Examining the psychometric properties of the burnout clinical subtype questionnaire (BCSQ-12) in secondary school teachers

Gender Differences in Job Burnout, Career Choice Regret, and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Dental Postgraduates: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Job burnout, career choice regret, and depressive symptoms among medical students have received widespread attention. However, little is known about the role of gender in these areas for dental postgraduates. This study aimed to explore gender differences in job burnout, career choice regret, and depressive symptoms among Chinese dental postgraduates.

Methods

The data were collected from an epidemiological survey conducted by our group from February 2021 to March 2021. We used a self-administered questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders scale, and the Career Choice Regret scale. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to explore influencing factors.

Results

A total of 558 valid dental postgraduate questionnaires were included in this study. The prevalence of job burnout, career choice regret, and depressive symptoms exceeded 30% in males and females. The prevalence of job burnout was 4.7% higher in females than in males; career choice regret was 12.2% higher in females than in males (P < 0.05), and depressive symptoms were 4.9% higher in females than in males. The multivariable analysis showed that factors associated with job burnout for males were sleep time and career choice regret for females. The influencing factors on career choice regret for females were postgraduate entrance examination score, sleep time, and job burnout. Depressive symptoms were a common influencing factor for job burnout and career choice regret in male and female dental postgraduates. Also, job burnout and depressive symptoms had the highest odds ratio for influencing factors on each other.

Conclusion

Over 30% of dental postgraduates suffered from job burnout, career choice regret, and depressive symptoms, and incidences were higher in females. A discrepancy of influencing factors existed between male and female dental postgraduates. Targeted measures should be taken to change this situation.

How Should Stressors Be Examined in Teachers? Answering Questions about Dimensionality, Generalizability and Predictive Effects Using the Multicontext Stressors Scale

Using the Multicontext Stressors Scale (MSS), this study investigates which factorial structure should be used to measure teacher stressors, and the extent to which this factorial structure of MSS remains invariant across gender. Subsequently, grounded in self-determination theory, the present study also examines the extent to which stressors may differentially predict teachers’ psychological functioning. Participants were 584 (M_age = 45.04; SD = 8.97) secondary school teachers. Goodness-of-fit indices and estimated parameters of the models, together with latent correlations between stressors, offered support for the six-factor structure, whereas the opposite was true for the one-factor structure of the MSS. Results also supported gender invariance of the MSS. Predictive findings showed that student misbehavior, lack of shared decision-making, and workload stressors are negatively related to basic psychological needs. Likewise, results noted the important role of basic psychological needs to reach optimal teachers’ psychological functioning. The results are discussed, arguing the importance of assessing and analyzing teacher stressors using a multifactorial and invariant scale. From a more practical approach, it seems important for school leaders to be especially vigilant about all stressors. Nonetheless, if they desire to prevent detrimental psychological functioning in teachers, special attention should be placed on stressors related to student misbehavior, lack of shared decision-making, and workload.

Does the Level of Motivation of Physical Education Teachers Matter in Terms of Job Satisfaction and Emotional Exhaustion? A Person-Centered Examination Based on Self-Determination Theory

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), prior research has demonstrated that physical education (PE) teachers may have different reasons to engage in teaching. Although some person-centered studies have identified varied motivational profiles in PE teachers, none of these studies have included the three forms of motivation (i.e., autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation). This study aims to identify teachers’ motivational profiles, using the three forms of motivation. Moreover, differences between the obtained profiles in terms of job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion were examined. A sample of 107 primary school PE teachers participated. Four distinct motivational profiles were identified: “relatively amotivated”, “somewhat motivated”, “autonomous-controlled motivated”, and “relatively autonomously motivated”. Results showed that the predominantly autonomously motivated PE teachers reported the most adaptive pattern of outcomes. Although PE teachers from the “relatively autonomously motivated” group did not differ in terms of job satisfaction when compared to those in the “autonomous-controlled motivated” group, the former displayed lower values of emotional exhaustion. These findings support SDT in that more motivation is not necessarily better if this additional motivation comes from controlled reasons. These results could raise awareness among school stakeholders about the importance of increasing PE teachers’ autonomous motivation.