Coping and health in harassed teachers

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship among bullying, coping strategies, and health in a sample of 255 Spanish teachers. They completed a set of questionnaires to evaluate: 1) bullying (with a bullying perceived questionnaire); 2) health (with General Health Questionnaire); and 3) coping strategies (with the Brief COPE). Results showed that teachers bullied by colleagues had a poorer health than those not bullied. The analysis established also the differences between targets and non-targets in coping strategies: It was observed that bullying targets use more non-functional coping strategies and fewer functional ones than non-targets. These results suggest that it is necessary eradicate bullying in order to improve workers’ health and well-being. The victims also need to change their strategies to coping harassment. More investigations in these issues are needed, as they are essential to workplace health and well-being.

Keywords

• acoso
• mobbing
• salud
• sobrellevar el estrés