Stress, coping strategies, and psychological distress among secondary school teachers in Hong Kong

The relationships among teacher stressors, active and passive coping strategies, and psychological distress were investigated in a sample of 412 Chinese secondary school teachers in Wong Kong. A direct effect, or stress-distress model and a mediational, or stress-coping, model were postulated and tested with structural equation modeling procedures. For comparison, a direct-and-mediational model and a moderated effect model were also fitted to the data. The results indicated that the mediational model with coping strategies mediating the effects of stressors on psychological distress represented an adequate fit to the data. Implications for the role of active and passive coping strategies in mitigating the effects of stressors on psychological distress and for teacher stress management are discussed.