Job Stress and Spiritual Well-Being as Correlates of Quality of Life Among K-12 Administrators in Seventh-day Adventist Schools in the North American Division
Authors:   ,   Andrews University, Chen John 
Published: September 2023

Problem and Purpose Research shows that K-12 administrators experience a great deal of stress. This is also true of Adventist principals (Ledesma, 2011). Some suggest improved spirituality and quality of life can alleviate or manage stress. This study examines the interrelationship between job stress, spiritual well-being, and quality of life among principals in SDA elementary and secondary schools. Conceptual Framework and Research Design Three major constructs guided this study: job stress, spiritual well-being, and quality of life. I theorized that higher stress would negatively correlate with quality of life and spiritual well-being. The literature shows that not all principals experience the same degree of stress or even the same factors influencing their stress levels. Stress can vary by school level, gender, age levels, and with varying amounts of experience both. I included these variables in my study. My goal was to fill a gap in the research on the interrelationship of job stress and spiritual well-being as correlates of quality of life among Adventist educational leaders in relationship to other contributing variables (gender, age, experience, etc.). While the research on stress shows that one of the effects could be an imbalance in personal and professional life, the result could also be a decrease in one's quality of life as well. Emails were sent to all K-12 administrators in North American Division Seventh-day Adventist schools asking them to complete the survey. I received 139 usable responses. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, path analysis, and regression analysis were used to analyze these results. Methods I theorized that higher stress would negatively correlate with quality of life but that spiritual well-being would improve quality of life. The literature shows that not all principals experience the same degree of stress or even the same factors influencing their stress levels. Because stress can vary by school level, gender, age levels, and with varying amounts of experience, these were included in my study. This study used online survey research instruments. To measure job stress I used the Occupational Stress Inventory Revised (OSI-R) to measure general. To measure spiritual well-being I used the Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWB) developed by Dr. Craig W. Ellison and Dr. R.F. Paloutzian. To measure and quality of life I used the Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI). Results Respondents reported experiencing stress rarely to frequently with scale means ranging from 2.36 for vocational strain to 2.50 for psychological strain. Both religious well-being and existential well-being appear to be positive (M=1.72 and M= 2.29, respectively. They reported being somewhat satisfied with quality of life (M=4.57) and reported it to be important (M=2.34). Female respondents reported significantly higher levels of stress on physical, psychological, and interpersonal stress than male principals. There were no gender differences in quality of life or spiritual well-being. Less experienced principals appear to experience more psychological, vocational, and interpersonal strain. More experienced principals, for the most part, seemed to be more satisfied with quality of life. Spiritual well-being was not related to years of administrative experience. Stress and existential well-being explain about 42% of the variance in satisfaction with quality of life. Existential well-being mediates the influence of stress on satisfaction with quality of life. I found significant group differences for gender on three subscales of stress. Females reported higher stress on physical, psychological, and interpersonal stress than male principals. I found no significant group differences for gender and spiritual well-being or gender and quality of life. The differences for males and females on religious well-being (p = .547) and males and females on existential well-being (p = .658) was also not statistically significant. The differences for males and females on quality of life importance (p = .859) and males and females on quality of life satisfaction (p = .105) were also not statistically significant. Discussions, Conclusions, and Recommendations Several findings stand out. First, the stress of SDA principals was moderate, the quality of life was also moderate, and the spiritual well-being was relatively high. This suggests that while Adventist principals report high levels of spiritual well-being and only moderate levels of stress, they only report moderate levels of quality of life. This may indicate that their work-life balance could be improved. Second, it was expected that spiritual well-being would play a moderating influence on stress. The data in my sample indicates it did not. One reason for this may be high spiritual well-being (low variability). Another reason could be the nature of working in the Adventist system. Most Adventist principals equate working for the church as a "mission." They do not necessarily believe having a high level of spiritual well-being will result in less job stress. Third, because female principals report significantly more stress than males, more support for these principals and more resources are necessary to address this aspect. Fourth; Job stress and spiritual well-being were significant predictors of Quality of Life satisfaction. However, job stress and spiritual well-being did not significantly predict Quality of Life importance. Vocational strain, Physical strain, and Existential well-being explained most of the variance in Quality of Life satisfaction. Several recommendations arise from this study. Principals need stress-management training and schools who train them and systems who employ them should provide stress-management training to all principals. This is especially important for those who report high levels of stress, which may be new administrators, female administrators and those in the years 1-5 of the principalship. Coaching, therapy, personnel training, and mentorship needs to be dedicated to help train, support, and retain these individuals willing to commit their time and talents to the role of being principals. More research is needed in this area, especially on SDA female principals stress and stress mitigation and management practices and their time on reported stress and quality of life. These could be qualitative or mixed-method study in order to pinpoint specific factors and dynamics in these groups or between these variables. This study did not confirm a common belief of previous research on spiritual well-being as helping to reduce the impact of stress on quality of life. More study of this relationship is needed.