Inhibition or Facilitation? The Double‐Edged Sword Effect of Stress on Preschool Teachers' Occupational Well‐Being

ABSTRACT Although stress is an important predictor of preschool teachers' occupational well‐being, prior research mainly emphasized the unilateral impact of stress and neglected the synergistic effects of different stress types. In addition, the potential path mechanisms of how stress influences preschool teachers' occupational well‐being have not been analyzed comprehensively. To fill these gaps, based on the job demands‐resources (JD‐R) theory, this study explores how challenge‐hindrance stress affects preschool teachers' occupational well‐being and tests occupational identity and occupational stigma consciousness as mediators of this influence. A total of 1669 preschool teachers in Henan Province, China, completed self‐report questionnaires measuring their challenge‐hindrance stress, occupational well‐being, occupational identity, and occupational stigma consciousness. The results indicated that stress was a double‐edged sword: depending on the type of stress, it could either facilitate or inhibit occupational well‐being. Moreover, challenge‐hindrance stress exerted dual effects on occupational well‐being through the gain path of occupational identity and the loss path of occupational stigma consciousness. These findings further validated and enriched the JD‐R theory and highlighted the significance of focusing on dual attributes of stress, improving preschool teachers' occupational identity, and weakening occupational stigma consciousness to enhance their occupational well‐being.