Can teachers show concerning anxiety and emotional distancing even when most report normal stress levels?

Details

The study describes burnout syndrome, anxiety, depression, and stress as major silent challenges in teachers’ daily work that affect job retention. It aimed to examine relationships between psychological indicators of anxiety, depression, and stress and the dimensions of burnout among teachers at public educational institutions in Florencia, Caquetá.

The researchers used a quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational design involving 287 teachers, with DASS-21 for the psychological indicators and MBI-22 for burnout dimensions.

Most teachers had normal levels of depression and stress, whereas anxiety was more prevalent in the study population. For burnout dimensions, the study found low emotional exhaustion and high personal accomplishment. However, depersonalization showed notable values among participants, with 34.15% at risk or showing partial or complete manifestations of the syndrome.

The correlational analysis found significant relationships between stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion, as well as between depression and personal accomplishment. The abstract does not specify the direction or strength of these relationships.

The authors concluded that stress levels were lower than those reported in international studies. Nevertheless, the high percentage of teachers showing anxiety and depersonalization indicated vulnerabilities requiring appropriate intervention through public education policies and psychosocial support programs to prevent burnout and promote teacher well-being.