Mediating and Moderating Variables in the Relationship Between Emotional Demands and Teachers’ Emotional Exhaustion / [Variables mediadoras y moderadoras de la relación entre exigencias emocionales y agotamiento emocional en docentes]

Teachers tend to suffer high levels of emotional exhaustion, a variable that is associated with poor mental health and lower job performance. The present study analyzed how emotional demands, emotional dissonance, and self-efficacy to cope with stress interact in predicting teachers’ emotional exhaustion. To conduct this longitudinal research, 108 Andalusian teachers (57.3% women; mean age = 45.30, SD = 8.68) completed an online survey at three different time points. Moderated mediation analysis suggested that emotional dissonance mediated the relationship between emotional demands and emotional exhaustion, with self-efficacy acting as a moderator between the two. Teachers who perceived high emotional demands saw their levels of emotional dissonance increase, which in turn led to an increase in emotional exhaustion. In addition, self-efficacy acted as a protective factor against emotional exhaustion, buffering the negative effect of emotional dissonance. Strengthening these protective variables through interventions that increase levels of self-efficacy to cope with stress and reduce levels of emotional dissonance could help prevent teachers’ emotional exhaustion.(AU)

Los docentes tienden a sufrir un nivel elevado de agotamiento emocional, variable que se asocia con una mala salud mental y un bajo desempeño laboral. El estudio analiza cómo interactúan en la prevención del agotamiento emocional de los docentes las exigencias emocionales, la disonancia emocional y la autoeficacia para afrontar el estrés. Para llevar a cabo esta investigación de carácter longitudinal, 108 profesores andaluces (57.3% mujeres, edad media = 45.30, DT = 8.68) cumplimentaron una encuesta online en tres momentos distintos. El análisis de mediación moderada indicaba que la disonancia emocional mediaba la relación existente entre las exigencias emocionales y el agotamiento emocional, actuando como moderadora entre ambos la autoeficacia. Los profesores que percibieron exigencias emocionales elevadas vieron aumentar su grado de disonancia emocional, lo que a su vez aumentó el agotamiento emocional. Además, la autoeficacia actuó como factor protector del agotamiento emocional, amortiguando el efecto negativo de la disonancia emocional. Reforzar estas variables protectoras a través de intervenciones que aumenten el grado de autoeficacia para afrontar el estrés y reduzcan la disonancia emocional podría ayudar a prevenir el agotamiento emocional de los docentes.(AU)

Effectiveness of Mindfulness and Positive Strengthening mHealth Interventions for the Promotion of Subjective Emotional Wellbeing and Management of Self-Efficacy for Chronic Cardiac Diseases.

Intervention in health prevention and treatment via mobile phones is becoming a key element on health promotion. Testing the efficacy of these mobile health (mHealth) psychological interventions for cardiovascular health is necessary as it is a chronic pathology, and it can influence the affective and cognitive states of patients. This research aimed to analyze the effectiveness of two brief psychological interventions-mindfulness and positive strengthening-to promote subjective emotional wellbeing and disease management self-efficacy using mHealth. This was a three-arm intervention and feasibility study, with a pre-post design and three follow-up measures with 105 patients (93 completed all phases) with cardiovascular diseases. Group 1 and 2 received the mindfulness or strengthening intervention, and Group 3 was the control group. The positive-negative affect and management self-efficacy for chronic and cardiovascular diseases were analyzed over time, while anxiety and depression levels were assessed at the beginning of the study. The results showed that mindfulness and positive strengthening interventions both had a positive effect on participants' affective state and management self-efficacy for the disease in comparison with the control group over time, even after controlling for baseline anxiety and depression levels. Positive strengthening seems to be more effective for improving cardiac self-efficacy, while mindfulness practice was significantly more effective at reducing negative affect at the first face-to-face evaluation.