Do preschool teachers in Southwest China need more mental health education? An online cross-sectional survey 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study intended to explore the current status of psychological problems of preschool teachers in Southwest China 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the association between mental health education and psychological problems and symptoms of psychopathology. A total of 614 preschool teachers from Southwest China were enrolled to complete the questionnaires of the Chinese Symptom Checklist (SCL-90). Notably, 60% of the respondents reported psychological distress with GSI T-scores ≥ 63, especially the high score was reported on obsessive-compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, and phobic anxiety. Although less than half of the respondents have received mental health education last year, the teachers who received the mental health education reported lower GSI T-scores(β = −1.303, 95% CI: −2.208, −0.397). The results demonstrated the significance of constructing the education of promoting mental health of preschool teachers, and enlightening government or managers of kindergartens to relieve the psychological problems of preschool teachers through mental health education, especially for those with the pressure of overtime. It is recommended that local governments or kindergartens should organize more mental health education for kindergarten teachers to improve their mental health as well as their teaching professionalism.