Association between demographic factors and mental health outcomes among primary and secondary school teachers in Southeast of China: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Objective This study aimed to investigate the mental health status of primary and secondary school teachers. This study sought to comprehensively assess the psychological symptoms and identify potential problems. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 2711 (response rate: 84.72%) primary and secondary school teachers were recruited through a random sampling method from urban and rural areas. The Symptom Checlist-90 (SCL-90) was used to assess their mental status. Data were analyzed using statistical methods such as descriptive statistics, t - tests, and one-way ANOVA to explore differences in mental health status among different demographic groups. Results In total, 7% of the participants showed mild to severe level of psychological distress. Specifically, symptoms of obsessive - compulsive (M ± SD: 1.72 ± 0.63) and depression (M ± SD: 1.56 ± 0.65) were relatively common. Statistically significant differences were found in mental health scores among teachers with different teaching experience, urbanicity, age and gender ( p < .0001). Teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience had higher psychological distress. Male teachers reported more severe symptoms compared with female teachers. Teachers teaching in urban areas faced with worse mental health than teachers teaching in rural areas. Conclusions The study revealed that primary and secondary school teachers face certain mental health challenges. These findings emphasize the urgent need for educational institutions and relevant departments to pay attention to teachers’ mental health, develop comprehensive mental health promotion programs, and provide appropriate support based on different teachers’ characteristics to improve their mental well-being.