Educational Social Skills and Clinical Symptoms in Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

Teachers are a key element to develop the creative potential, and improve their students’ behaviors, serving as a model for the expression of environment-responsive reactions. Teachers with well-developed Socio-Educational Skills repertoire are more likely to succeed in teacher-student relationships, and report lower rates of emotional illness. The study aimed to evaluate and compare Socio-Educational Skills (HSE) repertoire with depression, anxiety and stress levels among elementary school teachers, and correlate it with the participants’ sociodemographic profile. The Inventory of Socio-Educational Skills-Teachers and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were used. This is a cross-sectional, correlational and comparative quantitative study, following the behavioral theory’s perspective. It comprised 109 teachers from public and private schools in the north of the Rio Grande do Sul state, 96.3% of whom were women (M = 42.06 years; SD = 9.38). Findings showed higher scores for anxiety, stress and depression in public school teachers, with a more elaborate repertoire of HSE, while private schools reported positive correlation between HSE and depressive and anxiety symptoms. It is concluded that teachers can benefit from programs that encourage more skilled social interactions, through which they can develop more positive educational practices and more quality of life.