TEACHER’S WORK AND MENTAL HEALTH

the importance of social support

Abstract

Social support has been highlighted in the promotion and recovery of physical and mental health, being an important aspect in the quality of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between social support and common mental disorders (CMD) among teachers. The data analyzed came from a cross-sectional study with 476 primary and secondary school teachers from Salvador/ BA. The exposure variable, social support, was evaluated by the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) and the response variable, CMD, by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). The prevalence of CMD was twice as high among teachers with low social support than those with high support, after adjusting for potential confounders, evidencing the importance of this psychosocial aspect in the mental health of teachers and the need to be expanded and strengthened.