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Exploring Diurnal Cortisol Rhythms of Kindergarten Teachers in Kosovo and Ukraine
Author(s) -
Suchodoletz Antje,
Rojas Natalia M.,
Nadyukova Iryna,
Larsen Ross A. A.,
Uka Fitim
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1002/ajcp.12308
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , psychology , school teachers , morning , developmental psychology , cortisol awakening response , health psychology , poverty , rhythm , mathematics education , hydrocortisone , medicine , public health , geography , political science , endocrinology , nursing , archaeology , law
Abstract Teachers’ stress is a dynamic combination of the individual teacher's characteristics and characteristics of the classroom and school environment. To date, there are limited studies on teachers’ stress in the context of lower‐middle‐income countries ( LMIC s), where working conditions as well as general political and economic circumstances might pose a considerable threat for teachers’ well‐being. This study explores whether certain combinations of individual and environmental experiences of teachers in LMIC s may result in stress, assessed as patterns of diurnal cortisol rhythm. Participants were kindergarten teachers in Kosovo and Ukraine, two LMIC s in Europe. Latent Profile Analysis identified three subgroups of teachers that significantly differed on teachers’ education and experience. Preliminary results of Latent Growth Modeling suggested differences between profiles in baseline waking cortisol and patterns of diurnal decline. Teachers in the profile that was characterized by the longest experience working in the field but the lowest level of education showed blunted cortisol in the morning and a flatter slope; a pattern that could indicate a maladaptive cortisol response. Future directions for studying stress processes among teachers in LMIC s and implications for policy and practice on how to support teacher well‐being in low‐resource contexts are discussed.