title: Relationship between occupational stress and burnout among Chinese teachers: a cross-sectional survey in Liaoning, China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Teaching has been reported to be one of the most stressful occupations in the world. Few studies have been conducted to explore the effects of occupational stress on burnout among teachers in developing countries. This study aimed to explore the relationship between occupational stress and burnout among teachers in primary and secondary schools in the Liaoning Province of China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire that assessed occupational stress comprised of Karasek's job content questionnaire (JCQ), Siegrist's effort-reward imbalance questionnaire (ERI), and burnout assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey was distributed to 681 teachers in primary and secondary schools. A total of 559 effective respondents became our final study subjects. Hierarchical linear regression and logistic regression analyses were performed through the use of SPSS 17.0 to explore the association between occupational stress and burnout.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high level of emotional exhaustion was significantly associated with high extrinsic effort, high overcommitment, low skill discretion, and high job demand. A high level of cynicism was associated with low reward, low skill discretion, high overcommitment, and low supervisor support. The low level of professional efficacy was associated with low coworker support, low reward, low skill discretion, and high job demand. Compared to the JCQ, the ERI was more likely to explain the burnout of teachers in our study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Occupational stress proved to be associated with dimensions of burnout among Chinese teachers. It is important for administrators of primary and middle schools to note that strategies to decrease teachers' occupational stress seem to be crucial to enhance physical and mental health of teachers in China.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, 92 Bei'er Road, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, allylove666@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaoshi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jiana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward; D012574:Schools; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology