The role of cognitive flexibility in moderating the effect of school-related stress exposure

Educators are exposed to various stressful events as part of their ongoing work, including violence, sexual assaults, suicidal behavior, and loss or illness of students or their family members. Previous studies revealed an increased risk of developing PTSD symptoms in healthcare and supportive professionals exposed to repeated stress as part of their work. Cognitive fexibility might be a protective factor against the negative efect of such stress. The current study aimed to examine the interactive efects of school-related stress exposure and cognitive fexibility on the tendency to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the coping abilities of educators. One hundred and ffty educators (86.5% female; Mage = 43.08, Mteaching_experience = 12.90) volunteered to participate in this study. They completed questionnaires measuring levels of stress exposure, cognitive fexibility, coping ability, and PTSD symptoms. Analyses revealed that cognitive fexibility moderated the relationship between school-related stress exposure and both PTSD symptoms severity and maladaptive coping. Specifcally, whereas educators with low cognitive fexibility exhibited positive associations between continuous stress exposure and both levels of PTSD symptoms and maladaptive coping, no such association was found among educators with high cognitive fexibility. The results highlight the importance of cognitive fexibility as a protective factor against the harmful efects of possible stress exposure in school environments. Awareness of the crucial role of cognitive fexibility as a protective factor for educators can be a breakthrough in improving educators’ well-being and adaptive functioning.