Risk in mental health and burnout in public schools teachers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to detect levels of risk in the mental health of teachers in public educational establishments. The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Burnout Questionnaire for Teachers-Revised (CBP-R) were applied to 173 teachers from six establishments in a commune in the Maule Region, in Chile. The results showed significant indicators of higher mental health only with regards to gender (higher in women). As for burnout, significant effects of socio demographic variables were found in the sub-categories of Role stress (women scored higher), Organizational conditions and Lack of achievement (age range 36- 50 scored higher), and Depersonalization (work experience of 16 years or more, along with those with the most amount of years at the same establishment scored higher). It can be concluded that, on one hand females are more likely to develop mental health disorders and on the other, the older the worker and the higher the seniority, the more likely to be related to burnout.