A Study on Stress, Coping and Mental Health Status among School Going Adolescents during Covid-19 Pandemic in Shillong, Meghalaya

Background: There are physical and social changes related to COVID-19. As stress increases and access to healthy coping decreases for the school going adolescent, they are more at risk for developing a host of problems and psychological issues which if left untouched could lead to further problems even into adulthood. It’s highly important to reduce stress in a growing mind and teach healthy habits for coping with stress which will result in better mental health status in the individual. Aim: This study aims to assess the stress, coping, and mental health status among school going adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic. Objectives: To identify the socio-demographic profile of the school going adolescent, to assess the stress, coping, and mental health status among school going adolescents in the Covid-19 pandemic, to see the association between selected socio-demographic variables, stress, coping and mental health status among school going adolescents in the Covid-19 pandemic. Methodology: This study is using a quantitative research approach and descriptive design and will be conducted among school going adolescents from the age of 13 to 19 years studying in private schools in Shillong, Meghalaya. After obtaining the study population (universe), the sample size will be calculated using Krejcie & Morgan’s table. The list of schools will be generated according to the need of the study. Simple random sampling (lottery method) will be used and permission will be sought from the selected private schools in Shillong. The sample collection will be done by using the total enumeration method. The process will be continued until the desired data is obtained. In this study, the tools of data collection are: socio-demographic profile sheet, responses to stress questionnaire (RSQ) – Covid-19 child [self-report], and strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). Data will be analyzed using the appropriate statistical tools using SPSS 25.0 software packages. Conclusion: Findings of this study can lead to provide valuable information for the development of interventions that can improve students’ well-being and training for effective coping strategies for daily stress and this pandemic situation.