Guidance Advocacy Program and Students' Mental Health

This study aimed to analyze the effect of guidance advocacy programs on student mental health in the Laak North District of Davao de Oro City Schools Division. Specifically, it examined the extent of implementation of three key program components: peer support programs, counseling services, and mental health awareness initiatives, and assessed their influence on students’ mental health as measured by social functioning, adjustment, and self-esteem. A descriptive-comparative research design was employed, involving 158 student respondents grouped according to their primary exposure to one of the three program domains. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey HSD post hoc tests were utilized to analyze the data. Findings revealed that peer support programs and mental health awareness initiatives were implemented very extensively, while counseling services were only moderately extensive. Student mental health was rated as extensive overall, with higher self-esteem levels than social functioning adjustment. The ANOVA results indicated a statistically significant difference in student mental health across the three program groups, F(2, 155) = 13.720, p < .001. Post hoc analysis showed that students exposed to peer support programs reported significantly higher levels of mental health than those in the other two groups. The study concludes that peer-based interventions are most effective in enhancing student well-being.