A sequential explanatory study on the adaptive behavior of working children in Payatas, Quezon City

Abstract

Adaptive behavior has been a fundamental component in the assessment of developmental problems, especially intellectual disability. A number of assessment tools that measure the adaptive behavior of individuals exist; however, these have been authored and standardized in Western countries, with literature indicating that non- Western individuals constitute only six percent of the normative sample. This study utilized a sequential explanatory research design in line with the pragmatic philosophical worldview, involving 103 working children residing in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City to identify their adaptive levels using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales - Second Edition (Vineland-II). The first phase involved the use of the scale to obtain the adaptive levels of the 103 working children and address the premise that working children are adaptive. The second phase of the study involved in-depth interviews and observation with participants who scored below average or low (mild deficit) and low (moderate deficit) adaptive levels in the Vineland-II. Descriptive statistics obtained a mean of 3.41 (SD=0.77) with 58.3% or 60 of the participants at the adequate adaptive level of functioning. From the in-depth interviews and observations emerged several social and cultural factors that may have played significant roles in their adaptive levels: (1) access to instruction in English, (2) extension of reading, writing, and drawing skills, (3) selfexpression, (4) access to technology and the lack thereof, (5) value for work and domestic activities, (6) setting of priorities and value for time, and (7) domestic environment. Results, therefore, presented perspectives that adaptive behavior assessment tools may need to consider the cultural and social contexts where in they are to be administered by means of reviewing items that compose the different domains and establishing crosscultural validity. In doing so, it fulfills its purpose of identifying developmental problems, which, in turn, would facilitate in the design of appropriate interventions.