Predicting Anxiety and Depression in Pre-Service Teachers: Identifying Potentially Malleable Points of Intervention

• In Event: Teacher Wellbeing: Identifying Supports and Implications for Children’s Development during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction. Teachers report one of the highest levels of stress of any career, a concern which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Johnson et al., 2005; Pressley et al., 2021). Poor well-being experienced by teachers is a detriment to their own health, their ability to employ effective teaching practices, and support student development (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). Specifically, teachers experiencing depression and anxiety struggle to employ effective teaching practices and have students with high levels of externalizing and internalizing problems, and poor academic achievement (e.g., Jeon et al., 2014; McLean et al., 2015; Sinclair & Ryan; 1987). The Prosocial Classroom model (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009) posits that key social and emotional competencies underly teachers’ ability to cope and support their well-being. Although this model has garnered empirical support in samples of in-service teachers, a study of potentially malleable social and emotional competencies during the pre-service years that are associated with well-being is necessary to identify points of intervention that could be targeted in interventions that aim to prevent the escalation of depression and anxiety in early career teachers.

Research Questions and Hypotheses. The present study tests this conceptual model by addressing whether pre-service teachers’ a) mindfulness skills, b) self-compassion skills, and c) emotion regulation skills are associated with symptoms of RQ1) depression and RQ2) anxiety. We hypothesized that mindfulness, self-compassion, and cognitive reappraisal skills would be negatively associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Methods and Data. The analytic sample included 67 graduating pre-service teachers at the University of Alabama (50% of eligible population) who provided data in April 2022. Participants completed an online survey which assessed their mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire; Gu et al., 2016), self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale; Raes et al., (2010), and emotion regulation skills (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression; Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; Gross & John, 2003), along with anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener; Lowe et al., 2010) and depression (2-Item Patient Health Questionnaire; Lowe et al., 2010). Multiple linear regression models tested the association between teachers’ social and emotional competencies and depression and anxiety, controlling for gender and race.

Results. Regarding RQ1: Mindfulness skills (B = -0.55, SE = 0.19, p = .005; Figure 1a) and self-compassion skills (B = -0.60, SE = 0.16, p < .001; Figure 1b) were negatively associated with depression. Emotion regulation skills were unrelated to depression. Regarding RQ2: Mindfulness skills (B = -0.75, SE = 0.19, p < .001; Figure 2a) and self-compassion skills (B = -0.68, SE = 0.17, p < .001; Figure 2b) were negatively associated with anxiety. Cognitive reappraisal was marginally negatively associated with anxiety (B = -0.21, SE = 0.12, p = .09) whereas expressive suppression was unrelated. Results are discussed in relation to previous findings with in-service teachers.

Significance. Together, findings indicate that intervening to develop mindfulness and self-compassion skills during the pre-service period could help to prevent the escalation in feelings of depression and anxiety experienced by early career teachers, and support teachers’ well-being as they transition into the classroom.

Authors

• Summer S Braun, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
  Presenting Author

• Alison Hooper, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa