engleski

Personality integrity, social support and teacher stress in teachers working in specialized educational conditions

Personality integrity can be defined as the maturity of personality or as an integrated system of all components of personality (Lacković-Grgin, Ćubela Adorić, & Nekić, 2004). The study of Tucak Junaković (2015) showed high correlation of integrity with self-esteem and life satisfaction, and integrity was also correlated with health. When we take into consideration that close interpersonal relationships with family and friends dominated by support and in which people feel loved, respected, accepted and encouraged are good predictors of health and happiness in life (Myers, 2005), the question arises what is the relationship between those relationships and personality integrity. Social support can be defined as the availability of people we can rely on, and who let us know that they care about us, and that they appreciate and love us (Sarason, Sarason, & Shearin, 1986). Assuming that both availability of close others and personality integrity have beneficial effects on all aspects of individuals psychological health, the aim of this study was to examine relationship between social support and personality integrity in a group of teachers who work in special conditions of education of children with speech-language and/or hearing difficulties. Also, when we consider that persons who are more socially integrated and who have better social support also have better mechanisms for coping with stress compared to persons who have less social connections (Cohen, Underwood, & Gottlieb, 2000), a question about the relationship between social support and personality integrity with teacher stress arises. A sample was consisted of27 teachers who work in specialized institution with students with hearing and/or speech impairments. Mean age was 41.7 (SD = 12.99) years, and one of them was male. Personality integrity was assessed using scale constructed by Hawley (1988 as cited in Holm, 2000) which was translated and adapted by Lacković-Grgin, Ćubela Adorić and Nekić (2004). Alpha reliability of scale in this sample of participants was .68. For the assessment of teacher stress Sources of Teacher Stress Questionnaire (Boyle, Borg, Falzon, & Baglioni Jr., 1995) was used, which was previously translated and adapted by Mikulandra and Sorić (2004). Alpha reliability of scale in this sample of participants was .95. Social support was measured using Croatian version of Macdonald’s (1998) scale, which was translated and adapted by Ivanov and Penezić (2010). Analysis was carried out on total score, and subscales reflecting whether support comes from family or friends, as well as on different types of support subscales (emotional, instrumental, informational and support to self-esteem). Alpha reliabilities were .96, .97, .95, .88, .84, .88 and .87 for total score, support from family, support from friends, emotional, instrumental, informational and support to self-esteem, respectively. Personality integrity was in statistically significant positive correlation with social support from friends, emotional support and support to self-esteem. In other words, participants with higher level of social support from friends, emotional support, and support to self-esteem also had higher level of personality integrity. There was also marginally significant positive correlation between personality integrity and total level of social support. Although correlations of teacher stress with personality integrity and social support were all in expected direction (i.e., negative), none of them reached statistical significance. Obtained results enrich the existing knowledge on social support, as well as on personality integrity in the process of education of children with special needs. Findings on relationship between social support and personality integrity contribute to understanding of possible protective factors in the perception of stress with which teachers face. This aspect is particularly important when one considers that about quarter of teachers considers their job very or extremely stressful (Kyriacou, 2001).

personality integrity ; social support ; teacher stress ; children with language and/or hearing difficulties

nije evidentirano