The Effect of Primary and Middle School Teachers’ Problematic Internet Use and Fear of COVID-19 on Psychological Need Thwarting of Online Teaching and Psychological Distress

Healthcare

I-Hua Chen¹  Jian Yi²  Jeffrey Hugh Gamble³  Zhi-Hui Wei⁴  Chung-Ying Lin⁵  Xiao-Ling Liao⁶  Cheng-Chieh Li⁷ 

[1] Chinese Academy of Education Big Data, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China;College of Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China;Department of Foreign Languages, National Chiayi University, 85 Wenlong Village, Minhsiung County, Chiayi 62103, Taiwan;Development and Research Department, Shanghai Open University, Shanghai 200433, China;Institute of Allied Health Sciences, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan;International College, Krirk University, Bangkok 10220, Thailand;School of Education, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing 526061, China;

关键词: problematic internet use;    psychological need thwarting;    psychological distress;    online teaching;    COVID-19;    online survey;   

DOI  :  10.3390/healthcare9091199

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Problematic Internet use (PIU) is a risk factor for psychological distress during COVID-19, as teachers are a psychologically vulnerable population. We explored the role of PIU in terms of primary and middle school teachers’ fear of COVID-19 and psychological need thwarting (PNT) of online teaching. We empirically evaluated the relationships among these research variables in explaining teachers’ psychological distress during COVID-19. Online survey data were collected from 9030 teachers. A high proportion of participants demonstrated psychological distress: depression (20.4%), anxiety (26.4%), and stress (10.2%). Structural equation modeling was used to test our proposed conceptual model, wherein PIU behaviors served as predictors, mediated by fear of COVID-19 and PNT of online teaching, for teachers’ psychological distress. With ideal model fit, the results of the path coefficients indicated that PIU behaviors were associated with fear of COVID-19 (p < 0.001); fear of COVID-19 and PNT of online teaching were associated with psychological distress (p < 0.001); and fear of COVID-19 was also positively associated with PNT of online teaching (p < 0.001). PSU and PSMU had an indirect positive effect on psychological distress through the mediator of fear of COVID-19 and PNT of online teaching. As such, we suggest that school administrators pay greater attention to teachers’ psychological needs through efforts to enhance teachers’ autonomy and relatedness from interpersonal relationships, alleviating PNT of online teaching. Our PNT of online teaching scale may also serve as a contribution for further research and practice.

【 授权许可】

Unknown