Attributions, affect, and adjustment in teachers: A process model

The present study examined the relationships between the dimensions underlying teachers’ attributions and their emotions regarding teaching outcomes (anger) and activities (enjoyment, anxiety), as well as psychological adjustment (burnout, job satisfaction), and behavioral intentions (to quit). A sample of 536 teachers completed online questionnaires that assessed their specific reported attribution for students’ poor performance, emotions and teacher outcomes (burnout, job satisfaction and intentions to quit). Results indicated that personally controllable attributions were the most adaptive in positively predicting positive emotions (enjoyment) and negatively predicting negative emotions (anxiety and anger). Similarly, attributions that were unstable in nature predicted better emotions and in turn had more adaptive effects on adjustment and behavior. Copyright © 2014 AERA.