Mitigating Anxiety and Emotional Dysregulation in Physical Education Teachers: A Growth Mindset Intervention

Introduction and Objective: Physical education teachers encounter distinctive professional challenges—including physical demands, the management of group dynamics, and performance-related pressures—which can precipitate occupational anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and diminished mental vitality. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of an educational intervention grounded in Dweck’s (۲۰۰۶) growth mindset theory in alleviating anxiety, enhancing emotional regulation, and fostering mental vitality among this professional cohort.Research Methodology: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest, posttest, and two-month follow-up assessments, including a control group. The sample comprised ۳۰۳۰ male secondary school physical education teachers in Tabriz (۲۰۲۳), selected through purposive sampling and assigned to experimental and control groups (n=۱۵per group; mean age = ۳۸.۲years; mean teaching experience = ۸.۸ years). Instruments included the Beck Anxiety Inventory (α=۰.۸۷), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (α=۰.۸۹), and the Mental Vitality Questionnaire (α=۰.۸۶). The experimental group underwent a ۶-session growth mindset training intervention. Data were analyzed using mixed multivariate analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc test.Findings: The results demonstrated that the intervention significantly reduced anxiety (from ۴۲.۸۶to ۱۹.۵۳) and emotional dysregulation (from ۱۱۴.۵to ۶۶.۶۰), while significantly increasing mental vitality (from ۲۳.۶۶to ۳۱.۰۷۳) (p<۰.۰۰۱). Furthermore, these improvements remained stable during the follow-up period, with effect sizes (η۲) of ۰.۸۳for anxiety, ۰.۶۹for emotional dysregulation, and ۰.۴۳for mental vitality.Conclusion: These findings suggest that a growth mindset intervention represents an effective, low-cost, and sustainable strategy for mitigating burnout and enhancing mental health among physical education teachers. Therefore, integrating this program into in-service training is recommended. Such an initiative could not only elevate teaching quality by fostering more resilient and engaged educators but also indirectly contribute to a more supportive learning environment, potentially aiding in the prevention of mental health challenges for students.

کلیدواژه ها:

Growth Mindset ، Occupational Anxiety ، Emotional dysregulation ، mental vitality