The Beneficial Effects of Professional Identity: The Mediating Role of Teaching Identification in the Relationship between Role Stress and Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and students rapidly transitioned to remote teaching and learning. In South Africa, this initial transition was followed by periods of reopening and closing of schools during the various waves of the pandemic. When schools were reopened, rotational schooling was implemented, with students attending in shifts. All this change created a climate of uncertainty for teachers. The current study investigates the relationship between role stress and indices of psychological distress, as well as the potential mediating role of teaching identification in this relationship, using a cross-sectional survey design. Participants (n = 355) were school teachers in South Africa who completed the Role Stress Questionnaire, the Professional Identification Scale, the trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale during the second wave of the pandemic (May–July 2021). The results of a structural equation analysis indicate significant positive direct effects of role conflict and ambiguity on anxiety and hopelessness, as well as significant negative direct effects of teaching identification on anxiety and hopelessness. In addition, teaching identification was found to mediate the effect of role conflict and ambiguity on anxiety and hopelessness. The demonstrated role of teaching identification has implications that suggest the importance of leadership and supervisory support, as well as enhancing the societal value of teaching as a profession.

Personality traits, role ambiguity, and relational competence as predictors for teacher subjective wellbeing

“…In this case, teaching identification appears to be a factor with a strong mediating impact between role stress (role conflict and role ambiguity) and psychological distress: “Low levels of role ambiguity and role conflict were associated with high levels of teaching identification, which in turn was associated with low levels of anxiety and hopelessness […] Teachers with a strong professional identity may see their role as a calling rather than a job. Being a teacher is a matter of pride that generates a positive self-concept” ( Pretorius and Padmanabhanunni, 2022 , p. 9).…”

Redefining the Narrative: How Work from Home Job Demands Elevate Workplace Anxiety but Enhance Psychological Capital

“…As the TWA is relatively nascent with limited empirical testing, only one extant study by Wang et al (2021) has corroborated the predicted strong positive associated between job demands, specifically informational overload, and WA. However, the extant job demands literature findings are that work overload (Alnazly et al, 2023), role ambiguity (Pretorius & Padmanabhanunni, 2022), work-home conflict (Sanz-Vergel et al, 2011), and job insecurity (Cheng & Chang, 2008) significantly positively predict anxiety. 3 Consistent with the TWA and the preceding discussion, we proposed the following hypothesis: H1.…”

Work stress, work-family conflict, and psychological distress among resort employees: a JD-R model and spillover theory perspectives

“…Similarly, role conflict often leads to increased psychological distress among employees. When employees are torn between competing demands from their roles, they experience higher levels of stress, which can manifest as psychological and emotional symptoms of distress as individuals struggle to balance conflicting demands (Alyamy and Sau Cheong, 2020 ; Pretorius and Padmanabhanunni, 2022 ). Finally, based on the JD-R model, individuals working in high-strain jobs characterized by high job demands and low job resources are more likely to experience adverse health effects, including psychological distress.…”