Identifying teachers at risk in Hong Kong: Psychosomatic symptoms and sources of stress

Abstract

Objective: The present Study attempts to examine the relationships between certain common psychosomatic symptoms and sources of stress in Hong Kong teachers. Methods: A total of 261 teachers (134 males and 127 females) from 13 high schools in different regions of Hong Kong responded to the Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) with a return rate of 52.2%. Retired and in-service teachers were involved in the development of TSI, which included items related to sources of stress in the context of Hong Kong education system, psychosomatic symptoms in the form of stress arousal, and global stress. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis identified six distinct teacher stress sources: students, others, Curriculum, nonteaching duties, teaching workload, and recognition. These stress sources were positively correlated with a global teacher stress measure, Supporting their construct validity.