Chapter 7: Washington State Elementary Teachers’ Stress: The Importance of Occupational Commitment

The chapter presents findings from research conducted to partially replicate an earlier study carried out by Jepson and Forrest (2006). Our purpose was to examine perceived stress and the nature of its relationship with variables assessing personality traits and background characteristics using data gathered from a sample of 90 elementary teachers in Washington State. Respondents were teaching in 61 schools from across the state. Our data suggested that elementary teachers in Washington are at risk given elevated stress levels. The teachers who responded to our invitation also reported high levels of commitment and internal locus of control. Both of these personality factors were observed to moderate stress. Further, teachers who are women tended to report higher stress levels than those who are men. Our model explained 30% of these teachers’ self-reported stress.