Effects of Stress Management Program for Teachers in Japan: A Pilot Study

Abstract

in enhancing coping skills, increasing social support, and reducing stress responses. Stress management intervention studies in the workplace have increased during the past two decades [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] . It is often assumed that there are two basic approaches to interventions in the workplace 1,9,10) . One is an organization-oriented approach, which aims to identify and improve a stressful work environment, and the other is individual-oriented and aims to enhance the coping abilities of individual employees. The latter approach is of particular interest to occupational health psychologists, who regard employee stress responses as the results of coping with stressful work environments, and who frequently help employees cope more effectively 11) . Our study was conducted on the basis of the individualoriented approach.There are various kinds of intervention techniques in the individual-oriented approach. Cognitive-behavioral training, stress measurement and personalized feedback, meditation, relaxation training, and physical fitness training are all examples. Accumulated experiences from individual-oriented intervention showed that cognitivebehavioral training or a combination of cognitivebehavioral training with relaxation training was more effective than other techniques 11,12) . In accord with that evidence, our intervention program was planned combining the two techniques.All participants in this study were teachers, for whom job stress has become a problem of especially serious proportions because it affects on their psychological wellbeing and the future of the profession. In Japan, 0.24% of teachers were suspended from their jobs in 2000 because of a mental disorder; the highest rate for the last University Graduate School of Education-The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a stress management program for teachers on their stress responses, social support, and coping. Participants (n=24) were assigned to either an intervention or a waiting list control group. A five-session program, including psychoeducation, group discussion, roleplaying and relaxation training, was conducted for the intervention group at two week intervals. Eight participants from each of the groups responded to preand post-intervention questionnaire surveys. The positive intervention effect was significant for social support from co-workers (p=0.035), whereas the negative intervention effect was significant for proactive coping (p=0.033). No significant effect was observed for stress responses (vigor, anger, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and somatic stress responses) (p>0.05). The positive intervention effect was marginally significant for social support from co-workers (p=0.085) and anger (p=0.057) among those who at first had high stress response scores in the pre-intervention survey (n=5 and n=4 for the intervention and waiting list control groups, respectively). Furthermore, the positive intervention effect was significant for social support from co-workers (p=0.021) and marginally significant ...

A Brief Cognitive‐behavioral Stress Management Program for Secondary School Teachers

“…Thus, the program raised the awareness of the participants and reduced the specific work-related stressors more than lowering general stress. These findings extend those reported by Shimazu et al 36) for 24 teachers in Japan, in which a five-session program combining CB and relaxation training over two weeks was reported to have been ineffective at reducing general stress responses in the intervention compared to the control group. The study measured stress responses including vigour, anger, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and somatic stress responses.…”

Subjective Health Complaints of Teachers From Primary and Secondary Schools in Hong Kong

“…[1,2,3]. As a result, teachers may suffer mental and physical health problems due to the variety of job functions and frequent overtime work [4,5]. Many overseas studies showed that teachers were subjected to heavy occupational stress that could adversely affect their mental health status [5,6,7,8].…”

Working Hours, Coping Skills, and Psychological Health in Japanese Daytime Workers

“…In Japan, several cognitive-behavioral interventions focusing on improving workers' coping skills have recently been conducted. Findings from these studies suggest that enhancing positive, active, and problem-focused coping skills associated with high job stressors may be a key factor for reducing the negative effects of job stressors and psychological distress of workers 16,17) . Although the buffering effect of coping skills with respect to the relationship between working hours and psychological health is unclear, we assume that appropriate coping skills can affect this relationship.…”