Emotional Factors in the Psychological Well-Being of Future Teachers: A Structural Model

Scientific research has examined relationships between various emotional factors in teachers; however, few studies have analyzed these relationships jointly. This study aimed to explore mechanisms through which emotional intelligence, resilience, stress, and burnout influence the psychological well-being of 338 trainee teachers (comprising 72.8% women) from the University of Alicante. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the direct and indirect effects among the variables included in the model. The instruments employed were the Trait Meta-Mood Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Ryff's Psychological Well-being Scale. The results indicated that resilience had a direct and positive effect on psychological well-being, while burnout had a direct but negative effect. In addition, emotional intelligence and stress influenced psychological well-being indirectly: emotional intelligence exerted a positive impact through resilience, whereas stress had a negative impact through burnout. The model explained a high percentage (85.3%) of variance in psychological well-being. This study provides empirical evidence on how these variables interact and highlights the importance of incorporating these abilities into teacher training programs to enhance teachers' psychological well-being and thereby improve the quality of the educational process.