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Understanding the Pathway from Violence Against Teacher Turnover: The Mediating Effects of Anxiety and Depression

Fri, April 10, 1:45 to 3:15pm PDT (1:45 to 3:15pm PDT), Westin Bonaventure, Floor: Level 2, Echo Park

Abstract

Violence against teachers has emerged as a critical concern in educational settings, significantly impacting teacher wellbeing and workforce stability (Espelage et al., 2013; McMahon, Swenski, et al., 2024). Recent evidence suggests that violence rates against teachers are alarmingly high, with some studies reporting victimization rates as high as 80% (McMahon, Worrell, et al., 2024). Despite growing recognition of this issue, comprehensive research examining the differential impacts of violence from various sources and the underlying mechanisms through which violence affects teacher outcomes remains limited. According to affective event theory, when teachers are exposed to violence, they may experience increased psychological distress and anxiety (Ghasemy et al., 2021). These emotional responses may in turn affect how they feel about their work environment and whether they intend to stay, transfer, or leave the profession. Based on this theoretical framework, this study examined the direct and indirect effects of student and parent violence against teachers on teacher retention intentions, including transfer intention and quit intention. In addition, this study examined how teacher mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety/stress and psychological distress) serve as mediating variables in the relationship between violence exposure and teacher retention intentions.

The sample of this study is from the third wave data of a national online survey designed by the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Violence Against Educators and School Personnel. The survey was conducted in 2023 and was open to relevant pre-K-12 school personnel. Participants were from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, yielding a large convenience sample. The final sample includes 6,526 teachers.

The descriptive results showed that student violence against teachers substantially exceeded parent violence against teachers across all categories. Student violence rates included 76.9% verbal (M = 0.72), 48.9% physical (M = 0.63), and 74.2% property damage (M = 1.78). Parent violence occurred at relatively lower rates: 54.7% verbal (M = 0.32), 2% physical (M = 0.02), and 1.7% property damage (M = 0.03). The structural equation model indicated that student violence against teachers was significantly associated with teacher anxiety and psychological distress, which were in turn linked with both transfer and quit intentions. Specifically, teacher anxiety and psychological distress mediated the relationships between all types of student violence against teachers and transfer/quit intentions. Anxiety mediated all violence-retention relationships except property violence from parents, while psychological distress mediated all relationships except physical and property violence from parents.

The findings reveal that violence exposure leads to increased anxiety and psychological distress, which mediate decisions to transfer or leave the profession. These results underscore the critical need for targeted interventions to address teacher victims' mental health, as anxiety and psychological distress serve as the key pathways through which violence influences career decisions. Results also emphasize the urgent need for personalized, job-embedded supports and research-based interventions to improve school climate, requiring collaborative efforts among stakeholders to develop effective solutions.

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