Stress in Teachers in Secondary Education: an Analysis from the Optimism

There seems to be a remarkable consensus in recent years with regards to the importance of student disruptive behaviors and/or attitudes, conflictive situations, and the lack of social support as factors hindering school life and contributing to the increase of teacher occupational malaise. However, there are few empirical studies about the relationships between said causes and personality variables. The aim of this research based on a sample of 1537 secondary education teachers was to identify which sources of stress establish significant differences between levels of optimism (low, moderate and high) derived from teachers’ self-reports; also analyzed was if the facets of stress (student disruptive behaviors, lack of social support and conflict) discriminate between teachers who report low vs. high optimism. The results suggest that the considered stressors validly differentiate between levels of optimism. Likewise, student disruptive behaviors and conflict facets allow for discrimination based on teacher optimism.