Conclusion
Ongoing and episodic stressors can adversely influence teachers’ psychological health. Ongoing stressors were significantly and positively associated with anxiety and depression; as ongoing stressors increased, anxiety and depressive symptoms also increased. The relationship between ongoing stressors and depression was statistically significant; as ongoing stressors increased, the level of depression increased. Episodic stressors were significantly and positively associated with anxiety and depression, although not independently as part of the multiple regression models examined. The three most frequently cited ongoing stressors identified in this study were lack of safety in the surrounding school environment, unfriendly coworkers, and unmotivated students. The failure of students to do class work and complete homework assignments and student tardiness were the three episodic stressors cited most frequently by the secondary school teachers. The zero-order correlations for the effects of ongoing and episodic stressors on anxiety and depression were similar. Thus, ongoing or chronic stressors may not produce more deleterious effects from anxiety and depression, even though other researchers have posited that chronic stressors have more deleterious effects on psychological reactions (Beehr et al., 2000). Coworker support was inversely related to anxiety; teachers experiencing less coworker support tended to have higher levels of anxiety. Coworker support was also significantly related to depression; as coworker support decreased, depression increased. Individually, supervisor support did not explain anxiety or depression, and supervisor and coworker support did not moderate the influence of either ongoing or episodic stress on anxiety or depression. This study identified prevalent ongoing (chronic) and episodic (acute) stressors in the work environment of this sample of teachers. The stressors included lack of safety in the surrounding school environment, unfriendly coworkers, and unmotivated and unprepared students. The ongoing stressors were the more important predictors of adverse psychological outcomes among the teachers. The findings of this study may be of interest to nurses working in school environments, particularly secondary schools. The school nurse, with the approval of the principal or administrator, could develop primary intervention measures. Monthly programs could be provided for new and experienced teachers to increase communication through effective listening, appreciation of coworker individuality, and discussion of positive-feedback techniques. Educational programs could be mandated for all new teachers to create an awareness of and sensitivity to the importance of giving and receiving social support. One of the primary stressors identified in this study was unfriendly coworkers. Administrators and teachers should cultivate a positive work environment that supports other teachers. The school nurse could recommend mentoring new teachers using a brown bag lunch program. During the program, the nurse could facilitate discussion about work concerns among teachers. The goal of these discussions would be to empower teachers to develop effective social-support skills and improve their ability to cope with ongoing and episodic stressors. Future studies could incorporate a longitudinal design and a larger probability sample from multiple school sites to increase the power and generalizability of the findings. Negative affectivity could be incorporated as a variable to observe its effects on the stressor-strain process in a real work environment (O’Brien, Terry, & Jimmieson, 2008). The researchers recommend using direct classroom observation to measure work environment stressors and matching observations to teachers’ ESS scores.
Conclusion Ongoing and episodic stressors can adversely influence teachers’ psychological health. Ongoing stressors were significantly and positively associated with anxiety and depression; as ongoing stressors increased, anxiety and depressive symptoms also increased. The relationship between ongoing stressors and depression was statistically significant; as ongoing stressors increased, the level of depression increased. Episodic stressors were significantly and positively associated with anxiety and depression, although not independently as part of the multiple regression models examined. The three most frequently cited ongoing stressors identified in this study were lack of safety in the surrounding school environment, unfriendly coworkers, and unmotivated students. The failure of students to do class work and complete homework assignments and student tardiness were the three episodic stressors cited most frequently by the secondary school teachers. The zero-order correlations for the effects of ongoing and episodic stressors on anxiety and depression were similar. Thus, ongoing or chronic stressors may not produce more deleterious effects from anxiety and depression, even though other researchers have posited that chronic stressors have more deleterious effects on psychological reactions (Beehr et al., 2000). Coworker support was inversely related to anxiety; teachers experiencing less coworker support tended to have higher levels of anxiety. Coworker support was also significantly related to depression; as coworker support decreased, depression increased. Individually, supervisor support did not explain anxiety or depression, and supervisor and coworker support did not moderate the influence of either ongoing or episodic stress on anxiety or depression. This study identified prevalent ongoing (chronic) and episodic (acute) stressors in the work environment of this sample of teachers. The stressors included lack of safety in the surrounding school environment, unfriendly coworkers, and unmotivated and unprepared students. The ongoing stressors were the more important predictors of adverse psychological outcomes among the teachers. The findings of this study may be of interest to nurses working in school environments, particularly secondary schools. The school nurse, with the approval of the principal or administrator, could develop primary intervention measures. Monthly programs could be provided for new and experienced teachers to increase communication through effective listening, appreciation of coworker individuality, and discussion of positive-feedback techniques. Educational programs could be mandated for all new teachers to create an awareness of and sensitivity to the importance of giving and receiving social support. One of the primary stressors identified in this study was unfriendly coworkers. Administrators and teachers should cultivate a positive work environment that supports other teachers. The school nurse could recommend mentoring new teachers using a brown bag lunch program. During the program, the nurse could facilitate discussion about work concerns among teachers. The goal of these discussions would be to empower teachers to develop effective social-support skills and improve their ability to cope with ongoing and episodic stressors. Future studies could incorporate a longitudinal design and a larger probability sample from multiple school sites to increase the power and generalizability of the findings. Negative affectivity could be incorporated as a variable to observe its effects on the stressor-strain process in a real work environment (O’Brien, Terry, & Jimmieson, 2008). The researchers recommend using direct classroom observation to measure work environment stressors and matching observations to teachers’ ESS scores.
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