The Relationship of occupational stress, burnout and subjective health assessment among Lithuanian teachers
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Mokytojai; Mokytojai; Perdegimas; Profesinis stresas; Subjektyvi sveikata; Burnout; Lithuania; Occupational stress; Subjective health; Teachers.
ENThe aim of this article is to disclose the relationship of occupational stress, burnout and subjective health assessment among Lithuanian teachers. The theoretical conception of this study is based on the hypothesis that the teachers’ occupation is overloaded with stress and the risk of burnout, and all this has a negative effect on the teachers’ state of health. Methods. Quantitative data (N = 961) are presented in the article, applying factorial and content validation based on a 62 primary items scale and subscales, which measure Lithuanian teachers’ occupational stress and burnout. The subjective health assessment scale was created on the basis of 19 clinical signs. Results. At least every third teacher suffered from increased occupational stress (32.65%) and every fourth teacher suffered from burnout (25.1%). Approximately 29% of teachers experienced clinical signs, which show deteriorating health. Occupational stress and burnout correlated with each other (r = 0.59; p <0.001) and with health indicators. Burnout was a stronger predictor of teachers’ health than stress (r = 0.63 and r = 0.50; both p <0.001). The comparable contrast groups of teachers (stressed versus non-stressed and occupationally burnout versus non-burnout) differed significantly by all 19 clinical signs. Those groups were best discriminated by clinical signs of mental health and mental exhaustion. Conclusions. Occupational stress and burnout of teachers are interconnected, constantly affecting different clinical symptoms in the sense of subjective health assessment of teachers. However, burnout is a relatively stronger predictor of the state of health than occupational stress. Teachers are a professional community to which special preventive, social and employment measures could be applied. [From the publication]
