{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T16:29:29Z","timestamp":1787761769517,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,8]],"date-time":"2022-08-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1659916800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006522","name":"Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["F 2513"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["F 2513"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006522","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Schools underwent massive changes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic worldwide. Besides existing occupational health challenges, teachers had to deal with biological and psychological burdens that had the potential to impact their psychological well-being. The aim of the present study was to (i) assess the current state of psychological burdens in German teachers and (ii) identify highly burdened subgroups to derive and address interventions. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional online survey was conducted among teachers at all school types in Germany in March 2021. Data on psychological strains were assessed using established (e.g., PHQ-4) and new\u2014pandemic-specific\u2014(e.g., COVID-19-associated anxieties) instruments. ANOVAs and Tukey\u2019s post hoc tests were used to identify highly burdened subgroups (e.g., gender, age, and number of risk factors for severe courses of COVID-19) of teachers. Results: Psychological burdens in German teachers (N = 31.089) exceeded the level of the general population, for example, regarding symptoms of depression (PHQ-2, M = 1.93 vs. 1.24) or generalized anxiety (GAD-2, M = 1.72 vs. 1.03). Subgroup analysis revealed that psychological burdens were unevenly distributed among different groups of teachers; for example, younger teachers (18\u201330 years) showed more depression symptoms compared with their older colleagues (56\u201367 years) (PHQ-2, M = 2.01 vs. 1.78). Conclusions: The online survey was conducted during the \u201cthird wave\u201d of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany, which might have influenced risk perception and psychological strains. Future studies at different times, ideally longitudinal monitoring of the mental health of teachers, are recommended. Based on our results, evidence-based subgroup-specific interventions should be implemented to sustain teachers\u2019 mental health; for example, younger teachers or teachers with risk factors for a severe course of COVID-19 should receive special attention and support. Teachers from special needs schools whose mental health is, on average, good could also be a starting point for identifying the health promotion structural elements of this school type (e.g., fewer students per teacher). However, beyond the specific pandemic-related psychological burdens, the classic occupational health challenges of physical, biological, and chemical stress and their resulting strains should not be disregarded.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19159773","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,8]],"date-time":"2022-08-08T21:09:18Z","timestamp":1659992958000},"page":"9773","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Psychological Burdens among Teachers in Germany during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic\u2014Subgroup Analysis from a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Online Survey"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Clemens","family":"Koestner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Viktoria","family":"Eggert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Theresa","family":"Dicks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristin","family":"Kalo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports Medicine, Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Albert-Schweitzer-Strasse 22, 55128 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carolina","family":"Z\u00e4hme","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8390-0594","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pavel","family":"Dietz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephan","family":"Letzel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany"},{"name":"Institute for Teachers\u2019 Health, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Kupferbergterrasse 17\u201319, 55116 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Till","family":"Beutel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Teachers\u2019 Health, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Kupferbergterrasse 17\u201319, 55116 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1177\/0020764020915212","article-title":"The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health","volume":"66","author":"Torales","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. 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