Effects of Sociological Factors and Level of Perception on the Usage of Foul Words among Filipino Youth

Abstract

The study tackled the phenomenon of the usage of foul words among Filipino youth. In line with this, the study provided information with regards to the role and significance of prevalent foul words, social influences and level of perception to the usage of foul words. Furthermore, this study attempted to unravel the relationships between the usage of foul words to social influences, the need to belong and gender Three hundred and two Filipino youth aged 16 to 21 years old participated in the said study. A pretested questionnaire was administered which covered reasons of usage of foul words, social influences, levels of perception and the like. Moreover, in-depth interviews with a selected group of survey respondents were used in order to compare and contrast the findings in the quantitative approach that served as a means for confirmation and additional information that were suitable for the study. Ergo, the data were analyzed using a triangulation of statistical and qualitative techniques. Results show that 47. 35 percent of the respondents stated that the word "shit" is the most commonly used foul word by the respondents. Moreover, more than half of the total respondents in the study said that expression is the primary reason why they use foul words and they consider themselves as average in the usage of foul words. Furthermore, friends and the society were the top influencers of usage of foul words. There is no significant relationship between the social influences on the usage of foul words among youth and the need to belong of Filipino youth who use foul words (Pearson Product-Moment correlation= -.043)_ In addition to that, there is no gender bias with regards to the following: (1) degree of need to belong in a society in the usage of foul words; and (2) the social influence in the usage of foul words among youth. However, results show that there is a significant relationship in the level of perception of usage of foul words and the gender of the respondents (I-value for males= 0.76; t-valuefor females= 0.86). Results from the study paralleled some of the related literature used in the said study. Furthermore, additional knowledge was acquired in line with the study conducted. Recommendations were given for the betterment of the topic per se.