Alleviating occupational stress in Chinese junior high school teachers: the role of mindfulness-based interventions
Hui-Mian Bian, He Jiang
Frontiers in Psychology January 29, 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1479507 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 118 |
| Population | Junior high school teachers in China |
| Duration | 4-week mindfulness training program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | Teachers in a 4-week mindfulness training program showed significant reductions in occupational stress and improvements in mental health and coping self-efficacy compared with a no-intervention control group, and their mindfulness levels increased significantly. The authors suggest such programs can help educators manage stress and maintain mental health. |
Abstract
Introduction: Occupational stress is a significant issue among junior high school teachers in China, contributing to negative outcomes such as reduced mental health, impaired coping abilities, and decreased job satisfaction.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study investigates the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on occupational stress and mental health among junior high school teachers in China. A total of 118 teachers participated in the study, with a randomly assigned experimental group undergoing an 4-week mindfulness training program, while the control group received no intervention. Standardized measures of occupational stress, mental health, coping self-efficacy, and mindfulness were used to assess the outcomes before and after the intervention.
Findings: The findings revealed that teachers who participated in the mindfulness program experienced significant reductions in occupational stress and improvements in mental health and coping self-efficacy compared to the control group. Additionally mindfulness levels increased significantly among participants who underwent the training.
Discussion: The results suggest that mindfulness-based interventions can effectively alleviate occupational stress and enhance psychological wellbeing among junior high school teachers in China, highlighting the importance of implementing such programs to support educators in managing stress and maintaining mental health.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- A Quasi Experimental Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Meditation on The Level of Stress Among Working Women (20 -58 Years) In Selected Urban Area of Nerchowk District Mandi (H.P.) 2025-2026 International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology October 1, 2026
- Recalibrating occupational stress and well-being: Junior high school teachers' retrospective accounts of mindfulness training. Acta Psychologica September 25, 2026
- A brief mindfulness intervention improves electrophysiological markers of attention in meditation-naïve individuals: the moderating role of inattention symptoms. Frontiers in Psychology August 21, 2025
Cites 4
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- The mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy adherence scale: inter‐rater reliability, adherence to protocol and treatment distinctiveness Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy March 1, 2002
- Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction and an organizational health intervention on Dutch teachers' mental health. Health Promotion International June 1, 2023