Stress, anxiety and quality of life in teachers: effects of progressive relaxation

Abstract Studies indicate the presence of symptoms of stress, anxiety and low quality of life linked to teaching in public education; however, few are of an interventional nature. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of Jacobson's Progressive Relaxation on the stress, anxiety, and quality of life (QOL) measures of public school teachers. The sample consisted of 105 teachers from state public schools, divided into three groups: intervention, lecture, and passage of time. Pre- and post-test comparison has used with ISSL, EVENT, WHOQOL, BAI instruments. In the experimental group, a significant reduction (p = 0.004) has observed in the post-test for stress, and changes in the perception of work stress, anxiety and QoL, without statistical significance, however, indicating a tendency to improve symptoms. It was found that this relaxation was favorable to teachers. Other investigations of an interventional nature with teachers has suggested, making possible the amplification of the behavioral repertoire of healthy responses to aversive environmental stimuli.