Background: Teachers are a category at high risk for co-occurring mental diseases. Objectives: The purpose was to assess well-being of schoolteachers and psychological effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Method: Data were collected in April 2021, during the partial re-opening of public schools in Italy, from 838 schoolteachers who complete a battery of psychological tests on a multimedia platform. Results: In females, school closure increases anxiety (BAI, p < 0.001), depression (BDI-II, p < 0.05), stress-related insomnia (FIRST, p < 0.001), and perceived stress (PSS, p < 0.05). In males, on the contrary, rises perceived health (p < 0.001) and vitality (p < 0.001), also in terms of total score (PWBI p < 0.05). In addition, having a family member with COVID in the past month increased anxiety (BAI, p < 0.05), reduced perceived physical health (PWBI, p < 0.05) and vitality (PWBI, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The main results of this pilot study showed that female teachers had a worse well-being perception with respect to men, in terms of health and vitality and an increase in negative emotional reactivity, that impaired when a family member was affected by COVID. The results emphasize the need to invest in prevention and wellness promotion programs in this professional category.

Schoolteachers' well-being: A pilot study from the AVATAR project during COVID-19 school closure

Mastorci, Francesca;Piaggi, Paolo;Trivellini, Gabriele;Pingitore, Alessandro
2023-01-01

Abstract

Background: Teachers are a category at high risk for co-occurring mental diseases. Objectives: The purpose was to assess well-being of schoolteachers and psychological effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Method: Data were collected in April 2021, during the partial re-opening of public schools in Italy, from 838 schoolteachers who complete a battery of psychological tests on a multimedia platform. Results: In females, school closure increases anxiety (BAI, p < 0.001), depression (BDI-II, p < 0.05), stress-related insomnia (FIRST, p < 0.001), and perceived stress (PSS, p < 0.05). In males, on the contrary, rises perceived health (p < 0.001) and vitality (p < 0.001), also in terms of total score (PWBI p < 0.05). In addition, having a family member with COVID in the past month increased anxiety (BAI, p < 0.05), reduced perceived physical health (PWBI, p < 0.05) and vitality (PWBI, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The main results of this pilot study showed that female teachers had a worse well-being perception with respect to men, in terms of health and vitality and an increase in negative emotional reactivity, that impaired when a family member was affected by COVID. The results emphasize the need to invest in prevention and wellness promotion programs in this professional category.
2023
Mastorci, Francesca; Lazzeri, Maria Francesca Lodovica; Piaggi, Paolo; Doveri, Cristina; Trivellini, Gabriele; Casu, Anselmo; Marinaro, Irene; Banchin...espandi
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/1164989
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 0
  • Scopus 0
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 1
social impact