J Happiness Stud (2013) 14:731751

DOI 10.1007/s10902-012-9352-4

RESEARCH PAPER

Links Between Stress, Positive and Negative Affect,

and Life Satisfaction Among Teachers in Special
Education Schools

Liat Hamama Tammie Ronen Keren Shachar Michael Rosenbaum

Published online: 18 May 2012

Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Abstract This study focused on links between stress, positive and negative affect, and
life satisfaction among teachers in special education schools. Teaching is a highly stressful
profession, characterized by high rate of stress, burnout, and dropout. The study investi-
gated: (a) whether teachers can maintain their positive affect and life satisfaction despite
the stress they experience, and (b) the resources that may elicit positive affect and life
satisfaction, including self-control as a personal skill and perceived organizational support
(by peers, therapeutic staff, and manager) as an environmental resource. Participants were
125 teachers from 12 different special education schools. As expected, a positive link
emerged between high stress levels and negative affect. Both self-control and organiza-
tional social support contributed to the explanation of positive affect and life satisfaction.
Organizational support was found to moderate the link between stress and negative affect
as well as the link between stress and positive affect and life satisfaction among teachers.
The outcomes contributed both to the theoretical explanation about the role of resources in
eliciting subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction and also to the way teachers
can be helped in daily coping with their difficulties.

Keywords Teachers
Stress
Self-control
Social support at work
Positive affect

Negative affect
Life satisfaction

Emotional affect has always been at the center of attention in psychological studies. For
decades, researchers have investigated negative emotions such as fear, stress, anxiety, and
trauma with the aim of reducing pathological responses and promoting human coping
L. Hamama
T. Ronen
K. Shachar
M. Rosenbaum
The Renata Adler Memorial Research Center for Child Welfare and Protection, Tel-Aviv University,
Ramat Aviv, Israel

L. Hamama (&)
T. Ronen
K. Shachar

Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel-Aviv University, 69978 Ramat Aviv, Israel
e-mail: hamama@post.tau.ac.il

M. Rosenbaum
Department of Psychology, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel

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(Calhoun and Teseschi 2006; Foa et al. 2000; Fonagy et al. 2002; Lazarus and Folkman
1984). During recent years, the observation that positive emotions co-occur with negative
ones caused a major shift from research focusing on distress symptoms to research
focusing on the ability to maintain subjective well-being by attaining satisfaction from life
and by expressing positive affect (Folkman 2008). This accentuation of positive emotion
coincides with the general human wish to lead more productive and fulfilling lives, and to
identify and nurture talents (Joseph and Linley 2006).
Increasing positivity not only bolsters coping and happiness (Ben-Shahar 2007) and
aims to achieve the subjective well-being necessary for positive functioning (Keyes et al.
2008) but also reduces negativity and pathology (Joseph and Linley 2006), lowers peoples
focus on negative emotions and can put peoples minds at ease (Fredrikson et al. 2003),
and decreases distress such as depression (Seligman 2002; Seligman et al. 2005). Keyes
(2002, 2005, 2006) underscored that research on positive mental well-being should com-
bine three aspects: emotional well-being (positive affect, happiness, life satisfaction, and so
forth), psychological well-being (self-acceptance, mastery, self-control, and so on), and
social well-being (social skills, social interactions, social status, social acceptance, and
more). All three aspects will be part of the present study.
Positive affect has been studied both as a cause and as an outcome of human func-
tioning. Both Folkman (2008) and Fredrikson et al. (2003) emphasized that positive affect
plays an important role in coping with stressful situations. Although it is not yet clear how
it happens, researchers agree that positive emotions serve as active ingredients in superior
coping and thriving despite adversity. The present study relates to positive affect as part of
subjective well-being (along with satisfaction from life), while linking subjective well-
being to low degree of stress. We were interested in learning whether the stress responses
of teachers in special education schools, who experience high levels of stress at work,
result in decreases in their positive affect and satisfaction from life. Or, in other words, we
sought to examine whether teachers could maintain their subjective well-being despite the
stress they experience.

1 The Stress of Teaching for Special Education Teachers

A major aspect of positive well-being involves individuals work lives, inasmuch as work
encompasses a major life role in adulthood, and a way to predict adult adjustment to life.
Organizational theories emphasize the importance of helping employees increase their
satisfaction and subjective well-being in order to reduce burnout and dropout in the face of
work stress. Employees positive affect and subjective well-being were found to predict
stronger dedication and loyalty to their jobs, and lower burnout and quitting rates (Rhoades
and Eisenberger 2002).
Teaching in general is viewed as a very high-stress profession (Greenglass et al. 1997;
Pascual et al. 2003; Travers and Cooper 1993; Van der Doef and Maes 2002), and special
education settings in particular may carry noxious stressors leading to high levels of
distress and burnout (Greenglass et al. 1997; Travers and Cooper 1993). The main stress
factor in teaching is students problematic disciplinary behavior, and teachers direct
encounter with it, especially during activities in the classroom (Greenglass et al. 1997;
Humphrey and Humphrey 1981; Milstein et al. 1984; Pascual et al. 2003; Travers and
Cooper 1993; Van der Doef and Maes 2002).
The present study examined teachers in special education schools for children aged
1318 years who dropped out of or were expelled from other educational day or residential

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frameworks in the community. These youngsters exhibit many behavioral, emotional, and
scholastic problems including disobedience, disregard of rules and limits, verbal and
physical violence, vandalism, crime, scholastic gaps, lack of academic motivation, long-
neglected learning difficulties, and attention deficit disorders. The goal of these special
schools is to retain these teenagers within the education system, and to channel them
toward normal functioning where possible by imparting them with vocational, scholastic,
and social skills, in order to prevent them from turning to crime, vagrancy, and alcohol and
drug addiction (Cohen-Navot and Givon 1998).
Special education settings like the ones studied here are rich in studentteacher
encounters that subject the teaching staff to ongoing stress and emotional overload as part
of their intensive daily routine. Such intensive work may thus impair teachers sense of
well-being, emotionally, behaviorally, and physically (Travers and Cooper 1993). Stress in
the present study was examined using the Teachers Stress Questionnaire (Oshrat 1989),
which assessed not the emotional aspect of stress but rather the extent to which teachers
felt burdened by too much work, student behavioral problems, parental demands, and
suffering due to the workplaces physical conditions.

2 The Links Between Stress and Subjective Well-Being

Our first research question investigated the links between special education teachers stress
and the three components of their subjective well-being. Teachers high subjective well-
being in the present study was defined as high positive affect, low negative affect, and high
life satisfaction. Keyes (2002) viewed affect and life satisfaction as belonging to the same
category of emotional well-being, whereas other researchers (Diener 1984; Diener et al.
1999; Kahneman 1999) differentiated the emotional component of positive affect from the
cognitive component of life satisfaction. Based on empirical outcomes showing that stress
and pain increase negative affect (e.g., Watson and Clark 1994), we assumed that teachers
who experienced stress or overburden at work would present not only higher levels of
negative emotion but also lower levels of positive emotion and satisfaction from life (see
illustration in Fig. 1).
Positive emotions encompass an important part of human functioning (Watson et al.
1988) and a fundamental facet of human life quality that includes happiness, satisfaction,
and morale (Diener 1984; Keyes 2006; Wilson and Gullone 1999). Positive affects include
happiness, satisfaction, joy, energy, relaxation, and so on (Keyes 2006). People with high
levels of positive affect lead a healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally (Keyes 2006;
Keyes et al. 2008). They think more actively and openly, have a greater sense of control
over their lives, cope better with stressful situations, and set themselves goals in life
(Bender 1997; Keyes and Ryff 2000; Veenhoven 1991). According to Frederickson (1998,
2009), positive emotions broaden momentary thought-action repertoires, resulting in a
higher likelihood of pursuing a wider range of thoughts and actions. In other words, when
people feel positive emotions, they are able to see more possibilities. This broadening
effect is essentially the opposite of what happens when people experience negative emo-
tions (Magyar-Moe 2009). When people experience negative affect, they see less possi-
bility and narrow their attention (Magyar-Moe 2009). Negative affects include sorrow,
fear, worry, anger, disgust, hate, and guilt (Bradburn 1969; Fredrickson 2009; Seligman
et al. 2005). According to Frederickson (1998), negative emotions narrow momentary
thought-action repertoires.

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Fig. 1 Outcomes regarding links Self-control

between study variables for
special education teachers

Positive affect

Negative affect
Stress

Life satisfaction

Peer Therapeutic Principal

Support Staff support support

Beyond the two affective components of teachers subjective well-being, the present
study also examined the third componentlife satisfaction. Life satisfaction relates to the
cognitive evaluation, judgment, or declaration that individuals make about the quality of
their lives, including expectations, comparisons to others, and other cultural aspects
(Diener et al. 1985, 1999; Keyes 2006; Shmotkin and Lomranz 1998). Ones level of
satisfaction depends on the size of the perceived gap between ones current subjective
situation and the standards that one sets (Kahneman 1999).
Our second research question sought to examine the different ways in which negative
and positive affects may be linked to teachers stress, and we aimed to determine whether
reduction of one would be linked to an increase in the other. Although positive affect has
often been studied as part of a positivenegative continuum (Watson et al. 1988) and both
types of affect are considered to be related to emotional regulation (Fredrickson 2009),
debates exist regarding the links between the two types of affect. Contradictory research
outcomes have emerged regarding the question of whether positive affects are independent
from negative affects and to what extent stress and pain that increase negative affect also
decrease positive affect (Watson and Clark 1994; Zautra et al. 2005). Reports of negative
affect were found to correlate with reports of stress symptoms, whereas reports of positive
affect correlated with higher levels of self-confidence and satisfaction from life and with a
richer social life (Bood et al. 2004). Shmotkin and Lomranz (1998) emphasized that
distress is determined not by ones experience of negative emotion but rather by ones
inability to express more positive emotion than negative emotion. Indeed, studies have
shown that high rates of subjective well-being occur when low rates of negative emotion
coincide with high rates of positive emotion (Bradburn 1969; Shmotkin and Lomranz
1998). This capacity to experience more positive than negative emotion was conceived as
the ability to flourish (Fredrickson and Losada 2005). In the present study, in line with
Zautra et al. (2000, 2005) claim that in times of stress the link between positive and
negative affect rises, we expected the link between negative and positive affect to be
stronger among teachers experiencing high stress levels.

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Teachers Stress, Positive and Negative Affect, and Life Satisfaction 735

3 The Links between Stress, Subjective Well-Being, and Coping Resources

Our third research question sought to uncover what coping resources might help teachers
express more positive affect and life satisfaction and less negative affect, despite the work
stress they experience. Based on empirical outcomes regarding the role of coping mecha-
nisms in eliciting subjective well-being, the present study focused on two coping resources:
self-control, which is considered an aspect of psychological well-being (Keyes 2002, 2005,
2006), and organizational and social support, which is seen as an aspect of social well-being
(Biswas-Diener and Dean 2007; Keyes 2002; Rhoades and Eisenberger 2002).
Self-control is a goal-directed behavior (Rosenbaum 1990) comprising ones ability for
self-observation, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement (Ronen 1997, 2003). Rosenbaum
(1998) emphasized self-control as a set of goal-directed skills that enable human beings to
act upon their aims; to overcome difficulties relating to thoughts, emotions, and behaviors;
to delay gratification; and to cope with distress. Individuals activate self-control when they
sense an obstacle to a specific goal and wish to learn new, as opposed to accustomed,
behaviors (Rosenbaum 1980, 1990, 1998, 2000). People who do not possess these
resources do not succeed in coping effectively with stressful situations (Rosenbaum 1990;
Sinha et al. 2002). Indeed, human beings come into the world with a passion for control,
and if they lose their ability to control things they become unhappy, hopeless, and
depressed. The desire to control is so powerful, and the feeling of control so rewarding, that
people often act as though they can control the uncontrollable (Gilbert 2005). In the present
study, we expected that self-control would contribute to increases in positive affect and life
satisfaction (see Fig. 1).
The second coping resource at focus in the present study, social support, encompasses
supportive personal, social, and familial relationships (Biswas-Diener and Dean 2007; Keyes
2006; Keyes and Ryff 2000; Ronen and Seeman 2007; Sarason et al. 1990). Caplan and
Killilea (1976) defined social support as ongoing social interactions between individuals and
groups with similar values, which can be relied on for mental encouragement, feedback, help,
and material resources. Social support is an external coping resource (Antonovsky 1979;
Lazarus and Folkman 1984; Sinha et al. 2002) that researchers have linked with mental and
psychological health in general (Cobb 1976; Cohen and Wills 1985; Winefield et al. 1992)
and with well-being and happiness feelings in particular (Carstensen 1996). Feeling support
from others boosts ones sense of value, self-efficacy, and self-evaluation (Cohen and Wills
1985). Social support influences the person by providing acceptance, belonging, stability, and
recognition of self-worth (Cobb 1976; Cohen and Wills 1985; House 1981).
House (1981) distinguished formal from informal sources of social support. Informal
sources include personal relationships in the workplace and home, like friends, colleagues,
and family members. Formal support sources generally include large bureaucratic systems
that provide support services, like schools, welfare services, legal advice departments, and
medical delivery agencies. Organizational theories have emphasized the different sources
of social support in increasing employees subjective well-being. Perceived organizational
support combines the general feeling of having support from peers at work, as well as
receiving the support of direct supervisors and top management (Rhoades and Eisenberger
2002). Supervisors and managers support may help employees solve problems and feel
that the organization cares, whereas peer support may help employees feel good and
develop a sense of sharing and joy at work.
According to House (1981), social support is most effective when relevant to the
situation or environment where the stressful experience occurs. Thus, family support is
most effective at easing stressors at home, and work support is most effective at easing

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work-related stressors. Studies have shown that social support in the work environment
reduces workers sense of stress and strengthens their ability to cope (Drory and Shamir
1988; House 1981; Pines et al. 1981). When working under stress, social support can help
to develop a sense of self-efficacy, coping, and competence (Folkman and Lazarus 1980),
which all contribute to the workers sense of well-being. Organizational theories empha-
size the fact that support at work influences employees affective reactions to their job,
including job satisfaction and positive mood (Rhoades and Eisenberger 2002; Witt 1991).
Specifically with regard to teachers, Greenglass et al. (1997) found that teachers who
reported high levels of support from work colleagues evaluated themselves as more sat-
isfied and whole with regard to their lives. They explained that support from people of an
equal status and similar worldview creates a greater sense of control in work situations.
Coinciding with the various social support types that the workplace provides, in the present
study we used Houses (1981) three-subscale questionnaire that taps colleagues support at
work (referring to other teachers), therapeutic staffs support (referring to psychologists, social
workers, or counselors who directly supervise the teachers), and the school principals support
(referring to management). Although we studied all three types of work support (peer, advisory/
therapeutic, and managerial), our study focused mainly on colleagues support in light of the
aforementioned research pinpointing peers as the most important source of support for
increasing positive affect. Based on the above, we expected that social support (especially peer
support) would contribute to increases in positive affect and life satisfaction (see Fig. 1).
Our fourth research question examined the moderating role of both coping resources
self-control and social supportat times of stress. Studies have shown that self-control
moderates the link between distress and subjective well-being in cases of illness (Hamama
et al. 2008), stress and fears (Ronen and Seeman 2007), and aggressive behavior [Ronen
and Rosenbaum 2010; Rosenbaum and Ronen (in press)]. The availability of social support
has also been shown to moderate or buffer the negative impact of stress on the individual
(Caplan and Killilea 1976; Cobb 1976; Cohen and Wills 1985; Kahn and Byosiere 1992;
Natvig et al. 2003; Winefield et al. 1992). The moderating influence of social support was
manifested in individuals less threatening evaluations of stressful situations, increased
perceived effectiveness of their resources for coping with those situations, and better direct
solutions for the problems they face (Cohen and McKay 1984; House 1981).
In a study investigating these two coping resources, conducted in Israel before the
United States attacked Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War (Ronen and Seeman 2007), adolescents
self-control skills and social support, jointly and separately, were found to moderate the
link between their fear of war and their subjective well-being. That is, those adolescents
with higher self-control and those with higher social support demonstrated higher positive
affect and lower negative affect as well as higher overall life satisfaction compared to
adolescents who lacked these resources.
In the present study, we expected both self-control and social support to moderate the
link between teachers stress and subjective well-being. Thus, among teachers with higher
levels of self-control and higher levels of social support, we predicted a higher level of
subjective well-being despite the work stress they experienced.

4 Present Study Hypotheses

1. Links will emerge between stress and the three components of subjective well-being:
Stress will correlate positively with negative affect and will correlate negatively with
positive affect and with life satisfaction.

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2. A stronger link between positive and negative affect will emerge for teachers with
higher levels of stress than for teachers with lower levels of stress.
3. Both coping resources will reveal links with positive affect: Teachers with higher
levels of self-control and higher levels of social support (especially peer support) will
report higher levels of positive affect and higher levels of life satisfaction.
4. Both coping resources (self-control and social support) will moderate the links
between teachers stress and the two positive components of subjective well-being
(positive affect and life satisfaction): Among teachers with higher levels of stress, those
who have higher levels of social support (especially peer support) and those who have
higher levels of self-control skills will report higher levels of positive affect and life
satisfaction.

5 Method

5.1 Participants

The sample comprised 125 teachers (70 academic, 55 vocational; 46 males36.8 %; 79

females63.2 %) from 12 special education schools in central Israel. Their ages ranged
from 19 to 64 years (M = 45, SD = 4.34). Eighty percent of the teachers (n = 100)
worked full-time, and 20 % (n = 25) worked part-time. Regarding education, 76 % of
teachers had studied at institutions of higher learning (B.A., M.A.), 15.2 % in other edu-
cational institutions (colleges), 8.8 % had not received higher education. Years of expe-
rience teaching ranged from 1 to 40 years (M = 17.5, SD = 4.52). Years teaching at the
current schools ranged from 1 to 34 years (M = 9.68, SD = 2.37).

5.2 Instruments

This study utilized six questionnaires. Mean scores, ranges, and reliabilities are presented
in Table 1.
1. Demographic questionnaire This questionnaire collected details about the teachers
age, sex, marital status and children, education, years of teaching experience altogether and
at the current school, and teaching specialization.
2. Positive and negative affect schedulePANAS (Watson et al. 1988) This 20-item
questionnaire assessed the positive affects (10 items; e.g., strong, inspired) and negative
affects (10 items; e.g., worried, guilty) experienced by the participant in the last month.
Participants rated their feelings on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (Hardly at all or not at
all) to 5 (To a great extent). In the present study, scores ranged from 18 to 50 for the
positive affect subscale and from 10 to 38 for the negative affect subscale. Reliabilities
(Cronbach alphas) for the original scale were .89 for positive affect and .92 for negative
affect (Watson et al., 1988). Alphas for the longstanding Hebrew version of this scale in
many previous studies ranged from .80 to .91 and in the present study were .81 for positive
affect and .86 for negative affect.
3. Life satisfaction scaleSWLS (Diener et al. 1985) This 5-item questionnaire assessed
participants level of satisfaction from life based on general appraisals of their lives (e.g.,
I am satisfied with my life). Participants responded on a 7-point scale from 1 (Oppose to
a great extent) to 7 (Agree to a great extent), yielding a final score with a possible range

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Table 1 Means, standard deviations, potential and present ranges, and reliabilities
Teacher variables n M SD Range a

Potential Present

Subjective well-being
Positive affect 124 39.35 5.39 550 1850 .81
Negative affect 124 20.96 6.82 550 1038 .86
Satisfaction of life 125 27.49 4.25 535 1035 .79
Self-control 122 35.18 22.03 -108 ? 108 -10 ? 101 .81
Social support
Peer support 125 38.56 8.84 1050 1250 .94
Therapeutic support 125 40.7 7.35 1050 1350 .92
Manager support 125 38.46 9.58 1050 1050 .95
General support 125 117.71 22.25 30150 3950 .96
Stress in teaching 124 2.69 .66 15 14 .94

between 5 and 35 (scores ranged from 10 to 35 in the present study). Scores could be
analyzed in absolute or relative terms. Cronbach alpha for reliability was .84 in Diener
et al. (1985), ranged from .75 to .83 in numerous previous studies using the Hebrew
version, and was .79 in the present study.
4. Self-control scaleSCS (Rosenbaum 1980) This 36-item self-report questionnaire
was designed to evaluate the extent to which people tend to utilize self-control methods to
cope with stressful situations. Participants responded on a 6-point scale ranging from -3
(Very uncharacteristic of me) to ?3 (Very characteristic of me), and participants score
was the sum of responses to all items. The questionnaire examined four content areas:
(a) use of cognitions and internal instructions to cope with unpleasant emotional and
physiological reactions, such as anxiety, pain, and depression (e.g., When I get headaches
at school, I find it very difficult to continue participating at school and to forget the pain);
(b) application of problem-solving strategies like defining the problem, evaluating alter-
natives, planning, and examining outcomes (e.g., When I have problems with my friends,
I try to think and plan ways to solve them); (c) ability to postpone immediate gratification
(e.g., When I get hungry and I dont have the possibility of getting food, I try not to think
about my hunger and to imagine how full my belly is); and (d) global belief in ones
ability to regulate internal events (e.g., I cant stop thinking about mistakes I made in the
past). Scores in the present study ranged from -10 to 101. The original version of this
scale was in Hebrew, and it was later translated to many other languages. Cronbach alpha
for reliability was .87 in Rosenbaum (1980) and .81 in the present study.
5. Employee social support questionnaire This 10-item questionnaire was developed for
the current study based on House (1981) and Kirshner-Cohen (1998). Participants com-
pleted the items for each of the three support sources at work: colleagues (teachers), the
therapeutic staff (psychologists, social workers, counselors who supervise the teachers),
and the principal (school management). The items related to four types of support (House
1981): (a) instrumental (e.g., To what extent are people willing to replace you temporarily
in your job, when necessary?); (b) appraisal (e.g., To what extent is appraisal conveyed
as to your ability to cope with difficulties that arise at work?); (c) emotional, (e.g., To
what extent do you receive encouragement when faced with difficulties?); and

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(d) informative (e.g., To what extent do you receive advice that can assist you in coping
with difficulties at work?). Participants responded on a 5-point scale from 1 (Low level of
support) to 5 (High level of support), yielding a mean social support score for the 10 items
for each of the three support sources and a mean overall score for the 30 items. In the
present study, peers support scores ranged from 10 to 50 (a = .94), therapeutic staffs
support scores ranged from 13 to 50 (a = .92), principals support ranged from 10 to 50
(a = .95), and scores for the total scale ranged from 39 to 150 (a = .96).
6. Teachers stress questionnaire (Oshrat 1989) This 37-item questionnaire assessed five
areas of stressors in the teachers work: (a) burdens in teaching (e.g., frequent visits by the
supervisor); (b) relationship with students (e.g., dealing with students discipline
problems); (c) relationship with students parents (e.g., Encountering parents who blame
the teacher for their childrens failure); (d) relationship with colleagues (e.g., unstable
relationships among teaching staff); and (e) physical conditions (e.g., noise that pene-
trates the classroom and disturbs concentration). Participants responded on a 5-point scale
ranging from 1 (Very low level stressor) to 5 (Very high level stressor), yielding an overall
mean stress score for all items on the scale, where a high score indicated a higher level of
stress. Cronbach alpha for internal reliability was .87 in Oshrat (1989) and .94 in the
present study, with scores ranging from 1 to 4.

5.3 Procedure

Israel has many special education schools but very few junior high and high schools for
adolescents who dropped out of or were expelled from other educational day or residential
frameworks in the community. We obtained a list of 12 such schools in central Israel (Tel
Aviv district) from the two national government ministries (Welfare and Education) that
are jointly responsible for special education settings targeting junior high and high school
dropouts/expellees. We approached all 12 schools. Three kinds of ethical approval were
obtained for the study: from the Tel-Aviv University ethical committee; from the Chief
Scientist Office of the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Youth Rehabilitation Services
Administration; and then from the 12 school principals, who agreed to dissemination of the
teacher questionnaires.
The third author administered the questionnaire sets at each schools weekly staff
meeting, to all teachers who attended the meeting that day. All except 3 teachers at one
staff meeting in one school willingly agreed to cooperate and complete the questionnaire
set. Completion lasted 3040 min. Teachers received an explanation of the study aims and
reassurance of anonymity, confidentiality, and use of their responses solely for the pur-
poses of the research.

6 Results

Table 2 presents Pearson correlations between all the study variables. As predicted, a
significant positive correlation emerged between teachers appraisal of work stress and
their negative affect (r = .30, p \ .001), but contrary to our prediction, stress did not relate
to significant decreases in positive affect or in life satisfaction. Thus, as can be seen,
Hypothesis 1 was partially supported. Positive affect was positively correlated with life
satisfaction (r = .30, p \ .001), with self-control (r = .23, p \ .001), and with all the
components of social support at work: peer support (r = .20, p \ .05), therapeutic staff

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Table 2 Intercorrelations (Pearson) between the study variables (N = 125)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1 Positive affect
2 Negative affect -.20*
3 Life satisfaction .30*** -.20*
4 Self-control .23** -.16 .15
5 Peer support .20* -.10 .05 .15
6 Therapeutic staff .25** -.83 .06 .26** .68***
support
7 Principal support .23** -.13 .04 .07 .55*** .64***
8 Overall support .26** -.12 .05 .17 .86*** .88*** .86***
9 Stress in teaching .09 .30*** -.02 -.07 .04 .04 -.10 -.01

* p \ .05; ** p \ .01; *** p \ .001

support (r = .25, p \ .01), and principal support (r = .23, p \ .01). Life satisfaction was
also negatively correlated with negative affect (r = -.20, p \ .05).
To examine Hypothesis 2, one-way analyses of variance were conducted while dividing
the teachers into higher and lower stress groups (using the median 2.67 as a cutoff score),
with negative and positive affect as the dependent variables. No significant gap emerged
between the higher and lower stress groups for positive affect (Higher stress: M = 39.32,
SD = 5.65, n = 62; Lower stress: M = 39.41, SD = 39.41, n = 61). However, a signif-
icant gap did emerge for negative affect, F (1, 121) = 8.81, p \ .001. Teachers from the
lower stress group (n = 61) reported significantly lower negative affect (M = 19.1,
SD = 6.23) as compared with teachers from the higher stress group (M = 22.61, n = 62,
SD = 6.88). Pearson correlations conducted for negative and positive affect among the
higher and lower stress groups revealed a non-significant link between negative and
positive affect in the lower stress group but a significant negative correlation, as expected,
within the higher stress group (r = -.27, p \ .05). Thus, the second hypothesis was
supported. The higher stress group of teachers reported a higher rate of negative affect and
demonstrated a higher, significant correlation between negative and positive affect.
The third hypothesisthat both coping resources would link positively with subjective
well-beingfound full support with regard to positive affect. As seen in Table 2, positive
affect correlated positively with self-control and with all the subscales of social support. As
for life satisfaction, the hypothesis was not supported; no significant correlations emerged
between the two coping resources and life satisfaction. Further partial support for this
hypothesis can be found in the next section regarding the regression analyses.

6.1 Regression Analyses

To examine the fourth hypothesis regarding the possible role played by teachers coping
resources in moderating the link between stress and subjective well-being, we next con-
ducted three sets of stepwise regression analyses (see Tables 3 through 5). In as much as
the social support scale comprised three independent subscales (peer support, therapeutic
staff support, and principal support), and because we were interested in learning the unique
role of each, we conducted three sets of stepwise regression analyses for each of the
dependent variables (i.e., for the components of subjective well-being), one for each of the
three sources of workplace support.

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6.2 Positive Affect as the Dependent Variable

In the set of three stepwise regression analyses with positive affect as the dependent
variable, each analysis inserted only one of the three sources of workplace supportpeer
support, therapeutic support, or principal support (see Table 3). In all three regressions, sex
and years of teaching were entered in the first step as control variables. In the second step
for all three regressions, the following were entered as independent variables: stress, self-
control, one of the social support subscales (peer, therapeutic staff, or principal), negative
affect, and life satisfaction. Findings showed that neither years of teaching nor sex con-
tributed to the variance in positive affect. However, each of the dependent variables
contributed to the explained variance of positive affect: stress, self-control, and the social
support subscales. As hypothesized, self-control contributed significantly to the explana-
tion of the variance for positive affect in two out of the three analyses, i.e., in the
regressions that included peer support (self-control: b = .173, p \ .05) and principal
support (b = .174, p \ .05). Each of the social support subscales contributed significantly
to positive affect (peer support: b = .177, p \ .05; therapeutic staff support: b = .181,
p \ .05; and principal support: b = .206, p \ .05). Life satisfaction contributed to positive
affect for two out of the three subscales of social support (for peer support: b = .251,
p \ .05; for principal support: b = -.235, p \ .01). Negative affect contributed to the
variance only in the regression that included peer support (b = -.183, p \ .05). Thus,
both self-control and social support contributed the explanation of positive affect
(Hypothesis 3).
In the third step, we inserted all the possible interactions relating to the two coping
resources of self-control and social support. A significant interaction emerged for
stress 9 peer support (b = .213, p \ .05). Thus, peer support moderates the link between
positive affect and stress. To understand the source of the interactions, we divided the

Table 3 Three stepwise regressions for positive affect, including each of the work support subscales
separately
With peer support With therapeutic staff support With principal support

b R2D b R 2D b R2D

Step 1 .002 .002 .002

Years teaching -.045 -.001 .027
Sex -.014 -.009 .033
Step 2 .184** .192*** .202***
Stress .203* .159 .180*
Self-control .173* .140 .174*
Support:
Peers .177*
Therapeutic staff .181*
Principal .206*
Negative affect -.183* -.150 -.141
Life satisfaction .251* .238 -.235**
Step 3 (Interaction) .041***
Peer support 9 Stress .213*
* p \ .05; ** p \ .01; *** p \ .001

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742 L. Hamama et al.

teachers into groups of higher and lower peer support (using the median of 40 as the cutoff
score). Figure 2 shows the interaction, pinpointing that among the group of teachers with
lower peer support, higher stress did not significantly correlate with decreased positive
affect, whereas higher peer support served to moderate the link between stress and positive
affect. This indicates that even at times of high stress, when teachers have stronger peer
support they report higher positive affect.
Thus, regarding positive affect the fourth hypothesis was partially supported. Both self-
control and social support contributed to the prediction of positive affect. However, only
peer support moderated the link between stress and positive affect as predicted (see Fig. 2).
Self-control, therapeutic staff support, and principal support did not play a moderating role
for the link between stress and positive affect.

6.3 Life Satisfaction as the Dependent Variable

The second set of stepwise regression analyses was conducted with life satisfaction as the
dependent variable, for each of the three sources of workplace support (see Table 4). In all
three regressions, sex and years of teaching were entered in the first step as control
variables. In the second step for all three regressions, the following were entered as
independent variables: stress, self-control, one of the social support subscales (peer,
therapeutic staff, or principal), positive affect, and negative affect. Findings showed that
neither stress nor self-control contributed to life satisfaction. Among the support subscales,
only peer support contributed significantly to the explanation of life satisfaction (b =
-.033, p \ .05). Negative affect contributed to the variance only in the regression that
included peer support (b = -.196, p \ .05). Only positive affect contributed significantly
to life satisfaction in all three analyses (for peer support: b = .250; for therapeutic staff
support: b = .254; and for principal support: b = .254; all p \ .01). Thus, regression

Fig. 2 The moderating effect of 60

higher and lower peer support on Higher peer support
the link between stress and
positive affect Lower peer support

50
Positive affect

40

30

20
.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
Stress in teaching

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Teachers Stress, Positive and Negative Affect, and Life Satisfaction 743

Table 4 Three stepwise regressions for life satisfaction, including each of the work support subscales
separately
With peer support With therapeutic staff With principal
support support

b R2D b R2D b R2D

Step 1 .017 .017 .017

Years teaching .071 .086 .089
Sex .133 .114 .109
Step 2 .123** .123* .123*
Stress -.037 -.017 -.020
Self-control .100 .072 .066
Support
Peers -.033*
Therapeutic staff -.028
Principal -.024
Negative affect -.196* -.169 -.169
Positive affect .250** .254** .254**
Step 3 (Interactions) .040*
Peer support 9 Positive affect .208*
* p \ .05; ** p \ .01; *** p \ .001

analysis partially supported Hypothesis 3, only in relation to the contribution of peer

support to life satisfaction.
In the third step of this regression, we inserted all the possible interactions relating to the
two coping resourcesself-control and social support. A significant interaction emerged
only for peer support 9 positive affect (B = .02, b = .208, p \ .05), indicating that
among teachers with higher positive affect, those having a higher level of peer support
experienced a higher rate of life satisfaction (see Fig. 3). Thus, Hypothesis 4 was not
supported; self-control did not moderate the link between stress and life satisfaction. Peer
support did serve as a moderating variable, but not between stress and life satisfaction;
rather, it moderated the link between positive affect and life satisfaction.

6.4 Negative Affect as the Dependent Variable

The third set of stepwise regression analyses was conducted with negative affect as the
dependent variable, for each of the three sources of workplace support (see Table 5). In all
three regressions, sex and years of teaching were entered in the first step as control
variables. In the second step for all three regressions, the following were entered as
independent variables: stress, self-control, one of the social support subscales (peer,
therapeutic staff, or principal), positive affect, and life satisfaction. Findings showed that
stress contributed to the explanation of negative affect for all three social support subscales
(for peer support: b = .349, p \ .01; for therapeutic staff support: b = .292, p \ .01; and
for principal support: b = .321, p \ .001). Self-control, social support, and life satisfaction
did not contribute to the explanation of negative affect. Positive affect contributed to the
explanation of the variance in negative affect only in the regression that included peer
support (b = -.214, p \ .05). No interactions were significant.

123
744 L. Hamama et al.

Fig. 3 The moderating effect of 50

higher and lower peer support on Higher peer support
the link between positive affect
and life satisfaction Lower peer support

40

Life satisfaction 30

20

10
10 20 30 40 50 60
Positive affect

The summary of outcomes is illustrated in Fig. 1 presenting two different parts. The first
relates to the moderating effect of work colleagues support, as contributing to reduced
negative affect at times of work stress. The second part relates to the role of the two coping
resources, self-control and social support, especially peer support, in increasing positive
affect and life satisfaction among teachers in special education.

7 Discussion

Our study investigated how the stress of teaching in special education settings may affect
teachers subjective well-being (positive and negative affect and life satisfaction), and
especially how teachers coping resources of self-control and social support may moderate
the link between stress and subjective well-being. As expected, both self-control and social
support in general, and peer support in particular, contributed to increases in teachers
positive affect and life satisfaction. Contradictory to our prediction, self-control did not
moderate the link between stress and subjective well-being. Only peer support (as part of
the general social support) served to moderate the link between stress and positive affect.
These interesting outcomes relate to the different ways in which coping resources and
stress are linked to teachers subjective well-being.
Importantly, the present outcomes on a new population corroborated prior theory and
research asserting that different mechanisms underlie positive and negative affect (Fred-
rickson 2009; Zautra et al. 2005). Whereas the stress of teaching resulted in an increase in
negative affect among these special education teachers, it did not result in a decrease in
positive affect. In other words, despite their increased negative feelings of concern, fear,
anger, guilt, and so on at times of stress, these teachers were nonetheless able to continue to

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Teachers Stress, Positive and Negative Affect, and Life Satisfaction 745

Table 5 Three stepwise regressions for negative affect, including each of the work support subscales
separately
With peer support With therapeutic staff support With principal support
2 2
b RD b RD b R2D

Step 1 .009 .009 .009

Years teaching .033 .044 .054
Sex .083 .106 .068
Step 2 .162** .160** .162**
Stress .349** .292** .321***
Self-control -.070 -.016 -.046
Support:
Peers -.030
Therapeutic staff -.059
Principal -.049
Positive affect -.214* -.174 -.151
Life satisfaction -.166 -.130 -.135
* p \ .05; ** p \ .01; *** p \ .001

maintain positive feelings like happiness, strength, inspiration, satisfaction, joy, energy,
and relaxation. Also, our findings showed that both internal and external coping resour-
cesself-control and social support, respectivelycontributed to increases in teachers
positive affect (but not so much to decreases in negative affect). At the same time, of the
two coping resources, only social support moderated the link between teachers stress and
their positive affect.

7.1 Stress and Subjective Well-Being

Many studies have shown a significant correlation between stress and subjective well-being
(Natvig et al. 2003; Pascual et al. 2003; Torsheim and Wold 2001). Our findings coincide
with prior research suggesting that stress at work is associated mainly with unpleasant,
negative experiences such as anger, depression, and anxiety (Kyriacou 1980) However,
unlike Bood et al. (2004), we did not find an influence of stress on positive affect. We
found that special education teachers who rated themselves as experiencing higher levels
of stress in school also rated themselves as having higher levels of negative affect.
However, in contrast with our prediction, no changes in positive affect or life satisfaction
emerged under high stress.
Also, the present findings revealed a stronger link between positive and negative affect
among the higher stress group than among the lower stress group, thus lending support to
Zautra et al.s (2000) view that the link between positive and negative affect is negative
and intensifies at times of stress. These outcomes provide several indications that positive
affect and negative affect may not be located on two ends of a single spectrum but rather
may derive from different, distinct physiological mechanisms. Therefore, increasing
positive affect can promote coping and happiness but may not help in decreasing negative
affect (Fredrickson 2009). Likewise, eliminating negative affect does not result in
increasing positive affect. We will continue to discuss these distinctions between positive

123
746 L. Hamama et al.

and negative affect below while integrating their different links to personal and external
coping resources.

7.2 Self-Control and Subjective Well-Being

Regarding the personal coping resource of self-control, the current findings pinpointed its
contribution to higher positive affect but not to either higher life satisfaction or lower
negative affect. Teachers with higher levels of self-control rated themselves higher on
positive emotions.
Both positive and negative emotions are important for coping with stress (Folkman and
Moskowitz 2000); however, they might influence behavior in different ways. Thus, as seen
above, work-related stress was linked with teachers negative emotions but not positive
emotions, whereas self-control was linked with teachers positive emotions and satisfaction
from life, but not with negative emotions. That is, having self-control did not directly result
in reducing stress but rather was linked with an increase in positive emotions. Again, this
highlights the different mechanisms underlying negative and positive affects, as suggested
by Zautra et al. (2000, 2005). The important question is why self-control, as a coping skill,
did not help reduce stress. Hobfoll (1989) suggested that it takes time for people to learn
and use available resources for coping with stress. Perhaps these teachers stress levels
were not strong enough to necessitate using self-control to reduce it, or perhaps their
positive affect was sufficient to help them maintain well-being despite the stress they
experienced; thus, there was no need to apply various resources.
Another possible explanation may relate to prior research outcomes showing an
important link between self-control and social support (Ronen and Rosenbaum 2010;
Ronen and Seeman 2007). These researchers reported that in determining subjective well-
being, self-control was more important for those who did not receive social support. In the
present study, the influence of social support from teachers colleagues was strong, which
may have lowered teachers need for self-control. Another explanation deserving further
investigation is the possibility that by reporting stress, teachers may receive secondary
gains in the form of enhanced social support to help them cope. Such positive outcomes
could serve as reinforcement to report stress, thus encouraging higher scores on the stress
questionnaire. However, we do not currently have data to support this line of thought.

7.3 Peer Support at Work and Subjective Well-Being

This study pinpoints the importance of social support for teachers. The current findings
coincide with similar outcomes from prior studies on the correlation between social sup-
port at work and workers sense of well-being (Park et al. 2004), for teaching staff in
particular (Littrel et al. 1994; Pascual et al. 2003), as well as on the correlation between
teachers peer support and well-being (Greenglass et al. 1997). Ezer (2003) found that
overall social support at work was related to staff cohesion; also, both formal support (by
therapeutic staff) and informal support (by colleagues) influenced special education
teachers level of burnout and commitment to the organization.
An important finding of this study is the contribution of social support in general, and
peer support in particular, to all the variables. Peer support from other teachers, which may
take the form of instrumental, appraisal, emotional, and informative assistance, contributed
to our participants increased positive affect and increased life satisfaction. Also, it
moderated the link between stress and negative emotion. The current findings showed that
all aspects of social support at workfrom colleagues, from therapeutic staff, and from the

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Teachers Stress, Positive and Negative Affect, and Life Satisfaction 747

school principalwere strongly linked to the expression of positive affect. However, only
the component of peer support moderated the link between stress and positive affect.
Previous studies found that different supports render different influences on workers
general sense of well-being. Federman (2004) reported that the school principal support
measure did not contribute to well-being, whereas peer support and therapeutic staff
support did. Greenglass et al. (1997) revealed that peer support had a significant influence
on teachers depression and sense of success at work, which was not the case with school
principal support. Van der Doef and Maes (2002) showed that high levels of peer support at
work caused exhaustion and a sense of depression. The researchers based their explanation
for this on the possibility that people are motivated to work beyond their strengths and
capabilities, out of consideration for their peers, so as not to be a burden upon them.
Unlike prior research, in the current study all three sources of support seemed to
influence teachers positive affect. One possible explanation may be that the three sources
fulfill different roles: Colleagues provide mainly empathetic support; the therapeutic staff
primarily furnishes counseling and advice; and the school principal generally supplies
appraisal and feedback. More studies are needed to clarify the role of social support in
teachers subjective well-being. One possibility is to collect qualitative data to help pin-
point the different levels of stress and the different sources of assistance at times of need,
thus reducing the limitations of relying solely on self-reports. Also, both physiological and
behavioral data can be collected to learn about the possibility that different levels of stress
might be responsible for the outcomes.

7.4 The Different Mechanisms Underlying Positive and Negative Affect

Interestingly, the current study findings showed that increases in stress did not result in
decreased subjective well-being, and that self-control and social support as coping
resources did not contribute to a decrease in negative affect. Self-control contributed to
positive affect but did not reduce negative affect. Altogether, these findings suggest that
human beings need different types of help and different coping mechanisms when they are
in stress and when they are happy. Support is not a homogenous entity, but rather should be
adapted to the kind of help one needs in specific situations.
A possible explanation for these findings is based on Hobfolls (1989) conservation of
resources model. Hobfoll related to the environmental resource of social support as
complex, containing both personal and environmental components. The model assumes
that people consciously and unconsciously make use of the quality and quantity of
available resources. In a stressful situation, when one resource is under threat, they
compensate by using an alternative resource. That is to say, in accordance with the
conservation of resources model, teachers with low self-control will make more effective
use of the environmental resource of social support, and also teachers with low social
support will use the personal resource of self-control more successfully.
An additional explanation for these findings may be that individuals with a limited self-
control repertoire believe less in their ability and in their existing internal resources and are
therefore more dependent on the environment. The present study focused generally on
learning about the role of self-control and social support in attaining subjective well-being
among teachers. However, we did not collect specific details addressing either stress level
or individual needs. Future research would do well to investigate the underlying processes
explaining the current interactions. For example, we might learn that at low levels of stress,
negative affects rise, but high level of stress may also cause a decrease in positive affect
and life satisfaction. Or we might discover that at moderate levels of stress, peer support

123
748 L. Hamama et al.

furnishes the most effective help for teachers, but as stress rises there is also a need for
therapeutic staff or principal support, including concrete assistance.

8 Implications, Limitations, and Directions for Future Study

In conclusion, the findings of the present study indicate the combined, unique contribution
of teachers coping resources to their subjective well-being in a stressful work environ-
ment. The self-control and social support variables contributed to teachers sense of well-
being. Teachers personal resource of self-control skills contributed to positive affect,
whereas teachers environmental resource of social support in the workplace not only
contributed to their positive affect but also had a moderating effect on the link between
stress and positive affect. The link found between self-control and social support points to
the fact that one resource may help teachers attain the other and that both can be of
assistance in special education settings. The interactive correlation between self-control
and social support showed that teachers with fewer personal resources made better use of
their environmental resources, and vice versa: Teachers with fewer environmental
resources made better use of their personal ones.
This study is important on both theoretical and practical levels. Theoretically, it is
interesting to see the two different ways in which stress is linked to positive and negative
affect. Stress is directly linked to negative emotion; teachers with higher stress rates report
more negative feelings. At the same time, teachers positive resources (self-control as well
as social support) are directly linked to an increase in their positive emotions and satis-
faction from life. This outcome is of great importance because we can conclude that a lack
of stress will not increase positive affects; moreover, one can feel stressed yet still maintain
the ability to express positive emotions. It also pinpoints the importance of imparting
teachers with self-control skills and with social skills for gaining social support in order to
cope better with stress.
Practically, the study findings may promote the development of more effective indi-
vidual and group staff counseling programs for special education teachers, focusing on
imparting self-control skills and increasing social support networks, and their combined
influence. These programs will assist teachers in coping better with stressors at work and
with the student population. Effective intervention strategies that promote social support
and reduce stress levels should thus improve well-being (Natvig et al. 2003).
The present study has the following limitations. The first relates to the fact that the study
questionnaires were based on subjective self-reports. Although subjective well-being can
be assessed externally and objectively (according to criteria like wealth or income, edu-
cational attainment, occupational prestige, and health status), Keyes (2006) claimed that
the most important measure is an objective approach to internal and subjective well-being,
using a self-reported evaluation or declaration about life quality (Diener et al. 1999; Keyes
2002). However, as with most self-report questionnaires, the current responses may reflect
social desirability. It is, for instance, possible that the participants for this reason over-
estimated their capabilities to cope in stressful situations, and so forth. Another related
possibility is that the participants were unwilling to admit that they were stressed (since it
may indicate that they fail as teachers). Therefore, future studies need to use other methods
than self-reports such as peer ratings, performance measures of stress or possibly physi-
ological measures of stress.
The second limitation relates to the differential focus of some of the study tools. The
stress and social support questionnaires asked participants to specifically relate to their

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Teachers Stress, Positive and Negative Affect, and Life Satisfaction 749

situation at the workplace, whereas the self-control and well-being questionnaires asked
participants to relate to their situation in general. It is possible that in responding to the
questionnaires that examined well-being, the participants related to their well-being at
work and not to their well-being in general, as requested. Therefore, future studies should
investigate the specific and combined contribution of the self-control and social support
resources to well-being at different points in time and in different contexts.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dee B. Ankonina for her editorial
assistance.

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