Psychological Well-Being of US Educators Remains a Post-Pandemic Concern: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Study

Details

• Journal Article:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Cavallari, Jennifer M. ; Trudel, Sierra M. ; Charamut, Natalie R. ; Miskovsky, Megan N. ; Brennan, Matthew ; Hiner, Amanda J. L. ; Gore, Rebecca J. ; Sanetti, Lisa M. H. ; Dugan, Alicia G.
• Description:
  Background: Educator mental health plays an important role in schools, yet the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic remain unknown. We sought to estimate the prevalence of school employee stress, anxiety, and depression in the 2022-2023 school year within two school districts in the Northeastern United States. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to school employees. Stress was assessed with the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale with scores 0-13, 14-26, and 27-40 representing low, moderate, and high stress. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression 10-item scale were used to assess clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms, with a cut-point of 10 applied to the total summed score of each scale. We used log-binomial regression models to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The majority (76.0%) of the 725 school employees surveyed reported moderate to severe stress with 31.2% and 49.5% reporting clinically significant anxiety or depressive symptoms, respectively. A significantly higher prevalence of anxiety was reported among females (PR = 1.15 (CI: 1.02, 1.30)), instructional staff (PR = 1.15 (CI: 1.02, 1.30)), and employees reporting financial insecurity (PR = 1.18 (CI: 1.10, 1.27)). Likewise, a significantly higher prevalence of depression was reported was reported among women (PR = 1.24; CI (1.00-1.52)), instructional staff (PR = 1.31; CI (1.06-1.62)), and employees reporting financial insecurity (PR = 1.38; CI (1.19-1.60)). Stress, anxiety, and depression were each associated with employees' intention to quit. Conclusions: The residual effects of the pandemic remain prevalent among school employees. Improving school employees' mental health is crucial for the well-being and retention of educators.
• Subjects:
  COVID-19 Mental Health Occupational Health Occupational Stress Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Educators; Intention To Quit; Stress Well-being; Mental Health; Job Stress; COVID-19; Cross Sectional Studies; Education; Health Surveys; Work-family Conflict; Burnout; Occupational Psychology;
• Source:
  Am J Ind Med 2025 Jul; 68(7):642-650
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; New York ; Massachusetts ; Boston Region [OSHA] ; New York Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9 pdf pages
• Volume:
  68
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071434
• Contact Point Address:
  Jennifer M. Cavallari, Department of Public Health Sciences, UConn School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
• Email:
  cavallari@uchc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Performing Organization:
  University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:841fd4768eca969d47a99e22cd618983a30ce7438f1652fb4e2ed0c34752de85cff4ebfd69ac2b58a88c436b33f23890fbb9b4fc27851e6ee75357cf859c9362
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259033/cdc_259033_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 462.81 KB ]