Summary: | Teachers’ work-related health has worsened in Sweden, seen in the rising number of teachers who are stressed, unmotivated and that have left work or are on sick leave (The Swedish National Agency for Education, 2013; Månsson, 2008). The thesis’s aim was to explore the relation between health, personal coping and job stress. As proposed by Antonovsky (1979; 1987), sense of coherence (SOC) was used as an important individual approach for Salutogenesis; health maintenance. Health was measured as self-reported health and job stress according to the demand-control model (DCM) by Karasek (1979). Data came from the Teacher survey, a questionnaire part of a larger research project based at the Centre for Health and Equity Studies, Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, focused on school environment and health for pupils and teachers. The analytical sample consisted of teachers teaching 7-9th grade (n=1092), from both private and public schools. Results indicate an association for SOC and DCM independently with self-rated health, as well as a strong role for SOC in decreasing the odds of having less than good health due to psychosocial working conditions, especially for teachers who perceive their jobs as highly demanding.
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