The Role of Ate and Kuya: Eldest Siblings' Responsibilities and Emotional Experiences among Mindanao State University-Sulu Senior High School Students

Abstract

This study aims to determine the level of responsibilities undertaken by eldest siblings, identify their level of emotional experiences, and to examine whether there is a significant relationship that exist in the aforementioned variable and how they differ when grouped according to gender. Guided by these objectives, a descriptive, comparative, and correlational quantitative research design were employed, and data were gathered using validated research instruments to ensure it is reliable and accurate. This study involves 72 respondents which was selected using purposive sampling. The data was analyzed using total scores, Independent Sample t-Test, and Pearson r Correlation. ‎The findings revealed that there is no significant difference in the level of responsibilities for male and female (p= 0.241), as they generally demonstrate very high level of parentification. Findings revealed no significant difference in the emotional experiences in male and  female in both positive and negative aspect (positive p=0.690, negative p=0.094). Consequently, the null hypothesis was rejected as the p-value obtained was less than the set level of significance (p=0.013, p= 0.005) for negative and positive affects. This result implies that responsibilities has a significant relationship to the emotional experiences of eldest siblings, whether it is in positive or negative affect. This study underscores the need to have further studies about other factor that affect the level of responsibilities and emotional experiences, such as family needs and cultural expectations, rather than gender alone.