Teachers Burnout Affective and Motivational Profiles: Their Impact on Teachers’ Stress,Anxiety and Depression Levels

Abstract

The study aims at investigating teachers’ burnout, motivational and affective profiles. Moreover, the study explores differences in stress, anxiety and depression levels among teachers’ profiles. The sample comprised of 816 participants who completed the following scales: (a) “Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey”, (b) Passion Scale”, (c) “Positive and Negative Affect scale” and (d) DASS-21. A clustering approach through latent profile analysis revealed four teachers’ profiles: 1. Workaholics (18.25%), 2. Moderate Burnout (28.67%), 3. Normal Workers (42.15%) and 4. Extreme Burnout (10.90%). The study also revealed differences between the profiles in terms of teachers’ stress, anxiety and depression levels. The third profile (Normal Workers) showed the lowest levels in all three variables, followed by the first profile (Workaholics). The second profile (Moderate Burnout) showed relatively high levels and the fourth profile (Extreme Burnout) the highest stress, anxiety and depression levels. Through multinomial logistic regression, discriminant analysis and the decision tree, depression and stress emerged as predictive/differentiating factors for the inclusion of participants in the profiles, with an accuracy around 55%. The distinction between teachers profiles’ will facilitate the recognition of teachers already experiencing burnout or at high risk (Extreme and Moderate Burnout profiles), so that they receive first-line therapeutic interventions while teachers belonging to the more adaptive profiles (Workaholics and Normal Workers) could benefit more from prevention-oriented programs. These programs can be utilized by school psychologists and policy makers in school contexts aiming at reducing dysphoric burnout emotions on a therapeutic level and raising awareness informing and psychoeducating on a preventive level.