A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESSORS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN 1ST-YEAR FEMALE TEACHERS

Three cross-sectional studies (Finlay-Jones, 1986; Hammen & deMayo, 1982; Schonfeld, 1990) at best suggest that veteran teachers are at some risk for experiencing above-average levels of psychological distress. The paper advances three reasons for the view that longitudinal studies with newly appointed teachers provide a better means with which to examine the link between working conditions and psychological distress: (1) the comparative weakness of cross-sectional studies in distinguishing among causal hypotheses; (2) the relative absence in veteran teacher samples of individuals who quit in response to adverse school conditions; (3) the need to control preemployment symptoms. A longitudinal study involving 255 newly appointed female teachers showed that job conditions were related to postemployment depressive symptoms independently of preemployment symptoms and other risk factors. Regression and LISREL analyses revealed that the effects of working conditions on symptoms are relatively immediate. Moreover, other analyses suggested that there may be positive mental health effects, in relation to preemployment levels, associated with teaching in "benign" school environments. Suggestions for future progress in teacher-stress research include the use of neutral self-reports (Kasl, 1987; Schonfeld, 1990) to assess school conditions and a greater reliance on standardized instruments to measure independent and dependent variables.