The effects of Mental and Physical (MAP) Training on teacher stress and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study
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Demmin, Docia L..
The effects of Mental and Physical (MAP) Training on teacher stress and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study. Retrieved from
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TitleThe effects of Mental and Physical (MAP) Training on teacher stress and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study
Date Created2022
Other Date2022-10 (degree)
Extent1 online resource (111 pages) : illustrations
DescriptionTeachers experience significant job-related stress that can lead to burnout and attrition. Existing teacher stress may have been increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, interventions to target stress and promote mental health and wellbeing may benefit this population. Mental and Physical (MAP) Training combines meditation with aerobic exercise to improve mental and physical health outcomes. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual MAP Training on reducing stress and improving outcomes in teachers. K-12 educators were recruited from schools in the Northeastern region of the United States. Participants were randomly assigned to the MAP Training group (n = 35) or waitlist control condition (n = 13). The effects of the virtual MAP Training program on self-reported psychosocial, cognitive, and health outcomes were examined after six weeks. The long-term impact of training (i.e., one month after intervention end) was investigated in exploratory analyses. There were no significant differences between groups in pre-intervention (i.e., baseline) or post-intervention ratings of psychosocial, cognitive, or health functioning. However, participants within the MAP Training group reported significant improvements in trauma and mood symptoms (ps = .001-.004, ds = .53-.66), anxiety symptoms (p = .002, d = .57), ruminative thinking (ps = .003-.016, ds = .43-.54), perceived stress (p = .035, d = .38), and self-compassion (p < .001, d = -.82), while no significant changes were observed within the waitlist control group. Participants within the MAP Training group also reported improvements in executive functioning and cognitive flexibility (ps = < .001 - .023, ds = -.41-.94) and fewer sleep disturbances (p = .002, d = .57) following training, while again no within-group changes were observed among waitlist control participants. Among MAP Training participants, 24% experienced a clinically significant reduction in depressive symptom severity, while 31% reported meaningful change in anxiety symptom severity. Outcomes did not differ between treatment adherent (i.e., attended four or more live training sessions) and non-adherent MAP Training participants; however, adherence factors were associated with greater improvement in executive functioning. Importantly, improvements in self-compassion were maintained by MAP Training participants one month after intervention end. These data demonstrate the effectiveness of a virtually-delivered meditation and aerobic exercise program (i.e., MAP Training) in improving teacher mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses
LanguageEnglish
CollectionSchool of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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