THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF POSITIVE RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL COPING ON TEACHERS’ PAIN AND STRESS

<p>The objective of this internet-based survey was to investigate the effects of positive religious or spiritual coping strategies on teachers’ chronic pain reports. Teachers in the United States may represent a vulnerable group due to a high prevalence of risk factors for chronic pain conditions. Teachers have been identified to experience high stress (Johnson, et al., 2005; Kyriacou, 2001) and report poor job satisfaction (Wang, Hall, & Rahimi, 2015), which are associated with development of chronic pain conditions (Kopec & Sayre, 2004). Religious coping strategies have been associated with beneficial associations with stress and health (Reutter & Bigatti, 2014). The internet-based survey of U.S. public school teachers (N = 377) was distributed primarily through social media. Included were items related to demographic information, religious/spiritual and other coping strategies, work-related stressors and physical demands, health history, and job satisfaction. Results indicate positive religious/spiritual coping strategies moderated pain reports for teachers reporting high levels of stress; however, at lower levels of stress, positive religious/spiritual coping was associated with increased pain reports. Chronic pain was associated with higher stress, older age, lower job satisfaction, and increased physical demands for the sample. High levels of stress, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression are present in this population. Conclusions included the need to identify strategies for reduced stress and improved health outcomes. Psychological/mental health services for teachers should be considered for treatment and prevention of stress-related chronic pain. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Sciences

Year dc:date.available

2017

Author dc:creator

• Green, Dawn

Contributors dc:contributor

• Luis Aguerrevere

• chronic pain
• stress
• teachers
• religiosity/spirituality
• Educational Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Other Religion
• Pain Management
• Psychology
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/119

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1131