The Association between Job Stress and Emotional Problems in Mainland Chinese Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediation of Self-Control and the Moderation of Perceived Social Support

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This research investigated the association between job stress and emotional problems (i.e., depressive and anxious symptoms) as well as the mediation effect of self-control and the moderation effect of perceived social support among 118 mainland Chinese in-service kindergarten teachers. Participants took part in a three-wave longitudinal survey, with two months apart between each wave. They reported on their job stress at T1, self-control and perceived social support at T2, and emotional problems at T3. Results of moderated mediation model showed that after controlling for a number of demographic and occupational characteristics, high levels of job stress were positively related to emotional problems through self-control, particularly for those perceiving less social support. These findings reveal that low self-control and insufficient perceived social support are mechanisms partly explaining how and for whom job stress is related to depressive and anxious symptoms in kindergarten teachers. Practice or Policy: Reducing job stress, boosting self-control, and offering social support such as establishing a supportive workplace could be promising strategies to enhance mainland Chinese kindergarten teachers’ emotional well-being.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Fifty-two child abuse cases in KGs were reported by social media between 2012 and 2017 (https://gongyi.qq.com/a/20171113/019390.htm). For instance, in 2017, a female teacher was accused of pinning needles on children to stop them talking during noon-sleeping time.

2. Emotional problems usually refer to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and withdrawal (Alves, Roysamb, Oppedal, & Zachrisson, 2011). However, given that anxiety and depression are the most prominent aspects of emotional problems in the related literatures (e.g., Achenbach, Krukowski, Dumenci, & Ivanova, 2005; Alves et al., 2011), the emotional problems examined in this study refer to depressive and anxious symptoms.