Teacher Characteristics and Stress

Although teacher characteristics have been identified as an important factor in understanding teacher stress, little research has been done in this area. Previous research by the authors indicated a possible relationship between susceptibility to stress and pupil control orientation. This study investigated the bivariate and multivariate relationships between pupil control orientation, five dimensions of teacher stress, sex, and age. Subjects were 130 fulltime teachers from three states. Bivariate analyses indicated that an authoritarian orientation was significantly related to higher scores on four of the five stress factors. No significant relationship existed between sex and the five stress factors, although female teachers tended to have a more humanistic orientation. Age was significantly related to two stress factors. In the multivariate analyses, after group instruction was entered, none of the other stress factors effected a significant increase in the multiple correlation, although sex did. Results are discussed in terms of both teacher training and future research.