X’s and Y’s in the Midst of the Pandemic: Generational Identity, Mental Well-being and Life Satisfaction Among Filipino Adult Learners

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;">The 2019 novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased the mental health challenges and decreased the quality of life among students and the general adult population. However, adult learners and non-traditional students who are currently at their quarter and midlife during the pandemic, remain underrepresented in well-being research. Moreover, the unique sociocultural and historical contexts specific to generational cohorts may have an impact on the way they experience and cope with the challenges brought about by the pandemic. This study sought to determine the relationships among generational identity, mental well-being and life satisfaction among Millennial and Generation X Filipino adult learners. A total of 543 adult learners participated in this online cross-sectional study. Findings suggest that young millennials reported lower levels of mental well-being and life satisfaction compared to old millennials and Gen Xers. Moreover, mental well-being was found to be a predictor of life satisfaction among Filipino adult learners, regardless of their generational identity. Schools must implement initiatives to monitor and address mental health issues among adult learners, contextualized to quarter and midlife contexts.</p>

Emerging From a Two-Year-Long Quarantine: A Retrospective Study on Life Satisfaction Trajectory and Depression Among Young LGBTQ+ Students in the Philippines

“…This supports the diathesis-stress hypothesis during the pandemic, where young LGBTQ+ students experiencing lower life satisfaction and COVID-induced confinement and restrictions were more likely to have depression and low mental well-being in the post-quarantine period. This finding supports previous studies that indicate a cross-sectional relationship between life satisfaction and mental health (Dela-Rosa et al, 2022;Preetz et al, 2021;Rogowska et al, 2020). In particular, the present study revealed longitudinal data demonstrating how low improvement in life satisfaction throughout the two-year-long quarantine may lead to depression and low mental well-being in the post-quarantine period among young LGBTQ+ students.…”