Understanding Mental Health Challenges and Coping Mechanisms Among Community High School Students in Masiu, Lanao del Sur, Philippines
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2026.159Keywords:
Academic stress, Adolescent mental health, Community High School, Coping mechanisms, Qualitative researchAbstract
Mental health challenges among high school students have become an increasing concern, particularly within community school settings where academic, social, and emotional demands intersect. However, existing research has largely relied on quantitative approaches, which provide a limited understanding of students’ actual experiences across multiple dimensions of well being. This study aimed to explore and understand the mental health challenges of high school students of Community High School in Masiu through examining academic, social, emotional, physical, and coping experiences, from the students’ perspectives. A qualitative descriptive research design with phenomenological elements was utilized. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 30 purposively selected high school students and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that academic pressure and performance expectations were primary stressors contributing to emotional distress, reduced concentration, and fatigue. Students also reported social withdrawal, interaction anxiety, sleep disturbances, and somatic symptoms, demonstrating the interconnected and bidirectional nature of mental and physical health challenges. Coping strategies were largely informal and self-directed, with limited engagement in seeking help due to stigma, lack of awareness, and discomfort with authority figures. Hence, the study emphasized that mental health challenges among high school students are complex and contextually dependent, which requires complete and integrated school-based support systems. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of adolescent mental health in community school contexts and emphasize the importance of addressing academic, emotional, social, and physical dimensions of student well-being.
Downloads
References
Asendorpf, J. (2014). Beyond temperament: A two-factorial coping model of the development of inhibition during childhood. In Social Withdrawal, Inhibition, and Shyness in Childhood (pp. 265–289). Psychology Press. https://l1nq.com/yze0a
Baird, S., Choonara, S., Azzopardi, P.S., Banati, P., Bessant, J., Biermann, O., ... & Viner, R.M. (2025). A call to action: The second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. The Lancet, 405(10493), 1945-2022.
Blakemore, S.-J. (2019). Adolescence and mental health. The Lancet, 393(10185), 2030-2031. https://tinyurl.com/4w7ske67
Cai, Z., Junus, A., Chang, Q., & Yip, P. (2022). The lethality of suicide methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 300, 121–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.054
Campo, J. (2012). Annual research review: Functional somatic symptoms and associated anxiety and depression–developmental psychopathology in pediatric practice. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(5), 575–592. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02535.x
Compas, B., Jaser, S., Bettis, A., Watson, K., Gruhn, M., Dunbar, J., ... & Thigpen, J. (2017). Coping, emotion regulation, and psychopathology in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 143(9), 939. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2017-26062-001
Coplan, R., Ooi, L., Xiao, B., & Rose‐Krasnor, L. (2018). Assessment and implications of social withdrawal in early childhood: A first look at social avoidance. Social Development, 27(1), 125–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12258
Fazel, M., Hoagwood, K., Stephan, S., & Ford, T. (2014). Mental health interventions in schools in high-income countries. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(5), 377–387. https://tinyurl.com/4zzdjt7f
Grande, A.J., Hoffmann, M.S., Evans-Lacko, S., Ziebold, C., de Miranda, C., Mcdaid, D., ... & Ribeiro, W.S. (2023). Efficacy of school-based interventions for mental health problems in children and adolescents in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1012257. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1012257
Gregory, A., & Sadeh, A. (2012). Sleep, emotional and behavioral difficulties in children and adolescents. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 16(2), 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2011.03.007
Gross, J.J., & John, O.P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K., & Christensen, H. (2010). Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: A systematic review. BMC Psychiatry, 10(1), 113. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1471-244x-10-113
Gutiérrez, M., Tomás, J., Pastor, A.M., & Sancho, P. (2025). Sources of perceived social support, school adjustment and academic success in Peruvian secondary education. Educational Studies, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2025.2520263
Herman, J., McKlveen, J., Ghosal, S., Kopp, B., Wulsin, A., Makinson, R., ... & Myers, B. (2016). Regulation of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical stress response. Comprehensive Physiology, 6(2), 603–621. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2040-4603.2016.tb00694.x
Hoare, E., Callaly, E., & Berk, M. (2020). Can depression be prevented? If so, how? JAMA Psychiatry. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.1273
Hutten, E., Jongen, E., Hajema, K., Ruiter, R., Hamers, F., & Bos, A. (2022). Risk factors of loneliness across the life span. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(5), 1482–1507. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211059193
Jagodics, B., & Szabó, É. (2023). Student burnout in higher education: A demand-resource model approach. Trends in Psychology, 31(4), 757-776. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-021-00137-4
Li, S., Graham, B., & Werner-Seidler, A. (2021). Gender differences in adolescent sleep disturbance and treatment response to smartphone app–delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: Exploratory study. JMIR Formative Research, 5(3), e22498. https://doi.org/10.2196/22498
Loades, M.E., Chatburn, E., Higson-Sweeney, N., Reynolds, S., Shafran, R., Brigden, A., ... & Crawley, E. (2020). Rapid systematic review: The impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(11), 1218–1239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009
Longino, C. (2020). The old age challenge to the biomedical model: Paradigm strain and health policy. Routledge. https://sl1nk.com/nau6t
Lovato, N., & Gradisar, M. (2014). A meta-analysis and model of the relationship between sleep and depression in adolescents: Recommendations for future research and clinical practice. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 18(6), 521–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2014.03.006
Madigan, D., & Curran, T. (2021). Does burnout affect academic achievement? A meta-analysis of over 100,000 students. Educational Psychology Review, 33(2), 387–405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09533-1
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311
Pascoe, M., Hetrick, S., & Parker, A. (2020). The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823
Patton, G., Neufeld, L., Dogra, S., Frongillo, E., Hargreaves, D., He, S., ... & Norris, S. (2022). Nourishing our future: The Lancet Series on adolescent nutrition. The Lancet, 399(10320), 123–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(21)02140-1
Prieto Fidalgo, Á., Miers, A., & Calvete Zumalde, E. (2022). Interpretation biases in social scenarios and social anxiety: The role of safety behaviors. Psicothema, 34(4). https://addi.ehu.es/handle/10810/75345
Racine, N., McArthur, B.A., Cooke, J., Eirich, R., Zhu, J., & Madigan, S. (2021). Global prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19: A meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(11), 1142–1150. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2482
Radez, J., Reardon, T., Creswell, C., Lawrence, P., Evdoka-Burton, G., & Waite, P. (2021). Why do children and adolescents (not) seek and access professional help for their mental health problems? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 30(2), 183–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-019-01469-4
Rickwood, D., Deane, F., Wilson, C., & Ciarrochi, J. (2005). Young people’s help-seeking for mental health problems. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 4(3), 218–251. https://doi.org/10.5172/jamh.4.3.218
Sacco, R., Camilleri, N., Eberhardt, J., Umla-Runge, K., & Newbury-Birch, D. (2024). A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents in Europe. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(9), 2877–2894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-02131-2
Salanova, M., Schaufeli, W., Martínez, I., & Bresó, E. (2010). How obstacles and facilitators predict academic performance: The mediating role of study burnout and engagement. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 23(1), 53–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10615800802609965
Spence, S., & Rapee, R. (2016). The etiology of social anxiety disorder: An evidence-based model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 86, 50–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2016.06.007
Spruyt, K. (2021). Neurocognitive effects of sleep disruption in children and adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 30(1), 27-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2020.08.003
Stein, S.J., & Book, H.E. (2011). The EQ edge: Emotional intelligence and your success. John Wiley & Sons.
van Harmelen, A.-L., Blakemore, S.J., Goodyer, I.M., & Kievit, R.A. (2021). The interplay between adolescent friendship quality and resilient functioning following childhood and adolescent adversity. Adversity and Resilience Science, 2(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-020-00027-1
Wang, J., Wang, Z., Yang, Y., Wang, T., Lin, H., Zhang, W., ... & Fu, C. (2025). Academic burden and emotional problems among adolescents: A longitudinal mediation analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 97(4), 989–1001. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12471
Widlund, A., Tuominen, H., & Korhonen, J. (2021). Development of school engagement and burnout across lower and upper secondary education: Trajectory profiles and educational outcomes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 66, 101997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.101997
Williamson, A., Zendarski, N., Lange, K., Quach, J., Molloy, C., Clifford, S., & Mulraney, M. (2021). Sleep problems, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and domains of health-related quality of life: Bidirectional associations from early childhood to early adolescence. Sleep, 44(1), zsaa139. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa139
World Health Organization. (2025). Mental health of adolescents. https://tinyurl.com/37jxwpv7
Xu, T., Zuo, F., & Zheng, K. (2024). Parental educational expectations, academic pressure, and adolescent mental health: An empirical study based on CEPS survey data. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2023.043226
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
