The Psychosocial Well-Being of University Students Who Are Children of Overseas Filipino Workers

Abstract

This research was carried out to examine the effects of parent’s migration on the psychosocial well-being of children of Overseas Filipino Workers. Several factors were taken into consideration such as the gender and current age of the youth, which parent migrated, age of the youth when the parent first went abroad, and who assumed care for the children. One hundred respondents were involved in this study, all of whom are children of OFW and are current college students from the University of the Philippines Manila, aged 18 to 22. Participants were chosen through snowball sampling. Quantitative data were collected through a validated online survey questionnaire consisting of a scale with 53 items. Qualitative data were gathered from 10 survey respondents who agreed to undergo an in-depth interview. The results of the Psychosocial Well-being scale showed that of the 100 respondents, 95 percent scored Above Average and 3 percent scored Average in the Total Score. For the Home domain, 93 percent scored Above Average and 5 percent scored Average. For the School domain, 83 percent scored Above Average and 11 percent scored Average. For the Society domain, 75 percent scored Above Average and 17 percent scored Average. For the General domain, 90 percent scored Above Average and 2 percent scored Average. Lastly, 98 percent scored Above Average in the Intrapersonal domain. Overall, the results showed that majority of the respondents are psychosocially healthy. Most of the students are of good relationship with their family, involved in school activities, have a positive view of themselves as a member of society, are well-adjusted in different environments, and possess a positive relationship with themselves. Males scored the highest on the Psychosocial Well-Being Scale, as well as those living with their aunt/uncle. Also, results showed that the well-being of children at home is significantly correlated with their well-being on other environments.