(PS2-21) Psychological Well-Being and Exercise Among Early Childhood Teachers: Self-Reported Motivation and Behavior

Abstract Text:

Background: Early childhood teachers often experience significant workplace stressors, including large class sizes, limited funding, and child behavior problems . In turn, workplace stress has been found to disrupt teacher psychological well-being, which is a critical problem, as early childhood teachers are responsible for the development and well-being of thousands of children under the age of 5. Improved understanding of factors that promote healthy, adaptive functioning among teachers is crucial to informing interventions to support this vital workforce. One such factor may be physical activity or exercise. Exercise is a low-cost intervention that has been found to improve well-being. However, it is unknown how many teachers are meeting the Centers for Disease Control recommended guidelines to engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. Further, it may be important to consider an individual’s motivation to engage in physical activity. Motivation to engage in a behavior may have unique health benefits as it encourages healthy boundary setting, planned action, self-efficacy, and improved self-esteem. It is currently unknown how these two facets of exercise (exercise behavior and physical activity motivation) relate to psychological well-being among teachers. This study examines how many early childhood teachers are meeting the recommendations for physical exercise, and explores the association between exercise behavior, physical activity motivation, and psychological well-being, while controlling for environmental stressors of workplace stress.

Methods: Participants included 277 early childhood teachers aged 18 to 80 (Mean = 39.83, SD = 14.24) who completed self-report measures of their physical exercise behavior, physical activity motivation, workplace stress, and psychological well-being. Teachers completed questionnaires as part of a study evaluating a well-being intervention. Data from the present study were collected at the baseline assessment. We conducted multilevel models, nesting teachers within childcare center.

Results: Results indicated only 20% of teachers are meeting recommended exercise guidelines. Exercise behavior was associated with greater psychological well-being, b = 0.65, p = .03, 95% CI [0.05, 1.24]. However, when considering both exercise behavior and physical activity motivation in the same model, only greater levels of physical activity motivation was associated with greater psychological well-being, b = 0.13, p < .001, 95% CI [0.08, 0.18]. Exercise behavior was no longer associated with well-being, b = 0.06, p = .89, 95% CI [-0.83, 0.95].

Conclusions: This study highlights the benefits of regular exercise to promote teacher well-being. Results also advance understanding of how exercise enhances well-being and suggests an expanded focus on cognitive constructs, such as physical activity motivation, may warrant additional attention.