Effectiveness of group reality therapy on occupational stress and work-family conflict in female teachers in Yazd City

Abstract

Introduction: Teaching is considered one of the most stressful occupations. This issue is more complex for female teachers due to multitude of roles and occupational and family responsibilities, causing them to experience high levels of job stress and work-family conflict. Given that reality therapy is an effective approach in enhancing responsibility and managing challenges, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of group reality therapy on reducing job stress and improving work-family conflict in female high school teachers.

Materials and Methods: This research was conducted as a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and control group. The statistical population included all female teachers of secondary school level in district 2 of Yazd City in the academic year 2023-2024. Thirty teachers were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (15 participants each). The experimental group received 8 sessions of 60-minutes reality therapy, while the control group remained on a waiting list and received no training. Both groups were evaluated at pretest and posttest stages using the Job Stress Questionnaire of the United Kingdom Health and Safety Institute (1990) and the Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire of Net Mayer et al. (1996). Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 23 software and multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance.

Results: The results showed that reality therapy had a significant effect on reducing job stress and work-family conflict (p<01.0).

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that group reality therapy can effectively reduce job stress and work-family conflict in female teachers; therefore, it is recommended that this approach be used as an effective intervention to promote the mental health of female teachers.