Background
Youthreach is a government-run further education and training programme in the Republic of Ireland that provides early school leavers aged 15-18 with positive educational experience and support to assist them in completing second-level education. Teachers who deliver the programme support students' educational and pastoral needs as they help them to navigate school and personal life challenges.
Aims
To date, little is known about the Youthreach teachers' wellbeing, thus this research aimed to address this gap.
Method
This cross-sectional research was conducted online using a survey with a nationally-representative sample of 325 participants. It assessed their wellbeing using PERMA and Mental Health Continuum and Compassion fatigue.
Results
Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that 32% of the variance in Compassion Fatigue was explained by the PERMA model, with positive emotions (beta=-.55) contributing the most, followed by accomplishment (beta=-.25) and engagement (beta=.19). Furthermore, 26% of the variance in compassion fatigue was explained by Mental Health Continuum model with emotional wellbeing (beta=-.31) contributing more than psychological wellbeing (beta=-20).
Conclusion
The poster will discuss the implications of these findings in the context of Youthreach work and extend them towards other professions with a high prevalence of compassion fatigue.