Stress management for teachers: A cognitive-behavioral program

A rational-emotive stress management intervention for reducing job burnout and dysfunctional distress among special education teachers: An effect study

BACKGROUND

Job-related burnout and distress are adverse stress responses which affect individuals in their occupational environment. This study aimed at investigating the effect of a rational-emotive stress management program on job burnout and dysfunctional distress among special education teachers in Nigeria.

METHODS

A pretest-posttest randomized control group design was used. The participants in the study were 54 special education teachers. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Participants were allocated to either the treatment group (n = 28 [59.1%]) or the waitlist control group (n = 26 [48.1%]), respectively. A rational-emotive stress management manual was used to deliver the intervention. We statistically analyzed the data collected at three-time points with repeated-measures analysis of variance.

RESULTS

At baseline, the job-related burnout symptoms and distress scores of participants were high. However, an intention-to-treat analysis showed that the rational-emotive stress management intervention program was efficacious in reducing the levels of job-related burnout symptoms and dysfunctional distress among participants assigned to the treatment group, compared to a waitlisted group at post-treatment and follow-up meetings.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of a rational-emotive stress management intervention in reducing the level of job-related burnout and distress in a sample of special education teachers in Nigeria. Occupational health counsellors and other clinicians with sufficient knowledge of rational-emotive behavior therapy framework are urged to employ this approach in assisting other employees in managing job burnout symptoms, and distress.

Effects of a rational-emotive health education intervention on stress management and irrational beliefs among technical college teachers in Southeast Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Stress is the product of how an individual reacts and adapts to the specific demands and threats they encounter while carrying out given tasks. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a rational-emotive health education intervention (REHEI) on stress management, and irrational beliefs in a sample of technical college teachers in Southeast Nigeria.

METHOD

The study design was a pretest-posttest control group. Repeated measures analysis of variance, paired t test and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data collected.

RESULTS

The REHEI significantly reduced teacher stress in those teaching staff exposed to the treatment intervention, relative to a waitlist control group. Furthermore, the REHEI program significantly decreased irrational beliefs about teaching in those teaching staff exposed to the treatment intervention compared to a waitlist control group.

CONCLUSION

The REHEI program can be used to coach teachers on how to manage and cope with stress and overcome irrational beliefs in teaching.

Stress Inoculation Training

This article outlines the theory, research, and procedures of stress inoculation training (SIT). SIT consists of three overlapping phases. Their first phase, conceptualization, is an education phase that emphasizes the development of a warm, collaborative relationship through which a careful assessment and problem reconceptualization are completed. The second phase, skill acquisition and rehearsal, target and develop a repertoire of palliative and instrumental coping skills for anxiety reduction. A table of common cognitive coping skills is included to exemplify the range of coping skills employed. The third phase, application and follow-through, focuses upon activities that transfer coping skills to real life and prevent relapse. Finally, guidelines for the selection and design of individual and group application of stress inoculation training are provided.

Changes in Medication Use Following Participation in a Stress Management Course

Thirty men and women who regularly used minor tranquillisers and/or sedatives participated in a stress management group program, incorporating a behavioural self-management approach. They were assessed on questionnaire measures of anxiety, assertion and medication use in the first and final group sessions and at a 3-month follow-up. Data demonstrated declines in medication use during the course, which for many clients were maintained at the follow-up. These decreases were associated with decreases in anxiety levels.

Stress management in work settings: a critical review of the health effects

PURPOSE

To review critically the research literature on the health effects of worksite stress-management interventions.

SEARCH METHODS

Stress-management interventions were defined as techniques that are designed to help employees modify their appraisal of stressful situations or deal more effectively with the symptoms of stress. Stress-management studies that were worksite based, assessed a health outcome, and were published in the peer-reviewed literature were included in this review. The main search method was the one described in the lead article to this special issue of the JOURNAL, but supplementary sources included prior reviews of the research literature and expert contacts. Sixty-four studies met the criteria for inclusion in this review.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

A variety of stress-management techniques was used in worksite studies, including muscle relaxation, meditation, biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral skills, and combinations of these techniques. The most common techniques used were muscle relaxation, cognitive-behavioral skills, and combinations of two or more techniques. Outcome measures to evaluate the success of stress interventions included physiologic and psychologic measurements, somatic complaints, and job-related measures. Nearly three-fourths of the studies offered the training to all workers and did not specifically recruit high-stress employees. Over half the studies were randomized control trials, but only 30% conducted posttraining follow-up evaluations. The effectiveness of stress interventions varied according to the health-outcome measure used; some techniques were more effective for psychologic outcomes (e.g., cognitive-behavioral skills), whereas others were more effective for physiologic outcomes (e.g., muscle relaxation). Biofeedback was the least frequent technique used in work settings and also seemed to be the least effective technique. Meditation produced the most consistent results across outcome measures but was used in only six studies. In general, studies using a combination of techniques (e.g., muscle relaxation plus cognitive-behavioral skills) seemed to be more effective across outcome measures than single techniques.

CONCLUSIONS

The large number of different stress-management techniques coupled with the wide range of health outcome measures used in stress intervention studies makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the efficacy of each technique and each outcome. Also, the quality of the methodology varied substantially among studies. Nevertheless, the most positive results across the various health outcomes were obtained with a combination of two or more techniques. None of the stress interventions was consistently effective in producing effects on job/organization-relevant outcomes, such as absenteeism or job satisfaction. To produce changes on these types of measures, stress interventions will need to alter or modify the sources of stress in the work environment. It can be said that stress management in work settings can be effective in enhancing worker physical and psychologic health, but the choice of which stress-management technique to use should be based on the specific health outcomes that are targeted for change.