Longitudinal Associations Between Core Self-Evaluation, Vital Exhaustion and Hair Cortisol in Teachers and the Mediating Effects of Resignation Tendency

Sandra Schneider; Alexander Wettstein; Wolfgang Tschacher; Loredana Torchetti; Gabriel Jenni; Fabienne Kühne; Martin Grosse Holtforth; Roberto La Marca

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.907056

Longitudinal Associations Between Core Self-Evaluation, Vital Exhaustion and Hair Cortisol in Teachers and the Mediating Effects of Resignation Tendency

Front Psychol. 2022 Jul 7:13:907056. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.907056. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Research and Development, University of Teacher Education Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
² Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
³ Experimental Psychology Division, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ Psychosomatic Medicine, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁵ Clinica Holistica Engiadina, Centre for Stress-Related Disorders, Susch, Switzerland.
⁶ Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Abstract

Work-related stress appears to be especially high among teachers. However, most research on teacher stress relies exclusively on teachers' self-reports. Little is known about the physiological correlates of affective stress in teachers. This longitudinal study investigates the relationship between core self-evaluation and adverse psychological and physiological stress outcomes in 42 teachers. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess core self-evaluation, vital exhaustion, and resignation tendency. The concentration of cortisol was assessed using hair samples. One year after the initial measurement, vital exhaustion and hair cortisol were assessed again. Path-analytic mediational models showed that core self-evaluation strongly predicted vital exhaustion, and resignation tendency partially mediated this relationship. However, core self-evaluation did not predict hair cortisol concentration. These findings suggest that core self-evaluation plays a crucial role in preventing vital exhaustion among teachers. A positive core self-evaluation seems beneficial for teachers' primary and secondary appraisal and an essential resource for the long-term prevention of self-reported vital exhaustion.

Keywords: core self-evaluation; hair cortisol; longitudinal design; resignation tendency; teacher stress; vital exhaustion.