Parental Factors Affecting Student's Self-Concept and Academic Performance Amid Modular Distance Learning

Nelda B. Caasi Palawan National School, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines Parental factors impact students’ self-concept and academic performance during the pandemic. Thus, this study determined the students’ self-concept and academic performance and the parental factors related to it. The research design was descriptive-correlational, and 500 nonrandom college students in West Philippines participated in the study. Researcher-made instruments were used, which were subjected to reliability and validity evaluation. Data were collected online from June 2021 to July 2022 and were analyzed using descriptive (frequency counts and percentage) and inferential statistics (Spearman correlation). Results revealed a positive self-concept and satisfactory academic performance among the students. Besides, parental factors such as educational attainment and school/classroom involvement are significantly related to self-concept and academic performance. Further, self-concept is significantly associated with academic performance. This shows that some parental factors are vital in developing the student’s self-beliefs and supporting their studies and academic endeavors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies may consider more factors related to academic achievement and self-concept. Other researchers may find the mediation or moderation effect of self-concept between parental factors and students’ scholastic achievement.

Sexual Abuse of Women and its Impact on Their Social Adjustment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study focuses on sexual abuse of women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its impact on their social adjustment. In this study, sexual abuse was measured as unwanted or non-consensual physical contact/sexual intercourse between the opposite sexes. Sexual assault or harassment or any other physical or sexual contact, in which intercourse was not committed, were excluded from this study. The target area of this study was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the target population was sexually abused women and professionals. A total of 40 samples were taken and two focused group discussions were held. Of these samples, 30 interviews were conducted with the victims of sexual abuse and 10 interviews were conducted with professionals including 05 psychiatrists and 05 sexologists. All the respondents were accessed through social and familial contacts. These respondents were randomly selected. The nature of sexual violence, identified in this study, included fraternal abuse, incestuous abuse, rape and commercial sex. Those women who were given in enmity (swara), priced (trafficked) and bartered (wata sata), were the victims of fraternal abuse. Women, involved in commercial sex, were the victims of elopement, deception, sexual violence and inducement/enticement. In this study, 12 women were the victims of fraternal abuse, in which 03 women were given in enmity, 07 were trafficked and 02 were bartered. In commercial sex, 08 women were the victims of sexual violence, 01 was the victim of elopement, 03 were the victims of sexual deception and 01 was the victim of sexual enticement/inducement. Of 30 victims, 05 women were raped, in which 04 rapes were opportunistic and 01 was incapacitated. Illiteracy, domesticity, authority and coercive control, fear of curse and ex-communication, dependency syndrome, unequal distribution of power and curse of the will, were some of the causes, found in this study that highly restrained women from disclosing their sexual abuse incidences. Familial rejection and denial of share in inheritance were the two main factors, strongly contributed to victims’ vulnerability. Bad reproductive and mental health, suicidal tendencies, drug addiction and alcoholism, prostitution, bad physical and relational health and low self-esteem were some of the impacts of sexual abuse, found in this study. Among the respondents, 04 victims were found with strong suicidal ideation, 13 women were found in commercial sex who had no previous history of involvement in commercial sex. In this study, three main destinations were identified for victims of sexual abuse; death, brothel and excommunication that finally led to prostitution, drug addiction and suicidal temptations. Owing to these three destinations for the victims of sexual abuse, their adjustment in society (Pakhtun social setup) is impossible.