Interpersonal Stress and Psychological Well-Being of Infant Teachers in Korea: Focus on the Moderating Effect of Stress Coping Style

Objectives This study investigated the relation between interpersonal stress and psychological well-being of infant teachers in Korea, focusing on moderating effects of stress coping style. Methods The participants were 232 infant teachers who agreed to participate in this study. The measures included interpersonal stress questionnaires, psychological well-being questionnaires, and stress coping style questionnaires. The moderating effects were examined through hierarchical regression, after controlling the control variables. Results Interpersonal stress was negatively related to psychological well-being. Among stress coping styles, problem-focused coping and avoidance-focused coping were positively related to on psychological well-being, while emotion-focused coping was negatively related to psychological well-being. It was found that avoidance- focused coping style had a moderating effect on the relation between interpersonal stress and psychological well-being. Conclusions The results will serve as basic data for developing interventions to improve the psychological well-being of early childhood teachers in Korea, helping us understand the relation between these variables and the moderating effect of stress coping styles.