Is the Prevalence of Low Physical Activity among Teachers Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the levels of stress, depression, and anxiety among Polish secondary school teachers and their association with selected psychosocial, sociodemographic, and lifestyle factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 116 Polish teachers in 2019, using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form (IPAQ-SF), the Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), and author questionnaire including psychosocial factors specific to the respondents’ work environment. The prevalence of moderately to extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety, and symptoms of stress in teachers was 18.1%, 22.4%, and 51.7%, respectively. Among respondents with moderate or high physical activity level (PAL), normal or mild levels of depression (OR = 3.62; CI [1.31–10.03]), anxiety (OR = 2.61; CI [1.01–6.73]), and stress (OR = 2.79; CI [1.16–6.69]) were more common. The level of individual symptoms of mental disorders was higher than indicated by previous Polish reports. Given that teachers’ low PAL is significantly related to their moderately to extremely severe levels of stress, depression, and anxiety, we suggest running leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) enhancement programs and supporting the leadership of school management and the higher-education system in this regard.

Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Adults

“…The G*Power (3.1.9.7, Germany) program (Biernat et al, 2022;Škrlec et al, 2021) was used to determine the required sample size. According to G*power, a sample of 210 people was sufficient for a study with a true power of .95.…”

The occupational anxiety of teachers caused by China’s ‘double reduction’ policy—a study based on the grounded theory

“…It was precisely because of the concern about the widespread existence of teachers’ occupational anxiety that researchers gradually turned their focus to explore the source of teachers’ occupational anxiety. Some studies suggested that teachers’ occupational anxiety was not only related to internal factors such as teachers’ negative experiences or behaviors in the classroom ( Bekdemir, 2010 ), low physical activity ( Biernat et al, 2022 ), teachers’ psychosocial burden ( Umiastowska and Gdaniec, 2016 ; Nazaruk and Marchel, 2019 ), fear of language and negative results, and lack of confidence in their own abilities ( Liu and Wu, 2021 ), but also affected by external factors such as district ( Cheung and Hui, 2011 ), COVID-19 ( Pressley et al, 2021 ; Alhazmi et al, 2022 ; Koestner et al, 2022 ), social and professional conditions ( Alasheev and Bykov, 2002 ), and the incompatible relationships between supervisors and teachers ( Youngs, 1978 ). In addition, some researchers pointed out that teachers’ occupational anxiety was the result of multiple factors, that was, the main source of anxiety was related to time demands, pupils’ difficulties, large class enrollments, financial constraints and lack of educational resources ( Coates and Thoresen, 1976 ).…”

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“…La ansiedad es uno de los padecimientos más frecuentes que se presenta en la población general (18%-25%), (Stein et al, 2017;Steel et al, 2014;Munir & Takor, 2022). Se han realizado estudios en los que se evalúa la presencia de ansiedad en diversas profesiones, principalmente relacionadas con aquellas que prestan servicios o ayudan a personas como medicina, enfermería y educación (Pappa et al, 2020;Zhou et al, 2016;Labrague & De Los Santos, 2020;Mesisca & Mainwaring, 2021;Biernat et al, 2022;Desouky & Allam, 2017). A partir de la pandemia por la enfermedad del coronavirus (covid-19 por sus siglas en inglés) los síntomas de ansiedad se han incrementado en distintas profesiones, (23%-41%) (Elbay, 2020;Pappa et al, 2020;Labrague & De Los Santos, 2020).…”