The Health-Sustaining, Moderating, and Mediating Roles of Sense of Coherence in the Relationship between Fear of COVID-19 and Burnout among South African Teachers

Anita Padmanabhanunni, Tyrone Brian Pretorius and Ashraf Kagee
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Anita Padmanabhanunni: Department of Psychology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7530, South Africa
Tyrone Brian Pretorius: Department of Psychology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7530, South Africa
Ashraf Kagee: Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: The current study focuses on the interrelationship between fear of COVID-19, sense of coherence, and burnout. Participants ( n = 355) were school teachers from across all provinces in South Africa who completed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. It was hypothesized that the dimensions of sense of coherence would be directly associated with burnout and would also mediate or moderate the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and burnout. The results of the path and moderation analyses conducted confirmed this hypothesis. In particular, the health-sustaining role of sense of coherence was demonstrated through the significant direct associations between comprehensibility and manageability on one hand and emotional exhaustion, as well as depersonalization, on the other hand. In addition, meaningfulness had significant direct associations with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Meaningfulness mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and all burnout subscales, while comprehensibility and manageability only mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and both emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. However, comprehensibility and manageability played a moderating role in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and personal accomplishment. These findings confirm the crucial role of protective factors, such as sense of coherence, and highlights the need for interventions that could strengthen these resources within teachers.

Keywords: manageability; meaningfulness; comprehensibility; personal accomplishment; emotional exhaustion; depersonalization; fear of COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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