Examining the economic burden and mental health distress among government school teachers in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study | BMC Psychology

This pioneering study examines the psychometric properties of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) specifically for school teachers while investigating psychological distress among government educators during Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis. Using a methodological approach combining Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to identify underlying structures and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for validation, researchers collected comprehensive data on demographics, economic adaptations, financial coping mechanisms, and psychological well-being.

Findings revealed that a significant majority of participating teachers reported insufficient monthly income to meet basic needs, forcing widespread lifestyle modifications. Specifically, teachers reduced expenditures on transportation (primary reduction), followed by cuts to entertainment, medicine, food, and communication services. The financial shortfall was substantial, with over half of the participants indicating they required an additional 15,000–20,000 LKR monthly to cover essential expenses. To address this income gap, teachers employed multiple financial coping strategies, including pursuing self-employment opportunities, borrowing money from various sources, pawning valuable possessions, and taking high-interest instant loans. The psychological impact of these economic pressures was severe, with approximately one-third of participants experiencing clinical levels of psychological distress. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified five significant predictors of severe distress among teachers: reduced income compared to pre-crisis levels, depleted savings, necessity to cut back on essential needs, inability to afford entertainment or social activities, and pressure to seek supplementary income sources. These findings highlight the profound intersection between economic hardship and psychological wellbeing in the teaching profession during national financial crises.

The current study identified a higher prevalence of psychological distress among teachers, aligning with recent research [9, 25,26,27]. However, our findings diverge from several studies that documented lower psychological distress rates in teacher populations [28, 29]. This discrepancy may stem from demographic variations, as participants in these contradictory studies predominantly represented high-income communities and diverse ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore, differences in working environments likely contributed to the elevated distress levels observed in our study.

The factor analysis in this study was conducted exclusively on responses from the Sinhala version of the questionnaire, as the Tamil-translated version received no responses. Psychometric analysis of the GHQ-12 revealed two distinct factors through exploratory factor analysis (EFA): Factor 1 (social dysfunction) and Factor 2 (depression and anxiety), which provided the best fit for the data. Together, these factors explained approximately 62% of the total variance, consistent with previous findings from the same population [30]. In this survey, both factors demonstrated strong validity with factor loadings exceeding 0.5, aligning with earlier evidence [30]. Items categorized under Factor 1 (social dysfunction) included’capable of making decisions,”playing a useful part in things,”able to concentrate,”enjoying day-to-day activities,”losing confidence,’and’thinking of oneself as worthless.’Factor 2 (depression and anxiety) comprised items such as’facing up to problems,”feeling reasonably happy,”feeling unhappy and depressed,”constantly under strain,”losing sleep over worry,’and’unable to overcome difficulties.’While our two-factor structure aligns with previous research by Lutke et al. [30], it differs from many other GHQ-12 studies that have proposed three-factor models [31]. For instance, Lee and Kim [32] identified sleep disturbance, social performance, and loss of confidence as key factors, while Anjara et al. [33] outlined distress, anxiety, and social function. These variations in factor structures likely stem from differences in sample characteristics and sizes, with many previous studies utilizing substantially larger samples than the current investigation.

In Sri Lanka, teachers earn approximately 50,000 LKR monthly, which is substantially below other government employees’salaries and roughly half of private-sector executive compensation [34]. This financial constraint became particularly acute during the data collection period, when inflation fluctuated between 6.4% and 6.5%, causing prices of some goods to triple [35]. Consequently, study participants have restricted essential purchases to remain within their limited budgets.

This study identified a positive correlation between reduced essential expenditures and increased psychological distress among participants. While establishing a direct causal relationship between these economic adaptations and participants’psychological traits remains challenging, evidence suggests that adapting to these restricted living conditions likely increases vulnerability to psychological problems. This aligns with previous findings among both the same target population [15] and broader populations [36]. Confirming this relationship definitively will require further research addressing multiple societal factors, including the specific working conditions of Sri Lankan teachers. Although our study did not explicitly examine how lifestyle modifications affect teachers’academic engagement, existing literature indicates that financial pressures significantly impact teachers’professional performance.

The present study revealed that over half of the participants engaged in additional income-generating activities. Seeking secondary employment represents a recognized resilience strategy among teachers confronting economic hardship [15]. Teachers typically pursue socially acceptable supplementary income sources for survival—in Zimbabwe, for instance, educators reported involvement in cross-border trading and gold mining, mirroring coping mechanisms employed by other citizens. In this investigation, most teachers selected education-related side jobs, particularly private tutoring [37]. However, the teaching profession encompasses multiple responsibilities including lesson delivery, assessment administration, and co-curricular activity facilitation. Despite spending considerable hours at school, teachers require additional time for curriculum preparation and personal obligations, as their time quality significantly impacts student educational outcomes [38, 39]. The widespread pursuit of supplementary income among teachers potentially compromises instructional quality, thereby affecting the nation’s overall educational standards. Consequently, future research should examine the implications of these supplementary activities, as such insights are essential for developing policies that simultaneously support teacher welfare and educational excellence.

The multivariate logistic regression analysis in this study identified that a loss of monthly income and lack of savings are strong predictors of increased psychological impairment among participants. This association is consistent with findings from studies on teachers in Thailand [40] and China [41]. Financial difficulties among teachers often result in reduced opportunities for entertainment and recreation [29]. The present study confirms that teachers have significantly curtailed their recreational activities due to economic pressures, contributing to heightened distress, as supported by recent evidence [42]. These findings highlight the importance of providing recreational opportunities for teachers to maintain a healthy work-life balance and improve mental health outcomes. In addition to cutting back on entertainment, a notable portion of the participants in this study reported reducing their daily essentials to manage their limited salary. Similar findings have been observed in other contexts, where teachers in Western countries also reported cutting costs on food, transportation, communication, and other necessities [43, 15]. The results of this study guarantee the application of policies and guidelines to encourage teachers’recreational activities to raise the standard of instruction.

Finally, the majority of study participants reported reducing their expenditures on protein sources, fruits, and vegetables. Economic downturns typically drive inflation, leading to disproportionate increases in food prices. Individuals consequently seek more affordable alternatives, often sacrificing nutritional quality [44]. Poultry products face particularly steep price increases due to rising production and maintenance costs. Consistent with our findings, previous research confirms that during economic recessions, people gravitate toward less nutritious options while reducing consumption of fruits, vegetables, and protein sources like poultry [45]. This dietary shift raises potential public health concerns, including nutrient deficiencies, increased risk of non-communicable diseases, and compromised immune function [46]. However, our participants reported dietary habits based on memory recall—a notable limitation. Future research should employ more robust dietary assessment tools to quantify specific food group consumption and evaluate whether participants meet recommended intake levels for nutritious foods. Such findings could inform both immediate interventions and long-term strategies to improve dietary behaviors among teachers in similar socioeconomic contexts.

Strengths and limitations

A key strength of this study is its pioneering identification of the relationship between Sri Lankan teachers’mental health outcomes and the country’s ongoing economic recession. This research also represents the first investigation of the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the GHQ-12 within this specific Sri Lankan population. Additionally, the study’s sample encompasses a diverse range of demographic characteristics found in Sri Lankan schools, enhancing the representativeness of the findings. The results yield valuable insights that could inform policy interventions aimed at improving the quality of Sri Lanka’s educational system.

Despite its strengths, this study has several limitations that warrant consideration in future research. First, it overlooked workplace environment factors, which significantly influence teacher mental health outcomes. Second, the findings are limited to government school teachers in Sri Lanka and cannot be generalized to the broader teaching population. The self-administered questionnaire methodology introduces potential concerns regarding data accuracy, as financial and psychological information may be affected by social desirability bias and stigma-related underreporting. The study’s statistical power was potentially constrained by its relatively small sample size; future investigations should incorporate larger participant pools to enhance the robustness of findings. Finally, the lower-than-expected response rate, likely attributable to the online survey format, suggests this data collection approach may have created accessibility barriers for some teachers..