Post-pandemic Psychological Well-Being Among Teachers for Children with Development Disabilities: The Role of Mindfulness and Resilience.
Among Chinese teachers of children with developmental disabilities, higher mindfulness and resilience unexpectedly linked to poorer post-pandemic psychological well-being.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team gave an online survey to teachers of children with developmental disabilities in China.
They asked how mindful, resilient, and mentally well the teachers felt after COVID-19.
The goal was to see if mindfulness and resilience protected teacher well-being.
What they found
Teachers who rated themselves higher in mindfulness and resilience also reported poorer psychological well-being.
Resilience acted as a bridge: mindfulness predicted resilience, which then predicted worse well-being.
The result ran opposite to common belief that these traits buffer stress.
How this fits with other research
Rayan et al. (2016) found a five-week mindfulness class lifted quality of life for parents of kids with ASD.
Suzuki et al. (2018) showed higher family resilience cut maternal distress.
The new teacher data point the opposite direction, creating an apparent contradiction.
Role difference explains the clash: mothers gain comfort from staying mindful and resilient, yet teachers may burn out when they try to stay strong while juggling extra pandemic duties.
Why it matters
If you coach teachers, do not assume that mindfulness or resilience slogans always help. Ask what extra burdens they carry. Pair any self-care training with real supports such as smaller class sizes, aide time, or mental-health days.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study focuses on the relationships between mindfulness, resilience, and post-pandemic psychological well-being among teachers of children with developmental disabilities in mainland China. Questionnaires on mindfulness, resilience, and post-pandemic psychological well-being were administered to 339 teachers of children with developmental disabilities. The results showed that mindfulness and resilience negatively predicted post-pandemic psychological well-being, while mindfulness positively predicted resilience. In addition, mindfulness predicted post-pandemic psychological well-being through direct and indirect pathways, with resilience mediating the latter. This study pioneers investigating the impact of resilience on the relationships between mindfulness and post-pandemic psychological well-being among teachers of children with developmental disabilities in the context of mainland China. The findings offer valuable insights for improving the post-pandemic psychological well-being of teachers of children with developmental disabilities.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.3390/ejihpe13010001