DAILY STRESS AND MANIFESTED ANXIETY IN INSTITUTIONALIZED AND NON-INSTITUTIONALIZED. A STUDY IN ECUADOR

Abstract

Childhood stress and anxiety are problems that affect psychological health, presented by significant social and family differences between institutionalized and non-institutionalized groups. The objective of the research was to analyze daily stress and manifest anxiety in children from institutionalized and non-institutionalized groups in Sucumbíos, Ecuador. The methodology had a comparative non-experimental design, with a quantitative approach and a descriptive scope. Two groups of 30 institutionalized and non-institutionalized children from the Shushufindi canton participated. There are no differences between both groups with respect to age, which is between 8 and 12 years old. The instruments that were applied were the sociodemographic sheet, the Children's Daily Stress Inventory (IECI) questionnaires, and the Manifest Anxiety in Children Scale CMASR-2. Total anxiety are higher in institutionalized children (RP = 40.92) than in non-institutionalized children (RP = 20.08). Total stress is higher in those institutionalized (RP = 39.83) and those not institutionalized (RP = 21.17). According to the contrast statistic, there are significant differences between non-institutionalized and institutionalized children in anxiety with x2 = 26.605 (p = 0.000) and total stress x2 = 23.975 (p = 0.000). In conclusion, children living in institutional care are at risk of childhood anxiety and stress due to being separated from their families.