Psychosocial Profile of 12- to 17-Year-Old Students at a Private High School in Manila: Study Protocol

Alyssa Royce Tero, Moira Nina Fe Tiangco, Arabelle Mae Tiu, Jan Claire Tobias, Jascha Tolentino, Maria Elizabeth Mercado, Kathryn Baltazar-Braganza

Dec 2025 DOI 10.35460/2546-1621.2025-0122     Access   

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescents have been reported to have persistence of psychosocial behavioral issues even after the lockdown caused by COVID-19. According to Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, the adolescence stage is a phase when an individual finds a sense of self and personal identity by pursuing their own individual values, beliefs and ambitions. The pandemic lockdown has given us a unique opportunity to observe the effects of prolonged quarantine and limited social interactions on the psychosocial development of this age group.

Methodology: This is an ethically reviewed and approved protocol for a cross-sectional descriptive design to estimate the prevalence of psychosocial effects of post-COVID-19 lockdowns on children aged 12 to 17, utilizing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Participants are adolescents enrolled in Junior High School, Education High School, or Senior High School at a private institution in Manila. Individuals already diagnosed with cognitive impairments or psychological disturbances were excluded.

Intention for Publication: We are publishing the copy of our ethically approved proposal to increase transparency of our study. We believe that investigating the psychosocial development of adolescents to explain the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is a unique approach to understanding its effects on their mental health. We hope that by making our protocol available, other investigators may be able to replicate our study in other subgroups of this population (ie, public schools, street children, home-schooled kids, etc.). It is our hope that if the study is replicated enough, we can have sufficient data to do a meta-analysis and get more accurate estimate of the effects.

Keywords: Psychosocial Profile, Adolescents, High School Students, Private High School, Manila

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