Psychological Well-Being of US Educators Remains a Post-Pandemic Concern: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Study

Educator mental health plays an important role in schools, yet the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic remain unknown. We sought to estimate the prevalence of school employee stress, anxiety, and depression in the 2022-2023 school year within two school districts in the Northeastern United States.

An electronic survey was distributed to school employees. Stress was assessed with the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale with scores 0-13, 14-26, and 27-40 representing low, moderate, and high stress. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression 10-item scale were used to assess clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms, with a cut-point of 10 applied to the total summed score of each scale. We used log-binomial regression models to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

The majority (76.0%) of the 725 school employees surveyed reported moderate to severe stress with 31.2% and 49.5% reporting clinically significant anxiety or depressive symptoms, respectively. A significantly higher prevalence of anxiety was reported among females (PR = 1.15 (CI: 1.02, 1.30)), instructional staff (PR = 1.15 (CI: 1.02, 1.30)), and employees reporting financial insecurity (PR = 1.18 (CI: 1.10, 1.27)). Likewise, a significantly higher prevalence of depression was reported was reported among women (PR = 1.24; CI (1.00-1.52)), instructional staff (PR = 1.31; CI (1.06-1.62)), and employees reporting financial insecurity (PR = 1.38; CI (1.19-1.60)). Stress, anxiety, and depression were each associated with employees' intention to quit.

The residual effects of the pandemic remain prevalent among school employees. Improving school employees' mental health is crucial for the well-being and retention of educators.