SOCIAL AVOIDANCE AMONG IN-SCHOOL AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH

An Undergraduate Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Psychology College of Arts and Sciences San Beda College

By Paolo Miguel V. Bringas

Definition of Variable

Social Avoidance The manifestation of social anxiety wherein a person deliberately avoids any form of social interaction due to fears of criticism and rejection. Referred as avoiding being with, talking to, or escaping from others for any reason. (Watson, Friend, 1969)

Statement Of The Problem

This research study aimed to assess the significant difference between social avoidance among in-school and out of school youth. Specifically, it answered the following questions: 1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of: a) age; b) sex; c) birth order; and d) educational attainment? What is the level of social avoidance of in-school youth as measured by the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale? What is the level of social avoidance of out of school youth as measured by the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale? Is there a significant difference between the social avoidance of in-school and out of school youth?

2. 3. 4.

Method Research Design A descriptive-comparative design was used in this research. Descriptive research is the manner of research wherein data is collected through interviews, questionnaires and observation (Coolican, 2006). This design was also used to establish the significant difference among the social avoidance of in-school and out of school youth. Participants and Sampling Procedure The participants are both men and women with an age range of 15-24 years. Participants were selected through purposive sampling method. Purposive sampling is used when a research requires a particular subset of people. It is the only viable sampling technique in obtaining information from a very specific group of people. (Castillo, 2009)

Method Instruments Used Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS) The researcher used the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, a 28 item true or false test instrument developed to quantify social anxiety. The SADS instrument has been valued at high reliability with its internal consistency at .94 and the test-reliability ranging from .68. This data was found by Watson and Friend, using SADS on a sample of student groups. According to the scale, those who acquire a score of 12 and above are considered to have high avoidance (HA) and those who scored below 12 have low avoidance (LA)

Summary of Findings The researcher has gathered findings that pertain to the data: 1. Majority out of school youth in this study, regardless of gender, are actually legal age adults, but below 24 years of age With the exception of 2 high school graduates, all other participants are college level undergraduates. 2. In-school youth obtained a high level of social avoidance. Results show that their level of social avoidance is slightly higher than out of school youth but not enough to make it significantly different. 3. The out-of-school youth also obtained a high level of social avoidance. Their results are slightly lower than the results of the inschool youth but still not enough to be significantly different. 4. The T-test of Independent Samples produced the result that there is no significant difference in the level of social avoidance between in-school and out-of-school youth.

Conclusion 1. Most out-of-school youth may not need parental consent as they are legal adults and are already liable to the full extent of the law. Though not tested in this study, the birth order of the respondents may be a more suitable factor in affecting the level of social avoidance than social setting, this is proved by the results of high level of social avoidance in both samples in Table 2. 2. The In-school youth have a high level of social avoidance, but it is statistically proven that school setting does not contribute to changing social avoidance levels. 3. The Out-of-school youth also has a high level of social avoidance, but it is statistically proven that other social environments do not contribute to changing social avoidance levels. 4. Social Settings/Environments/Scenarios will not directly affect the level of social avoidance of anyone.

Recommendations 1. To the guidance counselors, an intervention program for the socially avoidant youth is recommended to help deal with their worries and anxiety in social interactions. An awareness seminar for those who are legal-age youth to know their lawful rights, duties and responsibilities. 2. The government should provide vocational learning facilities for specific jobs, wherein even out-of-school youth who have a poor educational background may be reinstated as a functional citizen that contributes to society. 3. For the parents of out-of-school youth, that they continue to love, accept, encourage, and support their sons and daughters who may be out of school but striving to make a living for the betterment of their lives. 4. For the future researchers, a larger sample, and more specific demographic profiles may be more adequate to pinpoint and classify social avoidance in different types of youth. Also, birthorder and economic status may be a more significant factor in determining the level of social avoidance in people.