Predictors of Psychological Strain and Allostatic Load in Teachers: Examining the Long-Term Effects of Biopsychosocial Risk and Protective Factors Using a LASSO Regression Approach

Abstract

Teacher stress significantly challenges teachers’ health, teaching quality, and students’ motivation and achievement. Thus, it is crucial to identify factors that effectively prevent it. Using a LASSO regression approach, we examined which factors predict teachers’ psychological strain and allostatic load over two years. The study included 42 teachers (28 female, Mage = 39.66, SD = 11.99) and three measurement time points: At baseline, we assessed teachers’ (a) self-reports (i.e., on personality, coping styles, and psychological strain), (b) behavioral data (i.e., videotaped lessons), and (c) allostatic load (i.e., body mass index, blood pressure, and hair cortisol concentration). At 1- and 2-year follow-ups, psychological strain and allostatic load biomarkers were reassessed. Neuroticism and perceived student disruptions at baseline emerged as the most significant risk factors regarding teachers’ psychological strain two years later, while a positive core self-evaluation was the most important protective factor. Perceived support from other teachers and the school administration as well as adaptive coping styles were protective factors against allostatic load after two years. The findings suggest that teachers’ psychological strain and allostatic load do not primarily originate from objective classroom conditions but are attributable to teachers’ idiosyncratic perception of this environment through the lens of personality and coping strategies.

Bedeutung sozialer Interaktionen für die Gesundheit von Lehrpersonen

“…• Lehrpersonen, die sich im Schulteam unterstützt fühlen, wählen bessere Bewältigungsstrategien im Umgang mit schwierigen Unterrichtssituationen und sind dadurch weniger belastet (Wettstein et al, 2023b).…”

A perspective on psychological factors affecting the emotional labor of teachers

“…The cumulative increase in chronic psychological stress is known as allostatic load (Wettstein et al, 2023). Increases in teachers' allostatic load may be ameliorated with social support from other teachers and from their school administrators (Wettstein et al, 2023).…”

“…The cumulative increase in chronic psychological stress is known as allostatic load (Wettstein et al, 2023). Increases in teachers' allostatic load may be ameliorated with social support from other teachers and from their school administrators (Wettstein et al, 2023). When a teacher is told of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by students or their families, this can have a cumulative effect on teachers as it may increase their allostatic load.…”

“…In another study, Haydon et al (2018) found that one of the most important factors in teachers' self-reporting of stressors was a "lack of administrative support" (p. 106) in addressing what they perceived as an increase in their EL. Teachers' allostatic load may be mitigated with support from their school administrators (Wettstein et al, 2023).…”