Adolescents Exposed To Disasters Are Emotionally Distressed, Which Leads To Learning Difficulties

Abstract

 Exposure to disasters and traumatic experiences is common for children and adolescents. Many adults assume that larger negative experiences, like serious accidents and natural disasters, don't affect kids in the long run, as they may not have been directly affected or won't remember. But we're now learning that this isn't true, at least for some. Trauma experienced or witnessed by young children, even babies, may leave emotional scars that sometimes take years to heal. For that reason, Kerala researchers have begun a survey to learn how the disasters are affecting adolescents' emotions and learning. Aim: This study aimed to measure the emotional distress and learning difficulties of disaster-exposed adolescents in Kerala after 3 years of the disaster occurring. Materials and methods: This study is quantitative, using the Emotional Distress Scale and Learning Difficulties questionnaire for data collection. Convenient sampling techniques were adopted to select the sample from the population. Statistics like mean, standard deviation, percentage analysis, and Pearson's product moment correlation are used for this study. Results: There was a significant positive relationship between emotional distress and learning difficulties. The level of emotional distress and learning difficulties of adolescents shows a higher score, which indicates greater symptom severity. Conclusion: Rousseau said that children are born innocent, being neither good nor bad, and the surroundings will create the child. Today's students are tomorrow's future. In a world of rapid change, young people need the right mix of skills to thrive. Access to information is increasing, and memorizing facts is less important today than in the past. Although academic skills remain important, they are not sufficient to foster thoughtful, productive, and engaged citizens. Emotional distress students show a high level of learning difficulties. There was a statistically significant relationship between emotional distress and learning difficulties. But there is no significant association between genders. The management of students should be multidisciplinary, with a special focus on learning difficulties. We should aim to establish proper identification, provide proper emotional stability, and also overcome learning difficulties.