Effect of job pressure on mental health and its machanism among primary and secondary school principals

Objective To explore the relationship between job pressure,social support,and coping style and mental health among primary and secondary school principals.Methods A total of 180 school principals were selected with cluster sampling from a principal training class in Guizhou province.The participants were surveyed with Principal Job Pressure Questionnaire,Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS),Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire(SCSQ),and SelfRated Health Measurement Scale(SRHMS).A path analysis was carried out by AMOS version 6.0.Results The job pressure in the principals was at moderate level and the average score of overall job pressure was 3.14±0.96(theoretical range of 1-5),in which the maximum was entrance exam pressure(3.03±1.00)and the minimum was relationship pressure(1.99±0.89).The mental health of the principals was at moderate and upper level and the average score of mental health was 84.29±14.28(theoretical range of 1-120).Job pressure,social support,subjective support,and positive coping were significantly related to mental health(P < 0.05).The structural equation model showed that the job pressure had both direct and indirect effects on mental health with the mediation effect of subjective support and indirect effect of positive coping.Conclusion The subjective support and positive coping have mediation effect on the relationship between job pressure and mental health in primary and middle shcool principals.