Exploring the Associations Between Demographic Characteristics and Teachers’ Occupational Stress and Coping

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate demographic factors influencing sources of stress and coping strategies in pre-primary, primary and secondary school teachers. A total of 1447 school teachers participated in this study. They completed the following scales: “Ways of Coping Questionnaire”, “Teachers’ Professional Stress Questionnaire” and demographic data. Teachers in the present sample reported moderate to high levels of occupational stress. Teachers’ gender, years of teaching/working experience and school level effects were examined using multivariate analysis of variance. Results demonstrate that gender, school level and years of teaching experience appear to have an impact on teachers’ sources of stress. Findings of the study also revealed gender differences in the coping strategies utilized by teachers as well as differences across school level and years of teaching experience. The results are discussed.