Coping with Mental Health When Teaching Online during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic keeps taking hold of our daily lives in 2021. This study aims to analyze the effect of the pandemic on teachers from CamEd Business School. A literature review examined how levels of psychological distress are elevated during the pandemic. Teachers were highlighted as an at-risk group through various factors, and the paper discusses the effect of coping styles and resilience on psychological distress. The study measured psychological distress and deployed coping strategies of 17 respondents using the Perceived Stress Scale and Brief COPE, respectively. Statistical analysis showed similar levels of psychological distress in this sample as the pre-pandemic norm group of the PSS (M=14.23). Positive and Emotional Coping were used most often in this population and pre-pandemic norm groups (M=2.40, M=2.05). A significant positive correlation was found between Problem Solving and Psychological Distress, r(13) = .76, p = 0.01. There was no higher use of Avoidant coping styles than the pre-pandemic norm group (M=1.45). The study suggests that this population found resilience over time, helping to manage psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19; Psychological distress; Coping; Teachers; Online teaching