Open Collections

Occupational stress, coping behavior, coping efficacy, and occupational satisfaction, organizational commitment, and propensity to leave teaching

University of British Columbia

This study was concerned with the extent to which coping behavior, coping efficacy, and their interaction are associated with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and propensity to leave teaching, after the effects of gender, stressor type, perceived stress, and control over stressor are accounted for. Respondents were 266 teachers from two British Columbia school districts covering smaller urban and rural areas. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire package distributed and collected through the district mail systems including: (a) demographic data, (b) 3 subsales from the revised version of the Teacher Stress Inventory (Pettegrew & Wolf, 1982), (c) 2 subscales from a coping efforts scale (Latack, 1986), (d) a modified version of the coping efforts scale measuring 2 subscales of coping efficacy, (e) the job satisfaction subscale from the Teacher Stress Inventory, (f) the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979), (g) a propensity to leave measure (Lyons, 1971), and (h) 8 single-item questions. Preliminary analysis was done to compare male and female teachers and to determine the influence of reluctance to complete the questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine relations among variables entered in six levels: (1) gender and stressor type; (2) perceived stress; (3) perceived control over stressor; (4) control and escape coping; (5) perceived control and escape efficacy; and (6) control and escape products. The first regression equation reached significance, F(10,213)=13.68, p< .01, and accounted for 39% of the variance of occupational satisfaction. The second regression equation reached significance, F(10,213)=9.33, p<.0l, and accounted for 30% of the variance of propensity to leave teaching. The third regression equation reached significance, F(10,213)=7.6I, p<.0l, and accounted for 26% of the variance of organizational commitment. Partial support was found for the influence with control coping efficacy accounting for a significant increase in the variance of organizational commitment, and the control coping x efficacy interaction accounting for a significant increase in the variance for propensity to leave teaching. Other control efficacy measures, efficacy products, and all escape efficacy measures failed to account for a significant increase in variance. High control coping behavior was related to lower levels of occupational satisfaction, organizational commitment, and a desire to remain in teaching. High escape coping behavior was related to lower occupation satisfaction. Recommendations for the school environment are made as well as directions for future research.

Text

2010-10-22

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/29483

Counselling Psychology

University of British Columbia

Graduate