Gauging the Influence of Psychological Distress on the Critical Thinking Disposition among Criminology Students

Abstract

This paper examined the relationship between critical thinking disposition and psychological distress among criminology students in Negros Oriental State University Bais Campuses I & II. A descriptive correlational design was employed to assess whether the respondents’ level of psychological distress significantly affects or is associated with their critical thinking disposition across the identified dimensions. The research, further, utilized standard tools such as Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and EMI Critical Thinking Disposition Scale to identify the findings of the study. A total of 202 respondents participated, the majority of whom were males (56.93%) and aged 18-20 yrs. old (83.66%). In terms of the interpretation of the results, different statistical tools were used such as frequency and simple percentage, weighted mean and Person r. This paper revealed that respondents demonstrated low level of psychological distress and an overall high critical thinking disposition which implied that psychological distress may not necessarily determine an individual’s critical thinking disposition as other factors such as learning environment, personal motivation, resilience and educational experience may also influence critical thinking skills. Furthermore, based on findings and conclusions, this paper proposed a guidance program on Integrated Mental Health and Cognitive Skills Development for adoption