Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa
Background: As the prevalence of mental disorders continues to increase, the workplace has been identified as one of the key sources of mental disorders. Over and above anxiety triggers that emerge from the teaching profession itself, societal and behavioural challenges among young people often ext...
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| Language: | English |
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University of the Free State
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Perspectives in Education |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/7491 |
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| author | Kebogile Mokwena Mathildah Mokgatle |
| author_facet | Kebogile Mokwena Mathildah Mokgatle |
| author_sort | Kebogile Mokwena |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Background: As the prevalence of mental disorders continues to increase, the workplace has been identified as one of the key sources of mental disorders. Over and above anxiety triggers that emerge from the teaching profession itself, societal and behavioural challenges among young people often extend to the school environment, which increases demands on teachers who have to manage such behaviours to make the classroom a place to operate. However, there are limited studies on the mental health status of teachers. Purpose of the study: The purpose was to screen for anxiety symptoms and identify risk factors among teachers in three school districts of Tshwane Municipality.
Methodology: The study used a cross-sectional design survey and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) tool to screen for anxiety among teachers in the three districts. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data, which was analysed descriptively. The Pearson chi-square association test was applied to explore the development of anxiety symptoms and a range of sociodemographic variables, using a p-value of 0.05. The eight variables significantly associated with anxiety development were included in a multivariate logistic regression model.
Results: The sample of 387, consisting of 97 males and 290 females, was drawn from 13 high and three primary schools. The number of teachers per school ranged from 4 to 45, with a mean of 19.45. The majority (n=220, 57.44%) were employed in high schools, and the mean period in the teaching profession was 13.4 years. The majority (56%) were married. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was 47.55% (n=184). Six variables that were significantly associated with the development of anxiety symptoms were directly linked to the teaching environment.
Conclusion: The high prevalence of anxiety symptoms is directly linked to the teaching environment, which highlights the need to improve the working
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6914ebddf89a42fabbc881e54ecfb42c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0258-2236 2519-593X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Perspectives in Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-6914ebddf89a42fabbc881e54ecfb42c2025-08-20T02:25:13ZengUniversity of the Free StatePerspectives in Education0258-22362519-593X2025-05-0143110.38140/pie.v43i1.7491Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South AfricaKebogile Mokwena0Mathildah Mokgatle1Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, South AfricaSefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, South Africa Background: As the prevalence of mental disorders continues to increase, the workplace has been identified as one of the key sources of mental disorders. Over and above anxiety triggers that emerge from the teaching profession itself, societal and behavioural challenges among young people often extend to the school environment, which increases demands on teachers who have to manage such behaviours to make the classroom a place to operate. However, there are limited studies on the mental health status of teachers. Purpose of the study: The purpose was to screen for anxiety symptoms and identify risk factors among teachers in three school districts of Tshwane Municipality. Methodology: The study used a cross-sectional design survey and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) tool to screen for anxiety among teachers in the three districts. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data, which was analysed descriptively. The Pearson chi-square association test was applied to explore the development of anxiety symptoms and a range of sociodemographic variables, using a p-value of 0.05. The eight variables significantly associated with anxiety development were included in a multivariate logistic regression model. Results: The sample of 387, consisting of 97 males and 290 females, was drawn from 13 high and three primary schools. The number of teachers per school ranged from 4 to 45, with a mean of 19.45. The majority (n=220, 57.44%) were employed in high schools, and the mean period in the teaching profession was 13.4 years. The majority (56%) were married. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was 47.55% (n=184). Six variables that were significantly associated with the development of anxiety symptoms were directly linked to the teaching environment. Conclusion: The high prevalence of anxiety symptoms is directly linked to the teaching environment, which highlights the need to improve the working http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/7491anxietyschool environmentteaching professionSouth Africa |
| spellingShingle | Kebogile Mokwena Mathildah Mokgatle Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa Perspectives in Education anxiety school environment teaching profession South Africa |
| title | Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa |
| title_full | Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa |
| title_short | Occupation-related anxiety symptoms among teachers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa |
| title_sort | occupation related anxiety symptoms among teachers in tshwane metropolitan municipality south africa |
| topic | anxiety school environment teaching profession South Africa |
| url | http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/7491 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kebogilemokwena occupationrelatedanxietysymptomsamongteachersintshwanemetropolitanmunicipalitysouthafrica AT mathildahmokgatle occupationrelatedanxietysymptomsamongteachersintshwanemetropolitanmunicipalitysouthafrica |