Anxiety symptoms, psychological distress, and optimism in school staff: Testing associations with stressors and coping during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic

•Limited large studies on school staff or teachers during the second year of the pandemic.•Perceived risk of getting COVID-19 associated with poorer mental health.•When perceived risk was low, living with others reduced negative impact of stressors in female school staff.•Favorable health behaviours associated with better mental health in female school staff.•Reducing mental health symptoms is critical in early states of pandemic and beyond.