{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T06:07:11Z","timestamp":1784786831841,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784764800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic left deep psychological scars on teachers who lost loved ones. This population bore a dual burden\u2014profound grief while fulfilling professional duties\u2014yet their psychological processes remain understudied. Integrating conservation of resources theory with existential psychology, this study examined the relationship between occupational stress and existential anxiety in pandemic-bereaved teachers, the mediating role of burnout, and the differential functioning of four work\u2013family boundary flexibility dimensions, proposing the trauma blocking hypothesis and reporting preliminary findings consistent with it.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A convenience sample of 1,103 secondary school teachers who lost immediate family members to COVID-19 completed measures of occupational stress, burnout, existential anxiety, and work\u2013family boundary flexibility. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS, controlling for gender and age.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Occupational stress positively predicted existential anxiety. Burnout partially mediated this relationship (59.3% of total effect). The four flexibility dimensions dissociated: only work flexibility ability significantly moderated the stress\u2013burnout pathway, amplifying (rather than buffering) the association. Work flexibility willingness, family flexibility ability, and family flexibility willingness showed no significant moderation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>All four hypotheses received empirical support. Occupational stress translated into existential anxiety via resource depletion and meaning erosion embodied by burnout. Findings provide preliminary evidence for the trauma blocking hypothesis, suggesting domain-specific resource efficacy: family-related resources showed no moderation, whereas work flexibility ability shifted from buffering to amplifying. Because blocking mechanisms were not directly measured, interpretations need future support. Practically, educational administrators should prioritize objective work flexibility over encouraging bereaved teachers to \u201cseek support from family.\u201d<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1834810","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T05:40:59Z","timestamp":1784785259000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Trauma blocking or resource buffering? Occupational stress, burnout, and existential anxiety in teachers bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic: the domain-specific effect of work\u2013family boundary flexibility"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xiang","family":"Ji","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Teacher Education, Weifang University","place":["Weifang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Zuo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Mental Development and Learning Science","place":["Urumqi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yiya","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangxi College for Preschool Education","place":["Nanning, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peilai","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Teacher Education, Weifang University","place":["Weifang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cheng","family":"Lyu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Teacher Education, Weifang University","place":["Weifang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaodong","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Teacher Education, Weifang University","place":["Weifang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miaomiao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Teacher Education, Weifang University","place":["Weifang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.32598\/hsmej.9.3.429.1","article-title":"Corona disease anxiety in teachers: the role of existential thinking and meaning in life","volume":"9","author":"Amirpour","year":"2022","journal-title":"Health Spirit. 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