The Relationship between Resiliency, Psychological Empowerment, and Teacher Burnout across Different Genders: A Psychological Network Analysis

• Published in: Behavioral sciences 2024-09, Vol.14 (10), p.878
• Main Authors: Xue, Danni, Sun, Binghai, Li, Weijian, Li, Xinwei, Xiao, Weilong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Burn out (Psychology); Burnout; Cardiovascular disease; Education; Empowerment; gender difference; Gender differences; Health aspects; Mental disorders; Mental health; Professions; psychological empowerment; psychological network analysis; Psychological research; Psychopathology; resiliency; Statistical methods; Students; teacher burnout; Teachers
• ISSN: 2076-328X; 2076-328X
• DOI: 10.3390/bs14100878

Teacher burnout is one of the main reasons leading to decreased teaching performance and occupational mental health issues among teachers, drawing widespread global attention. Previous research has found that both resiliency and psychological empowerment can alleviate teacher burnout, yet there is no study simultaneously examining the relationships between resiliency, PE, and teacher burnout. Furthermore, previous studies have found gender differences in teacher burnout but have not examined the moderating effects of resiliency and psychological empowerment by gender group. Additionally, traditional analytical methods may overlook the compositional connections between these variables. To bridge this gap, we employed psychological network analysis to evaluate the psychological network of teachers with burnout across different genders. Findings indicate: (1) Female teachers exhibit a stronger link between their sense of departmental control and burnout, while male teachers show a stronger connection between solving instructional challenges and burnout. (2) Patience in male teachers' approach to teaching may enhance connections with their environment, and mastering job-relevant skills can boost male teachers' job happiness. (3) Female teachers' "I feel connected to others" demonstrates higher bridge centrality. In comparison, male teachers' "My work is vital to me" shows higher bridge centrality, indicating deeper connections with other symptom clusters. This study reveals the complex interactions among the factors of teacher burnout and investigates how gender differences influence the associations between these factors and burnout, by not only filling gaps in previous research but also offering new perspectives and strategies for understanding and intervening in teacher burnout, especially in the context of gender differences.