STRESS, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL WELL-BEING IN SECONDARY-SCHOOL TEACHERS

In order to evaluate the relationship between stress and social support, on the one hand, and indices of psychological and physical health, on the other, questionnaires were administered to 120 secondary school teachers. Full data were retrieved from 88 teachers, a response rate of 73%. Bivariate correlational analysis revealed associations between life stress and job stress and a variety of General Health Questionnaire measures of psychological wellbeing. Job stress was also correlated with self-reported short-term sickness absences from work. Social support measures were not, in the main, predictive of psychological health outcome measures. In contrast, neither stress nor social support measures were related to self-reported physical health problems or long-term sickness absences. It would appear that self-reported stress is largely associated with psychological wellbeing, and is not substantially related to indices of physical wellbeing. The former relationship does not appear to be substantially mediated by social support, and may be reflective of a general plaintive set.