Cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between psychological violence and teacher burnout

Objective This study aimed to identify cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between psychological violence (PV) and burnout after two years of follow-up. Methods This is a longitudinal study involving 430 public school teachers from a city in southern Brazil. PV was defined as insults by students, humiliation or embarrassment by colleagues or superiors or threats by any member of the school. Burnout was measured using the emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey. Analyses were performed using structural equation models in R. Results Younger age ( β = − .167) and poor/fair relationship with students ( β = .275) had a direct effect on PV. Temporary employment ( β = − .111) and poor/fair perception of the number of students in the classroom ( β = .124) had a direct effect on EE. Cross-sectionally, PV showed a direct effect at both T0 and T1 on EE (T0: β = .435; T1: β = .334) and on DP (T0: β = .332; T1: β = .325). Longitudinally, PV at T0 did not have a significant direct effect on burnout at T1. However, indirect effects of PV on EE ( β = .459) and DP ( β = .428) at T1 were observed. Conclusions The effect of PV on burnout occurs in a short period of time. However, the long-term effect should be considered because there is a cumulative burden of exposure to violence over time.