Stress levels, gender and personality factors in teachers

The study reports an investigation of stress levels, gender and personality dimensions in a sample of school teachers. The Professional Life Stress Scale (PLSS) was used to assess teachers' stress levels and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) was used to define their personality dimensions (Extroversion-Introversion, Neuroticism-High Psychoticism-Low Psychoticism). The study sample consisted of 95 teachers, 51 females and 44 males. Results revealed that the majority of teachers sampled, 72.6 per cent, were experiencing moderate levels of stress, and 23.2 per cent serious levels. T-test results showed no significant difference between male and female teachers in stress levels. Correlation analysis between stress level and personality dimensions revealed significant positive correlation between stress and psychoticism. A significant negative correlation emerged between stress and extroversion, and a significant positive correlation between stress and neuroticism. A multiple regression analysis revealed that extroversion and neuroticism were the best predictors of stress levels. Overall, the results therefore indicated that personality dimensions appear to contribute more to stress levels than do the variables of either age or gender.