010), school environment (Norton, 2008;

Roorda et al., 2011), and behavioral problems (Stipek and Miles, 2008) as the main

mediators of academic achievement. Taking into account the literature and the fact that

the probability of academic failure is directly associated to parental separation, a filed

study was undertaken to assess the mediating variables of this effect and to quantify

damage.

Parents who failed in their responsibilities to assist and guide their children

through every stage of development in life may likely have to contend with the poor

academic performance of their children sooner or later. The development of wholesome

behaviors, as foundation to success in any child is laid upon the home and at the initial

stage in life. Parents therefore have a great role to play in seeing to it that students acquire

the appropriate social, psychological, moral and academic development.

In the Philippines, parents has been seen as a huge factor in influencing a

teenagers’ academic performance, wether positive or negative impact. According to,

Felisilda and Torreon (2020), the family, being a powerful influence on the child and its

importance as a primary agent of socialization could in no doubt enhance or hinder the

academic achievement of the child depending on the social climate in the family.

Out of all things that a parent can influence to their children, parents separation is

one of the most common negative influence that a parent can inflict to their children

causing changes to the teenagers’ academic performance. Children expect their parents to

stay happy and in love with each other as they spend their lives together. The children are

the ones mainly affected when their parents separate. There is a negative impact brought
 31

about by broken homes among children. This is in response to the stressful experience of

parental separation, regardless of the age and developmental level they are in (Madla et

al., 2019). In addition, Afable et al., (2020) said that, whatever happens in the family

could affect the child’s educational development as well as the academic performance.

Because one of the important tasks of a parents is to educate their children because the

children’s education, always starts from home.

Parents separation often results on a certain family being branded as a broken

family. Cago et al., (2019) says that having a broken family can cause a child’s miserable

life. A broken family on a child’s development depends on numerous factors, including

the age of the child at the time of parent’s separation, and on the personality and family

relationship. Broken family can negatively affect all domain of your child’s development.

The effects of a broken family on a children often have a very mixed feeling after a

family change, some children can be rebellious and have unclear acts because of a broken

family. In the Philippines, Lanozo et al., (2021) stated that a broken family is one of the

significant problems of teenagers because annulment is legal in the Philippines. This

issue exposes teenagers to physiological, social challenges and contributes to poor

educational outcomes.

Having a broken home can change a person’s mindset, life and insights towards

the family. Filipino students involved in this situation feel difficult to accept their

concerns and think it is their fault, which will soon lead to them being distracted in

their studies. Behavioral bumps were found on the students after their parents’

separation; these were bad temper, moody, and rebellious (Ariston, 2019).

Therefore, broken families have profound negative impact on student’s academic

 32

performance as parents play an important role in most children’s academic development.

(Felisilda and Torreon 2020). Magazine Desk (2015) also proves that slowed academic

development is another common way that parental separation affects the children. The

emotional stress of a divorce alone can be enough to stunt your child’s academic

progress, but the lifestyle changes and instability of a broken family can contribute to

poor educational outcomes. This poor academic progress can stem from a number of

factors, including instability in the home environment, inadequate financial resources and

inconsistent routines .

As stated by Lanozo et al., (2021) on their research, it showed that 30 percent

more of the students from broken families have many absences, being late, and skip

classes than those with stable families. You can observe that students especially the

one who have a broken family have a difficulty in participating in class because of

overthinking. They’ve got plenty of thoughts bouncing around in their little heads,

negative feelings, worries, sadness or worst anxiety (Oyson, 2017). In addition,

absenteeism and dropping out of school are the manifestations of the problem. As such,

victims are invited to the guidance center for counseling spiritually and involvement in

the school's extracurricular activities (Abbariao et al., 2019)

Moreover, going home late at night and getting in fights are one of the

most common behavioral issues of students from broken homes (Magpantay et al.,

2014). Students whose parents are separated are more likely to leave home, not wanting

to be involved in the problem facing their parents, and deciding to live independently.

Due to their current situation, they turn their attention to others. They entertain
 33

themselves by hanging out with friends or fighting with classmates at school to forget the

problem their family has (Lanozo et al., 2021).

Teenagers experience negative emotions; they feel isolated and embarrassed due

to their current situation. Filipino students can have trouble concentrating and

understanding their academics because they know that their parents are separated. Due to

the parents’ inability to pay attention to their children, it can lead to bullying of their

fellow students and ambiguous action. Their academic performance can suffer, and they

might begin engaging in some forms of deviant behavior like associating with the wrong

friends and acting up during class. This insufficient academic progress may stem from

challenges including home environment volatility, inadequate financial resources, and

erratic practices (Lanozo et al., 2021).

Teenagers dealing with parental separation

In this generation, we cannot anticipate the experience of a teenager when their

parents legally separated from each other. As per Ncube et al., (2018), the teenagers from

divorced families develop social, psychological and educational challenges. They

develop antisocial behaviors such as substance abuse, prostitution, have a low self-

esteem, poorly perform in their studies and have a negative attitude towards marriage,

and when their parents had a divorce, it is not just their personality that is being affected,

it also affects their relationship to their parents. The absence of a close parent– child

relationship is linked to negative outcomes across all socio-economic levels (Luthar &

Latendresse, 2005).

According to Thompson and Rudolph (2000), teenagers involved often emerge

with behavioral problems. Divorce leads to changes in family composition, family roles,
 34

family relationships and economic circumstances that involve far-reaching implications

and adaptations for family members and can have a significant impact on family

functioning. In addition to the study of (Mashego & Taruvinga, 2014), the findings

revealed that teenagers who cope use behavioral and cognitive strategies and less of

avoidance strategies. Family resilience factors among the families of these teenagers were

effective communication (Family Problem Solving and Communication-FPSC), family

hardiness (Family Hardiness Index-FHI) and, the problem solving and behavioral

strategies utilized by families in crisis situations (Family Crisis Oriented Personal

Evaluation Scales-F-COPES). Further research should focus on longitudinal and context-

specific areas that track family and teenagers’ adaptation to stressful events as well as the

influence of culture and spirituality on teenagers’ ways of coping.

As per Westman (1983), the turbulence of the post-divorce phase plays a crucial

role in influencing pathological reactions in affected teenagers. Bell (2001) argues that

teenagers from divorced families are faced with behavioral, delinquent and moral order

problems. This adds to their developmental crisis possibly leading to pathology.

Suffering from traumatic stressors without getting help, can make a teenager become

more prone to engaging in self-destructive behaviors such as drug abuse, school failure,

unsafe sex, and violence. Even though they are afraid on what consequences will be

toward their actions, they still wonder on what is the use of being a good child If their

will be no relationship that will happen again within their family. But many teenager

students found their comfort in different place like school. Some resilient teenagers had a

favorite teacher who had become a role model, friend, and confidant for them (Werner

and Smith, 1992). Positive and social outcomes in teenagers are often realized in schools
 35

that are characterized by climates of caring, participation and high expectations for all

students (Benard, 1995).

With other people and places, we truly feel our home. But sometimes, compared

with children with continuously married parents, children with divorced parents

continued to score significantly lower on measures of academic achievement, conduct,

psychological adjustment, self-concept, and social relations. After controlling for study

characteristics. curvilinear trends with respect to decade of publication were present for

academic achievement, psychological well-being, self-concept, and social relations,

Amato and Keith (1991). In addition of Precious (2016), the assumption is that children

belonging to such a family setup are associated with poor academic performance, are

likely to drop out of school, which often results in teenage pregnancy and drug abuse. It

has also been indicated that children from single parent households are likely to have

behavioral problems and perform less academically, because there is less supervision

from the single parent. However, children growing up in single-parent households,

whether the parents were never married, or have separated or divorced, have twice the

risk of repeating the grade, having behavioral problems, dropping out of high school and

girls have the risk of becoming teenage mothers. This is because parents have to work

long hours in order to make ends meet, leaving them with minimum time to spend with

their children.

The parents believed that being separated with each other can help themselves to

grow and to protect the emotional feelings of their child, but little did they know, those

crises will make a change in their family structure. According to Becvar and Becvar

(1996), we should view these unexpected crises as challenges that necessitate a change in
 36

the original family structure, in order for the family to return to full functionality. It is in

this family that the teenager is found and everything which affects the family affects

him/her. The power of reuniting the family is in the hands of the parents. The teenager

who still has to overcome all these stressors becomes a victim of a situation. That’s why

the parents only realized the trauma and effect they made once that a teenager shows

some unnecessary actions. Those actions will lead to diseases that affects teenagers’

wellness. In order to overcome the situation, the teenager have (1) Reluctant to confront

their parents’ divorce, (2) Willingness to express and reflect, (3) Acceptance of parental

divorce, (4) Forgiveness of their parents, (5) Letting it go and moving on with life, (6)

Acceptance of support from others, (7) Spiritual inclination, (8) Self-help, and (9)

Helping others (Subramaniam et al., 2020).

According to Madla et al,. (2019), they said that we are the product of human

relationships, and most of us spend our days within the context of relationships with other

people. Problems experienced in our early relationships in the family are often expressed

in our own behavior towards others. Some young adults can define a family as their role

model, mentor and people who will always inspire them to be self-sufficient, socially

responsible and to get along with other individuals. But some other young adults defined

it as traumatic experience, bad influence and considered family as the most hated people

in their life because of being into a broken home. It can affect their whole life, especially

in their marital relationship and in their emotions. Being into a broken family gives a lot

of effects in a young adult’s life.

It has been shown in a study done by Luepnitz (1979) cited by Madla et al,.

(2019), that marital breakdown is a crisis event, which essentially throws the family into
 37

a transitional phase that necessitates the need for a new equilibrium. This new

equilibrium can and most likely includes the gradual change of a child's perspective about

his or her own parents and families in general. This seed of a thought will likely be

carried by the child all the way into their own adulthood.

In addition to what Madla et al,. (2019) cited on their study, according to Fagan

(1999) adolescents who have gone through the trauma of their parents’ divorce in their

childhood, appeared to hold marital relationships in a low regard as compared to their

peers with intact families. Most of the studies mentioned, if not all, showed negativity

and positivity in the respondents’ outlook regarding future marital relationships. The

studies indicate that many participants who come from broken families have on average a

somewhat negative view on future relationships.

However, what the studies did not delve into is the reason behind those negative

views. As stated, to a larger scale of the study, further inquiry into the matter was likely

to be difficult. As an addition to what was unknown about this study, there has been a

lack of updated literatures about the topic. The purpose of this qualitative study was to

define the impact of having a broken family on the outlook of young adults regarding

marital relationship. The study utilized a phenomenological qualitative research design

using semi-structured open?ended questions as the data analysis of this study aimed to

explore the perceived experiences of young adults from broken families regarding their

outlook on marital relationships.

In the Philippines, separation among married couples is not rare. Despite the

absence of a divorce law, there is still a high rate of annulment among Filipino couples. A

study by Margot Galang (2015) on Implication of Broken Marriages to Filipino Children,

 38

the common reasons why Filipino couples separate include financial problems, lack of

communication, infidelity, and domestic violence. Clinical and therapists note that

children caught in the middle of parent’s animosity during separation have attention and

concentration problems, academic problems, anger issues, sleep disorders, and other

psychological, behavioral and spiritual problems.

While children in quite high conflict homes may benefit by being removed from

that environment (not necessarily through divorce), the situation of children in lower-

conflict marriages (of which 2/3 of divorces are of this type) can go much worse

following a divorce. Furthermore, children experience lasting tension even after their

parents divorce, particularly as a result of the increasing differences in their parents’

values and ideas. The point: children of even so-called “good divorces” fare worse

emotionally than children who grew up in an unhappy but “low-conflict” marriage

(Gatdula 2017)

Villegas (2022) said that as written in the Encyclopedia on Early Childhood, we

can read a detailed explanation of findings about the adverse effects of divorce on

children. In that authoritative publication, they read that numerous studies have found

that parental separation and divorce is associated with a range of negative outcomes for

younger children and adolescents across various domains. Parental separation or divorce

is associated with academic difficulties, including lower grades and prematurely dropping

out of school. This latter negative consequence of divorce would actually aggravate the

already serious problem of school dropouts in the Philippine educational system where

more than 40 percent of grade school children drop out before their reach high school,

involving a great deal of wastes of public funds. Among the children of divorced parents,
 39

there exist greater disruptive behaviors (e.g., being oppositional with authority figures,

getting into fights, stealing, and using and abusing alcohol and illegal drugs). It has also

been found out that children and adolescents who experience the divorce of their parents

have higher rates of depressed mood, lower self-esteem and emotional.

Synthesis

The study presents the review of related literature and studies regarding on how

do teenagers deal with parents separation and how it affects their academic performance.

The researchers reviewed and they were able to determine and understand the importance

of a whole family, the factors that are contributing to the academic performance of

teenagers such as parental background, peer/friends characteristics, school environment

and personal traits of a teenager, the effects of parental separation to teenagers’ academic

performance and how do teenagers deal with it. With the help of these studies, the

researchers were able to come up with an idea about helping the teenagers on how will

they deal with parents separation.

Parent separation can cause changes in family composition, family roles, family

relationships, and economic circumstances, all of which have far-reaching consequences

for family members. Teenagers from broken families face social, psychological, and

educational challenges. Suffering from traumatic stressors without seeking help can

increase a teen's proclivity to engage in self-destructive behavior. Children of separated

parents performed significantly worse on measures of academic achievement, behavior,

psychological adjustment, self-concept, and social relationships.

Additionally, those studies were able to help the researchers to deepen their

understanding about the need to solve the issues. This problem of teenagers may remain
 40

worse over time if it remained unsolved, and through the help of different researchers,

including this research paper, it might help those who are in need.
 41

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Introduction

Upon analyzing the problem, the background, and the related literature and

studies, we can now continue into the next part of the research study. This chapter

contains the research design, research locale, participants of the study, sampling

technique, data gathering procedure and the data analysis. This will help the researchers

to know more about the parts that the researchers should consider in interfacing with the

participants, and this chapter aims to help the researchers to expand their knowledge

more about the designated topic.

Teenagers dealing with parental separation appear to have a significant impact on

their academic performance, and the researchers will never know what they are going

through, so the researchers will prepare questions and conduct an interview and record

the participants’ responses. That is why this chapter focuses on understanding the impact

of teenagers’ separated parents on their studies by letting them express their feelings and

experiences through interview.

Research Design

The research design of this study is qualitative design that aims to know the cause

and effect of the treatment on the variables. According to Bhandari (2020), qualitative

research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio)

to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth

insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research.

 42

The main focus of this qualitative research design is to determine what is the

effect of parent separation in teenager and how it affects to their academic performance.

The researchers utilized phenomenological type of qualitative research,

Phenomenological research helps to understand the meaning of people's lived experience.

A phenomenological study explores what people experienced and focuses on their

experience of a certain phenomena in their life. It allowed the researchers to know about

the experiences of teenagers on the separation of their parents.

Research Locale

The researchers found possible participants around Sta. Maria Bulacan and

Norzagaray Bulacan where the researchers are currently living. In this areas, the

researchers found teenagers who had separated parents and asked them if can they be a

part of the study. Fortunately, the researchers successfully found participants for their

study on the said are

Figure 2: Map of Sta. Maria Bulacan and Norzagaray Bulacan

Participants of the Study

 43

The participants of the research study are teenagers aged 14-17 with separated

parents. The researchers selected 5 participants out of many possible participants that had

been asked. The researchers conducted an interview and the respondents answered

specific questions from the researchers towards them.

Specifically, the questions solely focused on the questions given on the statement

of the problem part in Chapter 1.

Sampling Technique

The aim of the researchers is to answer the problems of their research study, but

the researchers cannot conduct their interview with a large amount of population.

Therefore the researchers used purposive sampling for the sampling technique of their

study and in order for them to conduct an interview.

Purposive sampling is about selecting samples from the overall sample size

based on the judgment of the researcher wherein the researchers depend on their

knowledge on choosing who among the population will fit to the study requirements .In

other words, a purposive sample is collected according to the requirements of the

research which is teenagers having problems in academic performance because of parent

separation. In addition, purposive sampling will allow the researchers to gather

qualitative responses, which will lead to better insights and more precise research results.

Data Gathering Procedure

This study was conducted to find out what teenagers experience in having a

separated parent. The data gathering procedure of the study is conducted through

qualitative methods. The researchers created questionnaire, they prepared the questions

and gave it to their teacher and wait for it to be approved. As the researchers are making
 44

the questions, they found potential participants and contacted them via Facebook and

Messenger, and the researchers explained the purpose of the study and granted the ethical

considerations asked by the participants. The researchers administered an interview with

their potential participants through Google Meet and their answers is recorded via audio

and video recording.

Data Analysis

The researchers applied thematic analysis to identify and describe the patterns

from the responses of the participants of the study. Thematic analysis involves coding of

qualitative data into clusters of similar entities, the researchers grouped codes that were

linked with one form it into themes or conceptual categories and after that, the

researchers identified the relationships between patterns themes, so as to come up with an

explanation of the phenomenon of the research study.

There are 6 phases involved in thematic analysis in order for the researchers to do

this analysis effectively. First, the researchers familiarized themselves with data that they

will obtain from the respondents of their research. Second, generating initial codes, the

researchers coded features of the data they gathered and found commonalities between

those data. Third, after coding the data, the researchers searched for themes by extracting

it from the codes. Fourth, right after theming, the researchers proceeded on reviewing the

themes that they obtained and also, the researchers defined and name those themes.

Lastly, finalizing the analysis, in this stage, the researchers discussed the codes and

themes for every data.

 45

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

This chapter presents the data gathered by the researchers through interview that

they conducted. Additionally, this chapter also shows the interpretation of the qualitative

data that the researchers have acquired in accordance to the main idea of the research

paper which is “Teenagers Dealing with the Separation of their Parents: How it affects

their Academic Performance”. This chapter is divided into four different sections, and it

is from the four questions included in the first chapter of the study, specifically, it is

located on the Statement of the Problem part of chapter one.

Participants’ Profile

There were 5 between - to - years of age and they all have separated parents. They

agreed upon the invitation of interviewing them on the said topic. Some of the

participants wished to keep their personal information, particularly their names, to be

anonymous. The Table 1 below will show the participants’ age, gender, age when their

parents’ separated, and who they are living with as of the moment.

Name Age Gender Age when their Who are

parents’ separated they living
with as of
the moment

Respondent 1 17 Male 6-8 Mother

Respondent 2 17 Female 12 Guardian

Respondent 3 17 Female 8 Guardian

Respondent 4 17 Female 9 Mother

Respondent 5 14 Female 3-4 Guardian

(Grandmothe
r)
Table 1. Participants’ Profile
 46

Presentation of Data

Statement of the Problem #1: What is the importance of a whole family?

Basic Themes Organizing Theme

- Root of appreciation

- Feeling of attachment Importance of a whole family

according to teenagers
- Teaches us to live

- Having protection from them

Interview Questions Codes Participants’ Answers

What is the - Source of love Respondent 1

importance of family?
- Sense of They… they are the ones who

belongingness nurture the children, who shape

them for… they are the ones who

- Educate
teach the children what is right and

- Security wrong, then they are also the ones

who raise the child with love, like

that.

Respondent 2

Of course the family is important

because of course if you don’t

have that, you really lean on them

because you grew up there, you

 47

came from there. So no matter

what happen to you, the family -,

if you have a family you know that

someone will support you.

Respondent 3

Uhm for me personally, my family

is like the foundation of life. So

since we were young, uhm, they

were the very first people who

taught us how to do things, for

example, walking, the simple

things that we do now, so for me,

in conclusion, the family is the

foundation of life.

Respondent 4

Uhm.. for my perspective family is

important because they are first

one that will help us to improve

ourselves and support us when

needed.
 48

Respondent 5

Uhm, the family is said to be a

small level of society. The family

is one of the important people in

our life. They are the most

important gift from God, wait, we

also experience true love and

working together. It starts here the

feel of being safe and peace and

the family is also the one who

binds each other. Fighting together

in every challenge and that is how

we can say that a family is

important.

What makes a family - Family togetherness Respondent 1

happy?
- Acceptance I think that… that the moments

when they are bonding and when

- Contentment
they are together together.

Respondent 2

Maybe the acceptance, like you

 49

accept each other because of

course you’re always together,

you’re really going to fight, you’re

really going to fight because even

if you’re a family, you really have

differences. So the acceptance,

when you accept each other, you

are happy because you accept each

other.

Respondent 3

So this question is super general,

so many things can be answered

here. but based on my own

experience, the things that make

my family happy are quality time,

since my relatives and my father

are OFW, when they come home

here, the most thing we really do is

spend time together and go on

vacation, then my siblings and I

often play games together, we will

cook, like that, so spending time

 50

together is what makes my family

happy.

Respondent 4

When they are thankful and

contented with their life.

Respondent 5

One of it, is Unity. Happy… uhm

when eating together at the dinner

table. And also having

conversations, like that.

Statement of the Problem #2: What are the other factors contributing to the

academic performance of teenagers?

Basic Themes Organizing Theme

- Pleasure from loved ones

Factors contributing to the
- Personal satisfaction academic performance of
Teenagers
- Vulnerability

Interview Questions Codes Participants’ Answers

Aside from the -Acquaintances Respondent 1

 51

separation of your - Attention seeker For me, my friends, they are a big

parents, what are the help for me because, they make me

- Emotional Instability
things that is feel… even though you know (my

contributing to your parent separated), they also

academic become my happiness.

performance?
Respondent 2

About the ... the separation of my

parents seems like it’s became the

root of my need to be an over

achiever, because if your parents

separated and then you don’t get

much attention because they

already have a life of their own, so

in my academic performance I

need to be an overachiever for

their attention to turn to me.

Respondent 3

Um, if negatively, the things that

may affect to my academic

performance are just my thoughts,

like anxious thoughts regarding to

 52

my family, like the separation of

my parents, then the uhm

comparison of my family with

other families, that they are not

complete, and then it seems like

they are also entering my thoughts

as to why i should continue my

studies if, you know, it seems like

there is no destination, because, of

course, you know my parents

support my studies

Respondent 4

I think being a mentally unstable

student.

Respondent 5

Well, Mommy isn’t here and

there’s no one that’s helping you

on whatever you need, if you need

this or that, you can’t… ask since

they are far from you and they are

not with you or you can’t have

 53

what you need or if you have a

project, you don’t have anyone,

it’s only your grandmother. So,

you don’t, you don’t know what to

do since you are not with the both

sides of your family. Daddy and

Mommy.

What motivates you to - Loved ones Respondent 1

study hard?
- Passion Mainly, to my parents because, I

want to fulfill their promises then I

- Life of ease
will give them a good life as well

as for… in order to be equal to all

the support they give me.

Respondent 2

Maybe for me, the one who

motivated me to study, friends,

friends, because of course,

especially now in a pandemic I’m

getting lazy to study, it’s more fun

to study, I’m getting more

 54

motivated when me and my friends

have little outings, so when I’m

tired I’ll just call my friends

because I can’t call my family, So

really leaning on my friends.

Respondent 3

Um, the biggest factor that

motivates me to study hard is my

personal interest, because, uhm, of

course i have a dream. i have

dreams that i want to reach, my

goals like that. so for me,

education is important to me and i

want to learn-i’m always learning

and my value in knowledge is also

huge. so apart from my personal

interest, of course i won’t lose my

family either, because of course

they have expectations of me, so

uhm i also work hard for them, for

in the future, after i study, when i

 55

work, i can help them financially.

Respondent 4

My family are the ones that

motivates me.

Respondent 5

My grandmother’s sacrifices and

also mommy. I want to finish my

studies so I can return their

hardships for me.

Statement of the Problem #3: What are the effects of parents’ separation to the

academic performance of teenagers?

Basic Themes Organizing Theme

- Alteration in academics

- Striving for more Changes in academic performance

of teenagers due to parents’
- Emotional instability separation

- Being resilient

- Lack of support
 56

Interview Questions Codes Participants’ Answers

What is the difference

- Educational Respondent 1
of your academic
adjustment
performance before I was young then, so i don't

and after your parents - Seeking for validity remember much, but I knew, there

separated? are differences in my academic

- More motivated now
performance

- Inexperienced
Respondent 2

Ah hmm .. I was young when my

parents separated but before,

before they separated I really

didn’t care about my studies I

didn’t pay attention like I didn’t

listen I didn’t pay much attention

to what I was doing like going im

just like that Then I go home like

and I’m not in the top like that,

then after they separate that’s

where I felt that I wanted

validation

Respondent 3

Um, to be honest, before i found

 57

out parents separated, i’d been

studying really, really hard at

school, though i’m not that hard-

working when i’m young, so i

already have value in my

education. that’s it. it’s like i do

well in school and then after their

separation, when i found out that

they were separated, i can say that

nothing seemed to change, because

i also haven’t been able to spend

time together with my parents very

often because they are both OFW,

so their separation didn’t affect my

academic performance that much

after their separation.

Respondent 4

Before I don’t care about my

performance as long as I pass, but

when my parents separated I feel

motivated that’s why I’m doing my

 58

best.

Respondent 5

Hmm, I’m still not studying when

my parents got separated, so it’s

hard- ah no, well, I wasn’t studying

that time. That’s why- And my

mommy is the only one who taking

care of me.

In what ways does

- Inadequate support Respondent 1
your parents being

separated affects your - More pressure I think because of… maybe... the

academic lack of… emotional support to me,

- More determined
performance? and... it's just the lack of emotional

- Apathetic support.

Respondent 2

In what way? Ah, our

conversations are already divided,

it is no longer whole. So my

mommy wants to achieve

something, then my daddy also

 59

wants to achieve something, then

what is happening now is because

they want to achieve something

separately, it’s doubled, so it gives

more pressure.

Respondent 3

like what i said earlier, uhm, i

haven’t been able to spend much

time with my parents ever since i

was a child, because when i was

born, they were OFW already, so

the only one who really took care

of me was my grandmother. -Uhm,

uhm, most often i just really want

study. so that’s it, uhm, the effect

of the separation of my parents,

because i expected them to

separate. so it didn’t have much

impact when it comes to my

academic performance after their

separation, i actually felt that i just

 60

became more determined to study.

Respondent 4

Uhm.. At first, I don’t feel like

doing anything because I’m still

shocked of what of happen.

Respondent 5

Too many. Ah, one of it is they

were not be able to teach me.

Because- they were helping me but

they won’t teach you how it’s done

and no… well… it’s not… it’s

hard, it’s hard to explain but it’s

hard to study because you have no

one to help you on anything.

What changed in your

- Change of Respondent 1
life when your parents
perspective
separated? There are a lot of things that have

- Detached from changed, but the ones that have

family changed my vision (about it), of

course it's hard for a child to see

 61

- Ungrateful that, then you will grow up, that's

it, that's all.

- Unhappy

Respondent 2

There are many, like I don’t have,

let’s say that I don’t have a house I

really don’t have a house that I can

say my home ... my home. Because

there are already two places, it’s

just a place for me, my home is just

a house, it’s really a house, then I

can’t be with them anymore

because mama left the country,

then Papa, he already had another

family, children, wife. So there are

many, we are not like before that

we are together in a house we are

happy, so it was really different.

Respondent 3

Um, like what i’m saying um, i

expect my parents will be

separated. so then i also said earlier

 62

that i couldn’t spend time with

them. so when they separated, it

seemed like nothing had changed

in my daily life. the only thing that

had changed for certain was my

perspective or the way i looked at

life, especially at that time of my

age. i had a hard time believing in

marriage, because as we all know

we believe that marriage is like a

sacred vow. that’s the vow we

promise in front of the lord. so, at

that time, i was wondering how

they could make a promise in front

of their lord that they worshiped.

that’s it. that’s the only thing that

changed my perspective on

marriage in love. that’s it.

Respondent 4

We’re not that grateful, unlike

before when my father is still here.

 63

Respondent 5

Changed? When my daddy has left.

Mommy went to Dubai. It changed

because I don’t have a mom and

uhm…

How do you feel after - Painful

Respondent 1
your parents
- Envious
separated? Of course, it hurts for me but it

can't be avoided so...

Respondent 2

I’m still young, like around grade

6, but before they separate, they

really have a lot of problems. I also

noticed that, so when im in grade

6, they did, they really decided to

separate. I just accepted it because

I think that nothing good will

happen in their lives because I

think that not just because I’m their

child, their lives is miserable, Of

course they are miserable when

 64

they are together I can’t insist that I

still want them even if there are no

longer happy So I just accepted and

said it’s okay, I’m still your child,

even if you separate, so it’s okay

with me, but it also hurts me of

course, because I’m jealous,

because I want a whole family.

Respondent 3

Uhm, that’s just like what i said

before. i expected them to separate.

i also noticed that when they come

home to the philippines, their

relationship isn’t that healthy. and

they always fight, so when they

separated, um, the most i thought,

of course, was that i cried when

daddy said that they were done. of

course, i cried, but it was also

quick for me to accept. But what i

felt that time was, i felt uhm, very

sad, i was like i was comparing my

 65

family to another family. it was

like envy, jealousy. i see complete

families that i see in malls and

even with my classmates who

always attend family day and when

we didn’t. it looks like it’s just

jealousy, but that’s just sad.

Respondent 4

I feel lost, like something inside

me died that day.

Respondent 5

It hurts. Hm, it’s hard on that

part…

Statement of the Problem #4: How teenagers deal with parental separation?

Basic Themes Organizing Theme

- Find distractions to forget problem

- Learn to accept to care for oneself Ways of teenagers to deal with

parental separation
- Focus more on what’s important
 66

- Have a strong mind

Interview Questions Codes Participants’ Answer

- Distracting oneself
Did you already cope Respondent 1
- Diverting attention
or adapt to the
- Acceptance For me I think I've been able to
situation? If yes, what
- Having good cope because I'm both in good
are your ways to cope
relationship terms with my parents when I was
with it? If no, what are
in grade 7 I was there with my
you trying to do to
daddy studying and now I'm in
cope with it?
high school I’m with my mom.

Respondent 2

I... i somehow adapt, im used to it,

even before they separate, they

aren’t together always, like i can

only see my father Once a month

and my mommy is always leaving

our home like that, so before they

separated, I get used to not being

with them like that, so when they

separated, I was able to adapt

quickly because I’m always

moving from house to another

 67

house

Respondent 3

Um, the best way to cope with this

is to cope with it is acceptance. of

course, when i was young, i had a

hard time accepting that we weren’t

complete, but over time, i also got

older, i learned to accept that’s how

it is. that’s what will happen, and i

also can’t do anything, so it seems

like i just need to accept it

Respondent 4

Uhm.. No uhm.. We’re not

thinking of him anymore and keep

myself busy.

Respondent 5

Yes, because I grew up without a

dad, I grew up with my

grandmother only that’s why I can

move forward
 68

How do you manage - Being strong-minded Respondent 1

or balance your
- Self love Hmm what ,, I just don't think too
problem regarding the
much or I don’t let myself to be
separation of your - Focus
affected on what happened there in
parents and your
- Imbalance the past.
studies?

Respondent 2

Uhm, how do I balance? Actually, I

really don’t know if I balance them.

Because.. If … it seems like when I

handle the one, I forget the other

one first. Like if I handle my

studies I forget the problem in my

family, and if I handle my family, I

don’t pay attention to my studies

Respondent 3

i personally believe i have a strong

mind. so when i have problems that

i encounter, i always think that is

this a problem that i can work out a

way to solve? so regarding the

 69

separation of my parents, i know i

can’t do anything just to keep them

together because it doesn’t seem

like that. if i insist on them, they

will be even more toxic. so its like

what i thought at the time is like if i

do- i thought at that time i can’t do

anything just to keep them

together, its like i’ve ruined that

problem because as long as i’m

good to them or as long as if

something changes in their

relationship, as long as they don’t

change their relationship with us as

our parents, as our mon and dad. so

i can’t do anything there. i balance

my studies and the separation if my

parents. i focus on my studies

because, like what i said earlier, i

can’t di anything if my parents

separated.

Respondent 4
 70

For keeping my self busy and for

being myself.

Respondent 5

Uhm, it is like you are the one

who’s taking care of yourself

because mommy would never

understand it because she’s far

away. She will never understand

the problem.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter includes the summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations

drawn from the themes that emerged from the data. This chapter also includes the

discussion of the analyzed data from the data gathered by the researchers from the
 71

interviews that formed basic themes and organizing themes. The summary of findings

and conclusions section of this chapter will further emphasize the emerged themes from

the gathered data. Lastly, this chapter includes recommendations that will benefit the

subjects, other teenagers who had separated parents, and the future researchers who will

make a research paper with the same topic.

Summary of Findings

Based on the chapter 4 of the study which shows the themes that emerged from the data,

the following are the summary of the findings for each statement of the problem:

1. What are the importance of a whole family?

The purpose of the Statement of the Problem 1 is to know what are the opinion of

the teenagers towards the importance of a whole family. The basic themes that emerged

are, Root of appreciation, Feeling of attachment, Teaches us to live and Having

protection from them. Majority of teenagers stated that the family are the ones who

taught us what life is all about and all things that a family must teach and instilled in us

the proper morals, as seen in some of the respondents’ statement, “...sila yung nag nu-

nurture sa mga bata, parang humuhubog sa kanila upang ano, sila yung nagtuturo sa

mga bata ng mga tama at mali…”, “for my perspective family is important because they

are the first one that will help us to improve ourselves”. In addition to the most common

answers, the teenagers said that if you have a problem, they are the one to whom you can

always turn and can support, protect and appreciate you because you are a family as

found on their statements “...dun ka talaga sasandal kasi dun ka lumaki, dun ka

nanggaling, so kahit anong mangyari sayo … kung may pamilya ka alam mo na merong

sasalo sayo…”, “...dito natin mararamdaman ang tunay na pagmamahal, pagtutulungan

 72

at pagkakaisa sa bawat isa. Dito nagmula ang pakiramdam ng pagiging ligtas at payapa

at ang ating pamilya rin ang nagbubukod- Nagbubuklod sa bawat isa. Sama samang

lumalaban sa kahit na anong pagsubok at hamon ang dumating sa bawat isa ay kaya

lamang masasabing ang pamilya ang pinakamahalaga sa lahat…”, “...support us when

needed”.

2. What are the other factors contributing to the academic performance of

teenagers?

Statement of the Problem 2 aims to explore the other factors affecting to the

academic performance of teenagers. The basic themes that emerged are Pleasure from

loved ones, Personal satisfaction and Vulnerability Based on some of the respondents’

answers, being vulnerable or emotionally unstable is one of the factors contributing in

their academic performance aside from the separation of their parents, “...yung mga

thoughts ko lang mga anxious thoughts, anxious thoughts uh regarding sa family ko like

of the separation of my parents dun na dumadating yung uhm comparison ng family ko

sa uhm ibang family na hindi sila kumpleto tapos parang dun na rin pumapasok sa

thoughts ko na bakit ba ko cocom- bakit ko pa itutuloy yung pag- studies ko kung like

alam mo yon parang wala namang patutunguhan kasi syempre yung parents ko naman

yung nag papa aral sakin, so ayun”, “I think being a mentally unstable student”,

“...naging root siya ng kailangan maging overachiever ako kasi syempre kapag

naghiwalay yung parents mo tapos hindi ka na masyadong nabibigyan ng pansin kasi

may sari-sarili na silang buhay so sa academic performance ko kailangan overachiever

ako para yung attention nila nababaling parin sa'kin”. On the other hand, all of the

respondents said that another factor that is affecting their academic performance is their
 73

loved ones, family and friends to be specific, teenagers tend to be more motivated

because of their loved ones and help them forget their problems especially in the

separation of their parents, for the respondents that said friends, it is shown to the

following statements “yung mga friends ko, malaking tulong sila sakin dahil ano,

pinaparamdam nilang ano, … kahit ganun nga, nagiging kasiyahan ko din sila”,

“friends talaga kasi syempre, … mas nakakagana ko mag-aaral kapag may mga little

outings kame, ganun pag pagod na ako tatawag lang ako sa friend ko…” and for the

respondents who said that their family is the ones who motivates them to do better in

their academics is “...sa parents ko dahil ano, gusto kong matupad mga pangako nila

saka mabigyan ko sila ng magandang buhay…”, “syempre di din mawawala family ko

kasi syempre may expectations sila sakin so uhm nag wwork hard din ako para sakanila

para in the future after ko mag aral pag ka nag trabaho ako makakatulong ako sakanila

financially”, “Yung paghihirap ni lola, ni mommy. Gusto ko makapagtapos para

masuklian silang dalawa”.

3. What are the effects of parents separation to the academic performance of

teenagers?

The third statement of the problem intended to know the changes of the teenagers

in their academic performances due to parents separation. Alteration in academics,

Striving for more, Emotional instability, Being resilient, and Lack of support were

the basic themes that emerged. The participants generally experienced the inconvenience

of educational adjustment for them due to their parents separation. One of the participants

said “kasi yung mga usap namin hati na hindi na siya whole so may gustong ma achieve

yung mommy ko tapos may gusto rin ma-achieve yung daddy ko , tapos ang nangyayari
 74

ngayon dahil magkahiwalay nga yung gusto nilang ma-achieve magka iba, na do-doble

siya, so mas maraming pressure” While other participants expressed how the separation

affect their academic performance and what they felt after it, few statements out of many

have seen with this thought “...after nilang mag ano maghiwalay ayun doon na nag-start

yung pag ano ko pagfefeeling ko na gusto ko ng validation”, “Before I don’t care about

my performance as long as I pass, but when my parents separated I feel motivated that’s

why I’m doing my best”, “...I actually felt that i just became more determined to study”.

Lastly, few of the participants experienced emotional instability and lack of support

towards their academic performances when they parents got separated, “We’re not that

grateful, unlike before when my father is still here” “I think because of… maybe... the

lack of… emotional support to me…” .

4. How teenagers deal with parental separation?

The last statement of the problem aims to know the ways of the teenagers on

dealing on parental separation. The basic themes emerged from this were, Find

distractions to forget problems, Learn to accept to care for oneself, Focus on what’s

important and Have a strong mind. Most of the participants agreed that the separation

of their parents is really life changing, all of them shared their ways about coping with

that situation. Some of them are finding ways to redirect their minds and somehow forget

their problem in their family, “We’re not thinking of him anymore and for keeping my

self busy”, “I keep myself busy talaga sa friends ano nilugmok ko iyong sarili ko sa

kaibigan ko…” ,”...hindi ko na lang masyadong iniisip or nag papa apekto dun sa

nangyari dun nung nakaraan…”. The teenagers also said that, learning to care and accept

by having a strong mind is very important for them to help themselves to cope with the
 75

problem, and this are found in some of the statements, “natutunan ko iaccept na yun nga

yung mang- yun na ganun nga yung mangyayari and wala din naman ako magagawa e

so parang ayun inaccept ko na lang”, “ako kasi personally i believe na meron akong, i

have a strong mind. so kapag meron akong problems na na eencounter lagi ko iniisip na

eto ba yung problem na magagawan ko ng paraan”.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study, the following are the concluded ideas:

1. As evidenced by the statements given by the respondents, the teenagers are

satisfied because of all the love, support, appreciation and protection they gain from their

family. In addition, teenagers said that the family is one who teaches everything first.

Although all of the respondents have different answers, all of those answers have still the

same thought, that family is the very most important people in a person’s life.

2. The teenagers said that being vulnerable or emotionally unstable is one of the

factors affecting their academic performance, and they are dealing with it alongside the

problem of their parents’ separation. On the positive side, most of the respondents said

that another factor affecting their academic performance is the ones they love and trust,

their family and friends. The teenagers said that they are more motivated because of

them, some are because those people make them happy and some are because they want

to return something from those people.

3. The statements was meant to recognize the adjustments of theteenagers made in

their instructional performances because of the separation of their parents. Some

teenagers experiences many changes in their academics, and most of those changes are

the teenagers are motivated and they are striving for more because of the separation of
 76

their parents. In addition, changes in personal life like, emotional instability, being more

resilient, and lack of aid have been the effects of the separation of the teenagers’ parents,

and they also said that they felt envious and sorrowful after it.

4. Most teenagers agreed that the separation of their parents was truly life changing

and they all have a way to deal with the situation. Some of the teenagers find a way to

turn their thoughts around to somehow forget their problems in their family. Teenagers

also learn to take good care of themselves and accept the situation with a strong heart and

mind, that it is very important because it can help those teenagers to have a healthy body

and a healthy mind and also, to help them deal with the problem.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions derived from the study, the following

recommendations are proposed:

1. The school must provide a facility or a guardian or a councilor and activities for

those teenager or students to come up or open with their problems and give them an

advice for what they need to do when their suffering.

2. Teachers must be more approachable to the students who encountered separation

of parents and guide them to learn and to help them to focus more on their study while

dealing with their problems.

3. The parent/s or guardian/s of those teenagers with separated parents should ask

for things about parent separation for them to be aware on the problem facing by the

teenagers and approach them on the best way possible.

4. Future researchers should find more respondents as this study used only 5

teenagers. This can result in more precise and reliable data to further improve the
 77

researchers’ understanding about how do teenagers deal with parental separation and how

it affects their academic performance

5. Future researchers should gain more background information on how teenagers

deal with their problems, how to find a solution to it, how to handle their problems while

studying and what is the impact of it on the teenagers who have separated parents.

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CADEMIC_ACHIEVEMENT_AND_ADJUSTMENT_DIFFICULTIES

APPENDIX A

RAW TRANSCRIPT

Participant 1:

IR - Interviewer

IE - Interviewee

R - Recorder

IE: Hello!
 87

IR: Hello!

R: Hello! Good evening!

IE: Ayan, ahh, start naba tayo ed ng recording?

R: So, bago mag start, uhm, thank you kasi uhm, pina-unlakan mo yung invitation namin

na ma interview ka, kahit na mejo sensitive yung topic, so ayon, ready naba?

IE: Yes!

R: Sige siguro proceed na Danielle.

IR: Sige sige, uhm, proceed na agad tayo sa first questions, since ah na briefing naman

na kita, about sa topic namin sa research.

IR: Ahh, yung first question is, what is the importance of family?

IE: Ano, sila yung ano, sila yung nag nu-nurture sa mga bata, parang humuhubog sa

kanila upang ano, sila yung nagtuturo sa mga bata ng mga tama at mali, saka sila din

yung,nag papalaki sa bata ng may pagmamahal ,ganon.

IR: Ayan, what makes a family happy?

IE: Siguro yung ano, yung mga moments na nag ba bonding sila at saka nag sasama sama

IR: Aside from separation of your parents, what are the things is contributing to your

academic performance?

IE: Para saken ano, yung mga, yung mga friends ko, malaking tulong sila saken dahil

ano, pinaparamdam nilang ano,ah tawag dito,kahit ganon nga, nagiging kasiyahan ko din

sila.

IR: Ayan, what motivates you to study hard? Is it your family? Friends? Personal

interest? Or your environment?

 88

IE: Mainly yung ano, sa parents ko dahil ano,gusto kong matupad mga pangako nila saka

mabigyan ko sila ng magandang buhay bilang ano na rin,parang katumbas sa lahat ng

bigay na support nila sa akin.

IR: What is the different...ay… what is the difference of your academic performance

before and after your parent separated?

‌IE: Ano kasi eh, nung ano kasi eh bata pa kasi ako non kaya hindi ko na masyadong

tanda… pero alam ko naman, wala naman masyadong difference sa academic

performance ko.

IR: Okay, In what ways does your parents being separated affects your academic

performances?

IE: Siguro ano, dahil sa....

IR: Sige lang, take your time.

IE: Siguro ano...yung lack of ano nalang parang emotional support saakin,tsaka ano

sa...wait lang....anong tawag dine....sige ayon nalang haha, sa lack of emotional support

nalang.

IR: Ayon, sige, What change in your life,when your parents separated?

IE: Hmm, madami naman nag bago dahil ayun nga, pero yung nag bago sakin yung

paningin ko ano kasi, syempre mahirap para sa bata yung ganon,tapos lalaki ka,ganon

iyon, ayon lang.

IR: How do you feel after your parent separated?

IE: Syempre, nung para sa akin masakit yon pero hindi naman ma iwasan dahil nga ayon.

IR: Did you already cope or adapt to the situation? If yes, what are your base to cope it?

If no, what are you trying to do to cope with it?

 89

IE: Para sa akin sa tingin ko nakapag cope na ako dahil pareho naman kasi akong nasa

good term sa parents ko noong grade 7 ako doon ako sa daddy ko nag aaral tapos ngayon

naman highschool dine.

IR: How do you manage or balance your problem regarding the separation of your

parents and your studies?

IE: Hmm ano, hindi ko na lang masyadong iniisip or nag papa apekto dun sa nangyari

dun nung nakaraan.

IR: Ah eto yung nga next questions nalang is follow up questions nalang and then tapos

na tayo, yan... How old are you when your parents separated?

IE: Hindi ko na tanda,pero yung mga roughly grade ahhh 1 to 3 mga hanggang doon

lang.

IR: Okay, who are you living with as of the moment mother,father or guardian?

IE: Ano, mother.

IR: Eto last question, are your parents aware that that their separation made a big impact

to your studies?

IE: Siguro aware sila dahil nga syempre para sa bata malaking bagay yung ganon,mas

okay talaga na dalawa parents,mas para lalo nilang ma tulungan yung bata,kaya sa tingin

ko aware.

IR: Ayan, tapos na tayo thank you ulit sa ano pagiging participant sa research namin,

thank you!

R: Thank you sa time!!

IR: Thank you,thankyou!

IE: Sige!
 90

Participant 2:

IR - Interviewer

IE - Interviewee

R - Recorder

R: Hello good afternoon!

IE: Hello good afternoon!

R: Ayan so…

IR: Good afternoon!

R: Salamat at ano, pinaunlakan mo ang aming invitation kahit na medyo sensitive ang

topic, so ayun.

IE: Ok lang.

R: Ah pwede na siguro mag start? Okay na ba ready na?

IE: Okay lang ready na.

R: Sige.

IR: Okay sige ah para hindi masyadong mabigat yung ah questions ah gawin muna nating

casual yung pag-usapan or batuhan ng questions bale yung questions namin english sya

pero pwede kang sumagot in any language you would like. So game na ba for the first

question?

IE: Game sige.

IR: Okay uhm, what is the importance of family.

 91

IE: Uhm syempre saken importante yung family kasi syempre pag wala kana, dun ka

talaga sasandal kase dun ka lumaki, dun ka nanggaling. So kahit anong mangyari sayo

yung family-, kung may pamilya ka alam mo na merong sasalo sayo.

IR: Okay okay uhm next question will be what makes a family happy?

IE: What makes a family happy?

IR: Yes yes yes.

IE: Ano.. Siguro yung acceptance ano yung tanggap niya yung isa't isa kasi syempre

palagi kayo magkakasama mag-aano talaga kayong mag-aaway talaga kayo kasi kahit

pamilya kayo may differences talaga kayo eh. So yung acceptance pagtanggap ni-

pagtanggap nyo yung isa't isa masaya kayo kasi , ayun tanggap nyo eh.

IR: Yes that is true uhm the next question will be, aside from separ- separation of your

parents, what are the things that is contributing to your academic performances?

IE: Ano.. dun sa .. yung paghihiwalay ng parents ko parang ano siya naging root siya ng

kailangan maging overachiever ako kasi syempre, kapag naghiwalay yung parents mo

tapos hindi ka na masyadong nabibigyan ng pansin kasi may sari-sarili na silang buhay

so sa academic performance ko kailangan overachiever ako para yung attention nila

nababaling parin sa'kin.

IR: With that being said what motivates you to study? Is it your family? Friends?

Personal interests? Or your environment?

IE: Siguro para sa akin yung nag mo motivate sa'kin mag-aral friends friends friends

talaga kasi syempre, ano lalo na ngayon pandemi, nakakatamad talaga mag-aral so mas

masaya mag-aral mas nakakagana ko mag-aaral kapag may mga little outings kame,
 92

ganun pag pagod na ako tatawag lang ako sa friend ko kasi hindi ko naman matatawagan

yung pamilya ko, so friends talaga ako sumasandal.

IR: Okay uhm the next question will be, what is the difference of your academic

performances before and after your parents separation.

IE: Ah nung.. kasi bata pa ako nung naghiwalay yung parents ko, pero before, before

silang mag hiwalay wala talaga akong paki sa studies hindi ko siya tinutuunan ng pansin

like hindi ako nakikinig hindi ako masyadong nagbibigay ng pansin sa mga ginagawa ko

parang papasok lang ako ganun, tapos uuwi ganun, hindi ako nakasama sa top ganun

tapos after nilang mag ano maghiwalay ayun doon na nag-start yung pag ano ko pag-

fefeeling ko na gusto ko ng validation.

IR: Okay in what way does your parents being separated affect your academic

performances?

IE: In what way? Ah yung kasi yung mga usap namin hati na hindi na siya whole, so may

gustong ma achieve yung mommy ko tapos may gusto rin ma-achieve yung daddy ko,

tapos ang nangyayari ngayon dahil magkahiwalay nga yung gusto nilang ma-achieve

magka iba, na do-doble siya, so mas maraming pressure.

IR: What changed in your life when your parents separated?

IE: Madami, madaming nag ano... like yung wala akong, masabi natin na ano, wala

akong bahay talaga wala akong bahay ko na masasabi kong home ko...home ko. Kase

dalawa na yung place, place lang siya parang para sa akin yung home ko bahay lang

talaga house na siya tapos hindi ko na sila nakakasama kasi si mama umalis ng bansa

tapos si papa nagkaroon na siya ng ibang pamilya anak ganon asawa. So marami talaga
 93

hindi na katulad dati na magkakasama kami sa isang bahay masaya kami ganun nag iba

talaga.

IR: Ayan, how do you feel about your parents separated?

IE: Kasi bata pa ako sige around, around grade 6, pero bago bago sila mag separate kasi

marami na talaga silang problems, napapansin ko din naman. So nung grade 6 like dun

na sila nag, ano talaga nagdesisyon na mag seseparate sila tinanggap ko na lang kasi para

sa akin, parang iniisip ko na wala namang mangyayaring maganda sa buhay nila kasi

iniisip ko hindi porket anak nila ako kailangan magiging miserable yung buhay nila,

syempre miserable na sila na magkasama sila, di ko pwedeng ipilit na ay gusto ko kayo

pa rin kahit na hindi na kayo masaya, so tinanggap ko nalang sabi ko ayos lang naman

anak niyo pa rin naman ako kahit na maghiwalay kayo so ayos lang sa akin pero nasaktan

din ako, syempre kasi naiingit din ako na gusto ko ng buo yung pamilya ko.

IR: Uhm eto, did you already cope or adapt to the situation?

IE: Nakaka... naka adapt naman ako naka uhm nasanay na lang ako kasi even before na

naghiwalay sila hindi na sila nagsasama madalas like makikita ko lang yung father ko.

Once a month tas yung mommy ko umaalis alis den ng bahay ganun so before sila

maghiwalay nasanay na ako na wala sila ganun so nung naghiwalay sila after non

mabilis na lang ako nakapag adapt kasi palipat-lipat na talaga ako ng bahay.

IR: Ayan since naka pag adopt ka uhm pano? How do you cope with it? Ano yung ways

mo para masanay doon?

IE: Akin ano I keep myself busy talaga sa friends ano nilugmok ko iyong sarili ko sa

kaibigan ko tapos umiwas ako sa alam ko na ayun nga dahil sabi ko nga naiinggit nga

ako umiiwas ako sa mga place na alam kong maraming ganun maraming gumagalang
 94

family ganun kasi kahit sabihin ko na naka adapt na ako meron pa ring ano sakin may

part pa rin sa akin na syempre nalulungkot ako ng sobra kasi ano ganun nga yung

nangyari.

IR: Okay how do you manage or balance your problems regarding the separation of your

parents and your studies?

IE: Uhm pano ko na ba-balance sa totoo lang hindi ko alam kung nababalance ko sila

Kasi kung, parang kapag kasi hina-handle ko yung isa kinakalimutan ko muna yung isa

parang kapag iha-handle ko yung studies ko iisipin ko kakalimutan ko muna yung

problema ko sa pamilya ko pag hinahandle ko yung pamilya ko hindi ko muna

binibigyan ng pansin yung studies ko.

IR: Okay okay uhm ito tapos na tayo sa mga major questions ito follow up questions

nalang since na ano na sabe mo naman na to make it clear, how old are you When your

parents separated?

IE: Ohh so grade 6 ako non so siguro it’s 12? 12 or .... 11 to 12 ganon.

IR: Okay okay, who are you living with as of the moment Mother, father or guardian?

IE: Uhm wala silang both so guardian lang yung kasama ko for years na maraming taon

na rin guardian lang.

IR: Are your parents aware that their separation made a big impact in your studies?

IE: Hindi, wala silang alam, kase ayoko, ayoko sila pag isipin so ang alam nila ayos lang

saken ganon, sabi nga sa akin ni mama ano swerte daw siya kasi naiintindihan ko daw

yung nangyayari sa kanila ganon so hindi, hindi sila aware.

IR: Ayan thank you yun yung last question naten, so salamat sa pag sagot alam naming

sensitive talaga yung topic ng research namen and thank you kase your holding uhm
 95

kumakapit ka lang even though wala ka talagang halos kakapitan na magulang mo kaya

uhm ah kaya maging strong ka lang and yung pinag Uusapan natin ngayon kaming

dalawa lang ni Ed ang makaka alam or kameng researcher lang yung makaka alam kaya

you don’t need to be worry, so thank you for answering all the question.

IE: Sige thank you, goodluck sa research niyo.

R: Salamat!

IR: Salamat!

R: Salamat!

IR: Thank you!

IE: Sige!

Participant 3:

IE – Interviewee

IR - Interviewer

IR: Hello hello!

IE: Hello!

IR: Ayan

IR: Yung mga ibang question dito ay medyo mabibigat ah pero buti na lang ano..

nakikipag cooperate ka samin dahil sa research.

IE: Okay lang

IR: Pwede mo naman to sagutin english or tagalog , game na ba? game ka na?

IE: Okay na

IR: What is the importance of family?

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IE: Uhm para kasi sakin personally uhm yung family ko is parang yun yung foundation

of life. so simula pagkabata natin yun yung uhm pinaka sila yung pinaka mga pinaka

unang tao na nag turo satin kung pano gawin yung mga bagay bagay, for example yung

mga paglalakad yung mga simple things na ngayon na ginagawa natin so para sakin in

conclusion yung family is the foundation of life.

IR: Okay uhh.. next question is what makes a family happy?

IE: So yung question na to ay super a general so marami pwedeng maging answer dito,

or personal na lang din base from my own experience yung mga things na

nakakapagpasaya sa family ko is, quality time talaga since yung mga relatives ko and

yung father ko is ofw pag umuuwi sila dito, ang pinaka ginagawa talaga namin is to

spend time together, go on vacation yung mga ganon tapos kami namang magkakapatid

we often play a games together tas magluluto kami ganon so spending time together yun

yung nakakapagpasaya sa family ko.

IR: Aside from the separation of your parents, what are the things is contributing to your

academic performance?

IE: Uhm kung negatively uhm yung mga things siguro na nakaka apekto sa academic

performance is yung mga thoughts ko lang mga anxious thoughts, anxious thoughts uh

regarding sa family ko like of the separation of my parents dun na dumadating yung uhm

comparison ng family ko sa uhm ibang family na hindi sila kumpleto tapos parang dun na

rin pumapasok sa thoughts ko na bakit ba ko cocom- bakit ko pa itutuloy yung pag-

studies ko kung like alam mo yon parang wala namang patutunguhan kasi syempre yung

parents ko naman yung nag papa aral sakin, so ayun.

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IR: Next question is what motivates you to study hard? Is it your family? Friends?

Personal interests? Or your environment?

IE: Uhm ang pinaka malaking factor na nag momotivate sakin sa pag sstudy hard is yung

personal interest ko kasi uhm syempre meron akong uhm meron akong mga pangarap. i

have dreams that i want to reach yung mga goals ko ganon. so para sakin importante

sakin yung education and gusto ko na natututu- natututo ako lagi and sobrang laki din ng

uhm value ko sa knowledge. so bukod- pero bukod dun sa personal interest pero syempre

di din mawawala family ko kasi syempre may expectations sila sakin so uhm nag wo-

work hard din ako para sa kanila para in the future after ko mag aral pag ka nagtrabaho

ako makakatulong ako sa kanila financially.

IR: What is the difference of your academic performance before and after your parents

separated?

IE: Uhm to be honest uhm before kasi- before ko nalaman nag separate yung family ko

since then nag aaral na talaga uh masipag na talaga ako mag aral though di ganon kasipag

bata pa lang para meron na kong value sa education ko. yun so, parang ayun i do well in

school tapos nung after ng separation nila nung nalaman ko na separated na sila na. i can

say naman na parang wala masyadong pag babago kasi hindi din naman ako nakapag

spend time together sa parents ko ng sobrang dalas kasi pareho silang ofw. so yung

separation nila hindi ganon nakaapekto sa academic performance ko after ng separation

nila.

IR: In what ways does your parents being separated affects your academic performance?

IE: Ayun like what I said earlier, uhm hindi ako masyadong nakapag spend ng time with

my parents ever since I was a child, kasi nga pag ka panganak ko pa lang ofw na sila non
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so ang nag alaga talaga sakin is yung grandma ko tapos uhm mata- uhm uhm pinaka

madalas na ginagawa ko lang talaga is mag aral so. so ayun, uhm yung apekto nung

separation ng parents ko kasi parang expected ko na na mag se separate sila. so wala siya

masyadong impact pag dating sa academic performance ko after their separation ganun

pa din naman mas- feeling ko nga mas naging pursigido lang ako mag aral.

IR: What changed in your life when your parents separated?

IE: Uhm like what i'm saying uhm expected ko na na mag b-break- mag se-separate yung

parents ko. so tapos nasabi ko din kanina na hindi naman ako nakapag spend ng time

together with them. so nung nag separate sila parang wala namang nag bago sa daily life

ko, ang nag bago lang siguro for certain is yung perspective ko or yung pag tingin ko sa

life especially in my age ganon since nung yun nga nag separate yung parents ko parang

uhm parang at that time uhm nahirapan ako maniwala sa marriage, kasi diba parang

naniniwala tayo na ang marriage is like a sacred vow na yun yung vow na ippromise

natin sa harap ni lord ganun. so parang at that time dun ako parang- dun ko quenestion

yung promise nila na, how can they make a promise in front of their lord that their

worship. so yun, yun lang yung nag bago perspective ko sa marriage sa love, ayun.

IR: How do you feel after your parents separated?

IE: Uhm ayun katulad nga din ng sinabi ko kanina, expected ko na na mag se separate

sila kase hindi- uhm napapansin ko din na pag umuuwi sila dito sa pilipinas uhm hindi

ganun ka healthy yung relationship nila. and they always fight so yung nag seperate sila

ang uhm ang pinaka thought ko syempre is umiyak ako nung sinabi ni daddy na yun wala

na daw sila syempre umiyak ako non pero mabilis ko din na accept. ayun mabilis ko din

na accept na separated na sila pero I can- pero what i felt at that time is that I felt uhm
 99

very sad ganon parang ayun na cinocompare ko yung family sa ibang family parang

inggit, jealous. mga kumpletong pamilya na nakikita ko sa mga mall at kahit dun sa mga

kaklase ko noon na umaattend palagi ng family day tapos kami hindi. ayun parang

jealous lang don pero yun nga nalungkot lang.

IR: Next question is did you already cope or adapt to the situation?

IE: Yes.

IR: What are your wats to cope with it?

IE: Uhm pinaka best way na cope with this, to cope with it is acceptance uhm noon

syempre bata pa ako nahirapan ako na i-accept na hindi kami kumpleto non pero over

time tumanda din ako ng tumanda na natutunan ko iaccept na yun nga yung mang- yun na

ganun nga yung mangyayari and wala din naman ako magagawa e so parang ayun

inaccept ko na lang.

IR: How do you manage or balance your problem regarding the separation of your

parents and your studies?

IE: Ako kasi personally I believe na meron akong, I have a strong mind. so kapag meron

akong problems na na e-encounter lagi ko iniisip na eto ba yung problem na magagawan

ko ng paraan. so yung sa regarding sa separation ng parents ko is alam kong wala akong

magagawa to keep them together kasi parang ayun nga hindi naging- kung ipipilit ko pa

na maging sila mas lalo sila magiging toxic. ayun, so parang ang inisip ko at the time is

like kung gagawa ako- kung uhm- inisip ko at that time is wala akong magagawa just to

keep them together so parang dinestroyed ko na yung problem na yun kasi as long as im

good them naman or parang kung may mag bago man sa relationship nila basta wag lang

mag babago sa relationship nila sa amin as our parents, as our mom and dad. so wala na
 100

akong magagawa dun. bale ang na balance ko, na balance ko yung pag aaral ko and sa

separation ng parents ko is mas nag focus ako sa studies ko kasi like what i said earlier

wala na akong magagawa kung nag separate man yung parents ko.

IR: Okay. meron lang akong mga follow up question dito yung mga iba ay nasabi ko na

but i'm just repeating again, is it okay?

IE: Okay lang.

IR: Okay.

IR: How old are you when your parents separated?

IE: Uhm sa pag kakatanda ko I was 8 years old when I knew they got seperated pero

nalaman ko officially grade 6 na ko non so maybe 12 or 11 years old.

IR: Who are you living with as of the moment? Mother? Father? Guardian?

IE: Guardian ko.

IR: Next question is are your parents aware that their separation made a big impact to

your studies?

IE: I think oo, kasi when my father told me the uhm that he got separated with my mom

sinabi niya sakin na sana raw yung uhm sana raw yung separation nila is hindi makaka

apekto sa studies namin. so i think they know na merong impact yung separation nila sa

studies naming mag kakapatid.

IR: Okay, that was the last follow up question. thank you again for time and for

cooperation even though medyo personal yung mga question, reassured na that your

answer and informations stays inside the meeting, thank you again.

IE: Thank you din!

IR: Thank you!

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Participant 4:

IR - Interviewer

IE – Interviewee

R – Recorder

R: Hello good evening.

IE: Hello po

R: Hello so ayon uhm… Thankyou sa time,thankyou sa pag accept ng invitation na

mainterview ka namin kahit na uhm… alam natin na medyo sensitive yung topic naten

for today.

R: So ready naba?

IE: Yes

R: Pearl ready na magtanong?

IR: Ready na

R: Proceed na

IR: Wait

IR: What is the importance of a whole family?

IE: Uhm… for may perspective family is important because they are the first one that

will help us to improve ourselves and support us when needed.

IR: What makes a family happy?

IR: Aside from the separation of your parents, what are the things that is contributing to

your academic performance?

IE: I think being a mentally unstable student.

 102

IR: What motivates you to study hard? Is it your family? Friends? Personal interest? or

your environment?

IE: My family are the ones that motivates me.

IR: What is the difference of your academic performance before and after your parents

separated?

IE: Before I don’t care about my performance as long as I pass, but when my parents

separated I feel motivated that’s why I’m doing my best.

IR: Pwede paki ulit? Ano kasi…napuputol.

IE: Ulitin mo nalang yung tanong..

IR: What is the difference of your academic performance before and after your parents

separated?

IE: Before I don’t care about my performance as long as I pass, but when my parents

separated I feel motivated that’s why I’m doing my best.

IR: In what ways does your parents being separated affects your academic performance?

IE: Uhm… At first, I don’t feel like doing anything because I’m still shocked of what of

happen.

IR: What change in your life when your parent separated?

IE: We’re not that grateful, unlike before when my father is still here.

IR: What changed in your life when your parents separated?

IE: I feel lost, like something inside me died that day.

IR: Did you already cope or adapt to the situation? If yes , what are your ways to do cope

with it? If no , what are you trying to do to cope with it?

IE: Uhm…No uhm… We’re not thinking of him anymore and keep myself busy.
 103

IR: How do you manage or balance your problem regarding the separation of your

parents and your studies?

IE: Ano?

IR: How do you manage or balance your problem regarding the separation of your

parents and your studies?

IE: For keep myself busy nga and for being myself.

IR: How old are you when your parents separated?

IE: I was 9 years old.

IR: Who are you living with as of the moment? Mother? Father? Guardian?

IE: Currently in my mom’s place.

IR: Are your parents aware that their separation made a big impact to your studies?

IE: No.

IR: Okay nayon ed?

R: Yes,yes okay na salamat.

IR: Salamat

IE: Thankyou

R: Salamat sa time.

IE: Goodbye po.

Participant 5:

IR - Interviewer

IE – Interviewee

R – Recorder

IR: Hello good afternoon.

 104

IE: Hello po.

R: Hello rinig ba ko? Malakas ba o Mahina?

IE: Sakto lang po.

R: Okay, so ano… salamat at pinaunlakan mo ang aming imbitasyon na ma-interview ka

kahit na alam natin na medyo sensitive yung topic na ito na pag-uusapan natin na ito,

So… ngayon uhm ready na yung magrerecord no? tapos yung magtatanong. Proceed na

siguro, pwede na ba?

IR: Game na.

R: Okay, game na.

IR: So, hi hello uhm yun nga, uhm thank you sa pag uhm agree tas… ano sasabihin ko?

name-mental block ako…Uhm, okay start na tayo. Hmm una, ang una naming itatanong

syempre sayo ay tungkol sa pamilya so uhm, ano ba yung importance ng pamilya sayo o

ano yung importance, importansya nito sayo?

IE: hmm… mahalaga kasi nga… wait lang, kasi ano… uhm… wait lang kinakabahan

ako.

IE: Wait lang po kinakabahan ako.

R: Okay lang yan, wag ka kabahan. Tayo-tayo lang makakaalam nung ano nung mga

sagot mo.

IR: So, uulitin ko. uhm, dun sa unang tanong natin, what is the importance of family. So,

para sayo, ano ba ang importansya ng pamilya sa mundong ito? Para sayo na rin.

IR: So, ulitin ko ulit. Uhm, ano yung- what is the importance of the family. So, para

sayo, ano ang importansya ng pamilya dito. like for example, mahalaga yung pamilya

kasi sila yung nasa tabi natin kapag malungkot or may pinagdadaanan tayo and sila yung
 105

andyan lagi kahit talikuran na tayo na kahit na sino. Ikaw, ano sa tingin mo ang

kahalagahan ng pamilya para sayo?

IE: uhm, ang pamilya ang sinasabing isang maliit na antas ng lipunan. Ang pamilya rin

ay ang isang pinakamahalaga at pinakaimportanteng tao sa buhay ng bawat isa. Sila ang

pinakamahalagang regalo ng panginoon sa atin, wait lang, dito natin mararamdaman ang

tunay na pagmamahal, pagtutulungan at pagkakaisa sa bawat isa. Dito nagmula ang

pakiramdam ng pagiging ligtas at payapa at Ang ating pamilya rin ang nagbubukod-

Nagbubuklod sa bawat isa. Sama samang lumlaban sa kahit na anong pagsubok at hamon

ang dumating sa bawat isa ay kaya lamang masasabing ang pamilya ang pinakamahalaga

sa lahat.

IR: Okay, uhm we agree naman and so proceed na tayo sa next question. What makes a

family happy? So ano nga ba yung nakadudulot ng… so ano yung nagpapasaya sa

pamilya?

IE: Isa na don ang pagsasama. Masayang… uhmm sama sama kayong kumakain sa

hapag kainan at mga nagkekwentuhan ganyan.

IR: Okay then uhm, aside sa… kumbaga, bukod sa paghihbiwalay ng parents mo, ano pa

yung ibang bagay na nakakaapekto sapag-aaral mo ngayon?

IE: Mahirap kasi wala si mommy then walang tumutulong sayo kung ano kailanbgan mo,

kung kailangan mo ng ganto, di mo ma… maitanong kasi malayo sila and di mo sila

kasama or di ka maka ano ng kailangan or pag may project ka eh wala kang kasama, lola

mo lang kasama mo. So hindi, hindi mo alam kung pano mo gagawin kasi nga wala kang

wala yung wala yung sa both side mo sa pamilya. Si daddy at mommy.

 106

IR: Okay, so sabi mo nga mahirap kapag wala kang kasama. So ano pa yung

nagmomotivate sayo na mag aral ka ng Mabuti kung pamilya mo ba or friends or iba

pang bagay. Ano yung mas nakakapang enganyo sayo na mag-aral at lumaban?

IE: Yung paghihirap ni lola, ni mommy. Gusto ko makapagtapos para masuklian silang

dalawa.

IR: Okay then, next is, ano yung pagkakaiba ng academic… yung pag-aaral mo dati

tapos nung naghiwalay na yung parents mo?

IE: Hmm, hindi pa kasi ako nag-aaral nung naghiwalay si mommy at daddy, kaya

mahirap- ah hindi, ano sya, di pa ako nag-aaral nun eh. Kaya-

IR: Ah okay

IE: Kaya si mommy lang yung nag-aano sakin.

IR: Paano ba nakakaapekto sayo yung diba yung parents mo is hiwalay sila. Paano sya

nakakaapekto sa pag-aaral mo?

IE: Madami. Ah, isa na don is, hindi na di na nila ako natuturuan nila. Kasi- tinutulungan

naman ako pero hindi yung ituturo sayo kung paano to and hindi… ano sya, hindi yung…

hindi… wait lang kinakabahan ako… hindi… mahirap sya, mahirap iexplain pero yun

nga mahirap mag-aral kasi wala kang katulong na magtuturo sayo kung paano yung

ganyan, paano ba to.

IR: Ah, kumbaga mahirap ipaliwanag pero ang kabuuan non is talagang mahirap mag-

aral kapag separated yung parents, tama? Next is, ano yung nagbago sa buhay mo nung

nagkahiwalay yung parents mo?

IE: Nagbago? May- nung wala si daddy… ano… si mommy nag dubai. Nagbago kasi

wala akong nanay and uhm…

 107

IR: Since yung parang mommy mo lang yung parang lumalaban sa inyo, ano yung

naramdaman mo nung magkahiwalay talaga yung parents mo?

IE: Masakit. Hm, mahirap dun sa part na yun…

IR: Dun sa mga pinagdaanan mo, naka ano ka na ba uhm naka move on ka na ba or ready

ka na bang mag move forward dun sa situation mo?

IE: Oo naman kasi lumaki akong walang tatay, lumaki ako ng sa lola ko lang kaya kaya

ko mag move forward.

IR: Okay, hmm so yung lola mo yung isa sa dahilan kung bakit ka nag momove forward?

Paano mo naman sya minamanage or paano mo minamanage mga problema mo? Since,

ano nga, yung parents mo is separated sila.

IE: Uhm, ano ba, self- parang ikaw nalang mag-isa yung mag-aano sa sarili mo kasi hindi

naman magegets nung nanay ko, si mommy, kasi malayo nga siya. Hindi naman nya

maiintindihan yung problema , ganun ba?

IR: Yes, and thank you kasi nasagot mo yung mga medyo masesensitive naming mga

tanong and ito mga follow-up questions nalang. Ilang taon ka nung naghiwalay yung

parents mo?

IE: Naghiwalay sila is 3 or 4 years old ako non.

IR: And ngayon, sino yung kasama mong nabubuhay? Since magkahiwalay nga yung

parents mo. Sino yung kasama mo?

IE: Si lola, si ate… si, yung little sister ko.

IR: Aware- tingin mo ba aware yung parents mo kung gaano nila- kung gaano sila

nakaapekto sayo at sa studies mo?

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IE: Hindi ko alam kung aware ba sila don kasi hindi nila alam na ano is feeling nila is

hindi nakakaapekto sakin like parang hindi si daddy parang hindi iniintindi na ganyan na

ito na pala yung ano…

IR: Alright, so yun lang mga questions naming and thank you kasi pumayag ka sa

interview na ito kahit sensitive yung topic and yun lang, salamat. Guys, magsalita naman

kayo.

R: Salamat

R: Salamat.

R: Sorry kung medyo kinabahan ka ha. Ganon talaga, okay lang yan.

R: Wag ka mag-alala, mabait yan.

IR: Thank you thank you.

R: Salamat.

APPENDIX B

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Guide Questions:

1. What are the importance of a whole family?

● What is the importance of family?

 109

● What makes a family happy?

2. What are the other factors contributing to the academic performance of

teenagers?

● Aside from the separation of your parents, what are the things that is

contributing to your academic performance?

● What motivates you to study hard? Is it your family? Friends? Personal

interests? Or your environment?

3. What are the effects of parents separation to the academic performance

of teenagers?

● What is the difference of your academic performance before and after your

parents separated?

● In what ways does your parents being separated affects your academic

performance?

● What changed in your life when your parents separated? 

● How do you feel after your parents separated?

4. How teenagers deal with parental separation?

● Did you already cope or adapt to the situation?

- If yes, what are your ways to cope with it?

- If no, what are you trying to do to cope with it? 

● How do you manage or balance your problem regarding the separation of your

parents and your studies?

Follow Up Questions:

● How old are you when your parents separated?

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● Who are you living with as of the moment? Mother? Father? Guardian?

● Are your parents aware that their separation made a big impact to your

studies?