Depressive symptomatology and burnout among female teachers: An investigation of the contributions of work motivations, resilience and well-being

Background: Burnout and depression are long-term consequences of occupational stress, especially among female educators who experience not only more stress from workload than their male counterparts but also greater levels of emotional exhaustion, and conflicts from social environment interference. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between mental health (burnout, depression, well-being) and job-related factors (work motivation, teacher well-being and resilience) in a sample of female teachers, and to identify the key predictors of teachers’ depression and burnout.

Methods: Participants were Hungarian female teachers (N = 520) who completed an online survey that included measures of these variables. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and stepwise regression analyses.

Results: The results revealed, in addition to a strong correlation between burnout and depressive symptomatology, both were negatively correlated with general and professional well-being, intrinsic and identified motivations, and dimensions of teacher resilience, while positively correlated with amotivation and extrinsic motivations. Stepwise regression revealed that five variables significantly predicted depressive symptoms in female teachers (R² = 0.328): general well-being, amotivation, extrinsic social motivation, family cohesion, and spiritual resilience. Burnout was significantly predicted by general well-being, amotivation, professional well-being, intrinsic motivation, and personal competence (R² = 0.603).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that in contrast with the main predictors of depression, burnout was more predicted by work-related and personal factors, instead of social, familial and spiritual ones. Practical implications for interventions are discussed.