Self-acceptance and security level of adolescents from intact families and disrupted families in the rural setting

This research hypothesizes that security and self-acceptance of rural adolescents are related to gender and family set up such as intact and disrupted. Among the disrupted families, the different types of disruptions namely, abandonment/separation, work abroad and death are hypothesized to have different impact on the security and self-acceptance of the rural adolescents. The study also proposes to determine the correlation between security and self-acceptance. The respondents of this research, composed of 115 families and 96 females, are second year and third year students. They are enrolled at public and private high schools in Oriental Mindoro. There are 60 adolescents from intact families and 151 from disrupted families. The Filipino Self-Appraisal Inventory and the Self-Acceptance Scale were administered to the respondents in one setting. There are local tests constructed by Filipino authors. The personal data sheet was developed by the researcher. The statistical tools applied in testing the hypotheses of this study are the t-test, Pearson r, and one-way analysis of variance. Analysis of data revealed that adolescents from intact families have higher self-acceptance level than adolescents from disrupted families. Female adolescents in the rural areas also appear to be more self-accepting than their male counterparts. A positive relationship between security and self-acceptance, though low, is established from the statistical results of the study. Based on these results, it is suggested that an effective guidance and counseling program in the school setting that will enhance the positive self-regard of the students be devised. A program for single parents and guardians should also be included to help them effectively deal with adolescents who are products of disrupted families. School and community activities should be formulated to develop the potentials and personality of adolescents. Counselors and other helping professionals should follow-up on those adolescents finding difficulties in coping up with their family problems