Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Mar;52(3):284-297.
doi: 10.1002/pits.21821.

Teacher Distress and the Role of Experiential Avoidance

Erika Hinds  1 , Laura Backen Jones  1 , Jeffrey M Gau  1 , Kathleen K Forrester  1 , Anthony Biglan  1
Affiliations

Teacher Distress and the Role of Experiential Avoidance

Erika Hinds et al. Psychol Sch. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

Teachers' psychological wellbeing is important for teachers and students, but is highly stressful, particularly in special education. We examined the role of experiential avoidance (EA) in the wellbeing of 529 middle and elementary school teachers. EA involves the tendency to avoid thoughts, feelings, and other internal experiences even when doing so causes long-range consequences. Using a teacher-specific measure, we investigated its relationship to stress associated with student misbehavior and limited social support. We assessed EA's relationship to burnout and depression, finding EA significantly and moderately correlated with depression and all scales of Maslach's Burnout Inventory. Mediation analyses showed EA mediated the relationship between stress associated with student behavior and measures of wellbeing. We found 26.8% of teachers mildly, 8.9% moderately, and 2.8% moderately severely or severely depressed. This evidence concurs with studies showing the value of mindfulness-based interventions and points to the utility of implementing interventions aimed at decreasing EA in teachers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of hypothesized mediation model Student Problem Behavior (X) and mental health outcomes (Y), with Experiential Avoidance as the mediator variable (M). X is hypothesized to exert an indirect effect on Y through M
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park: Sage; 1991.
    1. Andrew DH, Dulin PL. The relationship between self-reported health and mental health problems among older adults in New Zealand: Experiential avoidance as a moderator. Aging and Mental Health. 2007;11:596–603. - PubMed
    1. Antoniou A. Digital signal processing. New York, NY US: McGraw-Hill; 2006.
    1. Baron RM, Kenny DA. The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1986;51:1173–1182. - PubMed
    1. Bauer J, Stamm A, Virnich K, Wissing K, Mueller U, Wirsching M, Schaarschmidt U. Correlation between burnout syndrome and psychological and psychosomatic symptoms among teachers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2006;79:199–204. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources