Assessment of Perceived Levels of Stress and Coping Mechanism Use Among Elementary School Teachers

The teaching profession is known to be highly stressful. Teacher stress is a real concern as there is a well-established link between job stress, burnout, and teacher attrition. Teacher attrition rates are currently at concerning levels in the United States and around the world. A cross-sectional, correlational study design was used to assess the relationship between perceived levels of stress and coping mechanism use among elementary school teachers. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of 420 public elementary school teachers in Minnesota. A 48-item survey which included the Perceived Stress Scale and Brief COPE was used to measure perceived levels of stress and coping mechanism use among participants. Results from this study found that the average total stress score on a scale of 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress, for teachers surveyed was 27.04. The coping mechanisms most utilized by teachers who participated in this study were “Acceptance”, “Active coping”, and “Planning”. Statistically significant relationships were found between total stress scores and the following coping mechanisms: Self-distraction, Active coping, Denial, Substance use, Emotional support, Use of informational support, Behavioral disengagement, Venting, Positive reframing, Planning, Religion, and Self-blame. Findings from this study confirm the prevalence of stress among elementary school teachers and a relationship between perceived levels of stress and coping mechanism use