Right to Psychological Welfare Research Assignment - 1650 Words

Right to Psychological Welfare Research Assignment (Research Proposal Sample) Content: Tamaray, Jaeger DwayneMy State of MindBackground of the StudyKristel Tejada is one case of suicide in the University of the Philippines (UP). She took her own life after not being able to pay her tuition fee and was subjected to a forced Leave of Absence (LOA). Another case is that of Miriam Defensor-Santiagos own son, Alexander Robert Santiago, who committed suicide after being denied enrolment in UP College of Law. It is not the financial inability and/or the rejection that prompted them to commit suicide; it is the depression that was caused by the inability and rejection that led them to making that decision.Depression, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. At worst, depression can lead to suicide. In a year, almost a million people take their own lives, an d for every one person who commits suicide, about twenty others attempt to do it (WHO 2012). Although the Philippines has the lowest suicide rate among ASEAN-member countries, it is still undeniable that the rate of people committing this in the country is rising (Lapea 2015).We are not exempted from this. In fact, according to Maria Theresa Redaniel, David Gunndell and May Antonnette Lebanan-Dalida in their study Suicide in the Philippines: Time Trend Analysis (1974-2005) andLiterature Review, this disorder is more pronounced in the 15-24 age group.In the context of UP Baguio, I have observed that students do not voluntarily go to the Office of the Counselling and Guidance Office (OCG) unless they are required to. For instance, I only went to the Guidance Office once when I was still a freshman because it is mandatory for all freshmen to schedule an appointment with them to discuss the result of the Psychological Test. The UPB Kasarian also offers programs on counselling through se lf-help groups but I have little knowledge of its process.Furthermore, I think students have reservations in talking about issues like depression. I have observed that students do not usually talk about it; and, if they do, there is a tendency that they do not discuss it with depth. There is also a wary attitude of students towards the guidance office which I think resulted from the stereotype that the office is for delinquent students only. Additionally, students who consult the office for their psychological health are considered weak. As proof, every Freshmen Orientation and University of the Philippines Ladies Residence Hall (UPBREHA) General Assembly, the OCG acknowledges that such notions exist and therefore must be eradicated.Upon inquiring at the OCG, they said that they do not have statistics of students who are clinically diagnosed with depression instead they referred me to the UPB clinic. The mere fact that the OCG has no records for these cases is alarming because this is a significant part of students records. Moreover, the OCG should supposedly handle the records. What is the reason behind the absence of records for these cases?According to Dr. Linda P. Macalalag, M.D. of the UPB Clinic, there are roughly 20 freshman students who are clinically diagnosed with depression upon entering the university compared to five freshmen in the previous years. Obviously, there is an increase in the number of students who are depressed but these numbers do not necessarily mean that only five students were depressed at that time. Dr. Macalalag said that they were only able to address the issue more this year than the previous years.It is a part of every students right to receive services concerning their psychological welfare. However, the OCG said that they only have one lecture forum about it (on stress management in 2014) and there is an absence of recorded statistics of clinically diagnosed students. In this case, how will the students know that this is imp ortant when in the first place there is no available information?Research QuestionsWith the problem stated above, I have formulated three research questions necessary in addressing this matter: 1 What communicative mechanisms do these offices use to inform the student body about psychological welfare? 2 How effective are these mechanisms in promoting psychological welfare awareness? 3 As UP students and communication majors, how do we communicate that there are offices that handle psychological problems, especially depression?MethodologyFor this study, I will use the interview method for data gathering. Interviewees will include personnel from the Guidance Counsellors Office of UP Baguio as well as personnel from UPB Kasarian. I will interview them to be able to identify the communicative mechanisms they use regarding the psychological welfare of students.Pertinent information will also be gathered from books and online sources to give further support to the information that will be gathered.I will also use the survey method in order to determine the stud...