STUDENTS' INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITHIN FAMILIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A RURAL-URBAN COMPARISON

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most dangerous challenges this world has faced in people's lives. It affects the interpersonal relationships of people around the world, and millions of families were forced to change their daily lives and routines drastically. This study examined families' relationships with rural and urban students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a descriptive-comparative quantitative study. The study utilized systematic random probability sampling, and sixty (60) sociology students were selected as respondents to the study. An independent t-test was used to test the difference in relationships between rural and urban students and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings revealed that in the socio-demographic profile, most respondents in rural and urban communities are ages 20 and 22. With regards to sex, female sociology students dominated the study. In terms of their mother's occupations, most of them are housewives. On the other hand, the respondent's father's occupations in rural communities are mostly farmers, while the respondent's father's occupations in urban communities are self-employed. As to family size, most respondents have 2-4 family members in their households. The data also revealed that rural and urban respondents have a high degree of closeness with their families. Hence, there is no difference in the degree of closeness of the students with their families in the rural and urban areas during this COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this study can be replicated by taking into account other variables like self-efficacy and resilience of students in rural and urban areas.