Sense of coherence, occupational stressors, and mental health among Japanese high school teachers in Nagasaki prefecture: a multiple regression analysis

International research has indicated that teachers have an increased risk of mental disorders and work-related stress, compared with those working in other fields. In Japan, the deterioration of teachers' mental health has recently become a serious social issue. Teaching is a high-stress occupa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC public health Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 1355 - 8
Main Authors:	Kuwato, Miho, Hirano, Yuko
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 04-09-2020 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Academic guidance counseling Adult Coherence Elementary schools Female General health questionnaire Health aspects Health Surveys High school teachers Humans Japan Job Satisfaction Job stress Male Maternity & paternity leaves Mental disorders Mental Disorders - etiology Mental Health Mental health care Middle Aged Middle school teachers Multiple regression analysis Occupational health Occupational Stress - psychology Occupational stressors Pedagogy Polls & surveys Private schools Psychological aspects Psychological stress Public schools Public Sector Questionnaires Regression Analysis Risk factors School Teachers - psychology Schools Secondary school students Secondary schools Sense of Coherence Sick leave Social interactions Social Support Stress Stress, Psychological - psychology Support systems Surveys Teachers Teaching Wages & salaries Workers Working conditions Workload Workload - psychology Workloads Workplace - psychology Japan Sense of coherence Occupational stressors High school teachers General health questionnaire
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Summary:	International research has indicated that teachers have an increased risk of mental disorders and work-related stress, compared with those working in other fields. In Japan, the deterioration of teachers' mental health has recently become a serious social issue. Teaching is a high-stress occupation, and job stress can affect teachers' physical and mental health. This study aimed to determine how sense of coherence, job satisfaction, and workplace social support contribute to the mental health status of public and private high school teachers in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The analytic sample comprised 370 high school teachers from eight public and three private schools in Nagasaki Prefecture who answered an anonymous survey comprising the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), which is a measure of mental health status, and questions regarding sociodemographic characteristics, occupational stressors, workplace social support systems, job satisfaction, and sense of coherence. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictors of mental health. The survey was sent to 681 people, of whom 370 responded and were included in the analysis (effective response rate: 54.3%). The analysis indicated that sense of coherence was the strongest predictor of mental health (β = -.391, p < .0001), followed by workload stressors (β = .260, p < .0001), low job control (β = .099, p = .021), and job satisfaction (β = -.088, p = .040). The results suggest that a greater sense of coherence and job satisfaction are associated with greater mental health. Meanwhile, workload stressors and low job control undermined mental health status.
ISSN:	1471-2458 1471-2458
DOI:	10.1186/s12889-020-09475-x