Gender specificity of teachers' stress sources and health problems: evidence from a network analysis

Abstract

Background: Teachers’ occupational health problems have attracted increasing attention from researchers worldwide, as they are closely linked to both teacher well-being and educational quality. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms connecting stress sources and health problems unique to teachers remain insufficiently understood. In particular, little is known about whether these associations differ between female and male teachers. To address these limitations, the present study employed network analysis using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022.

Methods: A total of 2,092 teachers from Hong Kong were included in the analysis. Network analysis was conducted to explore the interconnections among nine identified sources of teacher stress and ten teacher health problems. In addition, gender-specific networks were estimated to examine potential differences in the structure and centrality of nodes between female and male teachers.

Results: The findings indicated that administrative tasks were the most salient source of stress in the overall network, while fatigue was the most prominent health problem. Gender differences emerged in both the central nodes and the network edges. For female teachers, administrative workload and fatigue were central concerns, whereas for male teachers, intimidation or verbal abuse by students and fatigue were central.

Discussion: These findings highlight the necessity of reducing administrative workload and implementing strategies to mitigate teacher fatigue. Moreover, gender-specific interventions are warranted to address distinct stressors and health challenges faced by female and male educators, thereby promoting teacher well-being and supporting sustainable educational development.