Socio-emotional diagnosis of students, in the rural area, coastal regime, during the armed conflict in Ecuador

Abstract

The so-called “social pandemic” is a problem that has emerged in recent months, which is why there are few studies carried out on the subject. In this work, we sought to identify how depression, anxiety, aggression, paranoia and other factors affect the behavior of teenagers. This was carried out through transitory trait tests to measure their emotional state, offering a vision of the magnitude of the impact on the human psyche in the face of the state of social violence, added to the poverty of the environment. The group under study was 152 students, who work in an Educational Institution in one of the areas where the conflict began. The results of the four tests indicated that more than half of the student population presented emotional problems. These results denoted that immediate interventions should be carried out with the implementation of mental support programs, techniques that include stress management, therapies and support groups, which would improve academic performance and healthy coexistence. Public policies should focus on diversifying the economy, improving job and educational opportunities, and providing help to families in conflict zones of the coastal region.