Skip to main content
Log in

Faculty Stressors, Job Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress Among University Teachers in Hong Kong: The Role of Locus of Control

  • Published:
International Journal of Stress Management

Abstract

The study aimed at identifying the sources of stress, and investigating their effects on job satisfaction and psychological distress among 106 university teachers (86 males, 20 females) from four tertiary institutes in Hong Kong. Another purpose of the study was to examine the moderating effect of locus of control on stressor-strain relationships. A factor analysis of the faculty stressors revealed six factors: recognition, perceived organizational practices, factors intrinsic to teaching, financial inadequacy, home/work interface, and new challenge. A series of stepwise multiple regressions demonstrated that recognition, perceived organizational practices, and financial inadequacy were best predictors of job satisfaction, whereas perceived organizational practices and home/work interface were the best predictors of psychological distress. Further, external locus of control was associated with low job satisfaction and psychological distress. A series of hierarchical moderated regressions demonstrated a moderating effect of locus of control on some of the stressor-strain relationships.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Blix, A., Cruise, R., Mitchell, B., & Blix, G. (1994). Occupational stress among university teachers. Journal of Educational Research, 36 (2), 157–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. D., Bond, S., Gerndt, J., Krager, L., Krantz, B., Lutkin, M., & Prentice, D. (1986). Stress on campus: An interactional perspective. Research in Higher Education, 24 (1), 97–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1986). The satisfied faculty. Change, 18 (2), 31–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright, S., & Cooper, C. L. (1997). Managing Workplace Stress. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C. L., & Williams, S. (1996). Occupational Stress Indicator: Version 2. England, North Yorkshire: RAD Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. (1989). Locus of control and social support: Clarifiers of the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 19 (9), 772–788.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dua, J. K. (1994). Job stressors and their effects on physical health, emotional health, and job satisfaction in a university. Journal of Educational Administration, 32 (1), 59–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durham, J. (1992). Stress in Teaching (2nd Ed.). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, S. (1994). Stress in Academic Life: The Mental Assembly Line. Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganster, D. C., & Fusilier, M. R. (1989). Control in the workplace. In C. L. Cooper and I. T. Robertson (Eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1989 (pp. 235–280). Chichester, UK: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gmelch, W. H., Lovrich, N. P., & Wilke, P. K. (1984). Stress in academe: A national perspective. Research in Higher Education, 20, 477–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gmelch, W. H., Wilke, P. K., & Lovrich, N. P. (1986). Dimensions of stress among university faculty: Factor-analytic results from a national study. Research in Higher Education, 24 (3), 266–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagedorn, L. S. (1996). Wage equity and female faculty job satisfaction: The role of wage differentials in a job satisfaction causal model. Research in Higher Education, 37 (5), 569–598.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hensel, N. (1991). Realizing gender equality in higher education: The need to integrate work/family issues. Ashe-Eric higher education report no.2. Washington, D. C.: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jamal, M. (1999). Job stress, Type-A behavior, and well-being: A cross-cultural examination. International Journal of Stress Management, 6 (1), 57–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, J. D. (1989). Gender, pay, job satisfaction of faculty in journalism. Journalism Quarterly, 66 (2), 446–452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerlinger, F., & Pedhazer, F. (1973). Multiple Regression Analysis. New York: Horrowitz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Narayanan, L., Menon, S., & Spector, P. E. (1999). Stress in the workplace: A comparison of gender and occupation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20 (1), 63–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, J. A., Lapidus, R. S., & Chonko, L. B. (1997). Salespeople and stress: The moderating role of locus of control on work stressors and felt stress. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 5 (3), 93–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schonfeld, I. S. (1990). Psychological distress in a sample of teachers. The Journal of Psychology, 124 (3), 321–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharpley, C. F., Reynolds, R., Acosta, A., & Dua, J. K. (1996). The presence, nature and effects of job stress on physical and psychological health at a large Australian university. Journal of Educational Administration, 34 (4), 73–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siu, O. L., & Cooper, C. L. (1998). A study of occupational stress, job satisfaction and quitting intention in Hong Kong firms: The role of locus of control and organizational commitment. Stress Medicine, 14, 55–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siu, O. L., Lu, L., & Cooper, C. L. (1999). Managerial stress in Hong Kong and Taiwan: A comparative study. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 14 (1), 6–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E. (1988). Development of the Work Locus of Control Scale. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61, 335–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E.,. & O'Connell, B. J. (1994). The contribution of personality traits, negative affectivity, locus of control and Type A to the subsequent reports of job stressors and job strains. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 67, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, E. F., & Hollenbeck, J. R. (1989). Clarifying some controversial issues surrounding statistical procedures for detecting moderator variables: Empirical evidence and related matters. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 3–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, C. J., & Dey, E. L. (1998). Pushed to the margins: Sources of stress for African American college and university faculty. The Journal of Higher Education, 69 (3), 324–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorsen, E. J. (1996). Stress in academe: What bothers professors? Higher Education, 31 (4), 471–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, S., & Cooper, C. L. (1998). Measuring occupational stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3 (4), 306–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, T. H. (1989). The impact of job satisfaction on intention to change jobs among secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. Education Journal, 17, 176–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie, J. L. (1996). Karasek's model in the People's Republic of China: Effects of job demands, control and individual differences. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1594–1618.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leung, Tw., Siu, Ol. & Spector, P.E. Faculty Stressors, Job Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress Among University Teachers in Hong Kong: The Role of Locus of Control. International Journal of Stress Management 7, 121–138 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009584202196

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009584202196

Navigation