Understanding teacher well-being: a cross-lagged analysis of burnout, negative student-related emotions, psychopathological symptoms, and resilience

Abstract

This study is aimed at testing the reciprocal relationships between teacher burnout, psychopathological symptoms, and negative student-related emotions, and to explore the protective role of resilience in these aspects of teachers’ psychological well-being. A study based on a two-wave panel design was conducted among 941 school teachers at two points in time with a time lag of approximately 6 months. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the cross-lagged relations between study variables across time. The obtained results highlighted the adverse effect of burnout in predicting teachers’ subsequent emotions and psychopathological symptoms. Teachers with higher burnout levels assessed at Time 1, also had higher levels of negative emotions towards their students and more psychopathological symptoms than at Time 2. Finally, the higher levels of perceived resilience predicted lower levels of negative emotions, burnout, and psychopathological symptoms, but only when assessed at the same time point.