A correlation between perceived social support and professional quality of life: a cross-sectional study among government school teachers in the Nuwaragampalatha East educational division of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background

Social support for school teachers could play an important role in their professional quality of life (ProQOL). We aim to describe a correlation between perceived social support (PSS) and ProQOL and its association with variables of interest among government school teachers in the Nuwaragampalatha East educational division of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. All consenting teachers of the top three government schools (with grade 1 to 13 classes) having the highest student–teacher ratio in the Nuwaragampalatha East educational division of Anuradhapura district were included. Adjusted odds ratios from logistic regression were reported for socio-demographic factors against PSS and ProQOL (p < 0.05). Spearman’s Rho was used to find a correlation between PSS and ProQOL (p < 0.05).

Results

Most of the teachers (n = 336) were females (82%), having higher education (63%), married (94%), and permanently residing in Anuradhapura (98%). Most had a high level of overall PSS (61%), a high level of compassion satisfaction (68%), a low level of burnout (56%), and a moderate level of secondary traumatic stress (60%). Monthly household income [aOR—1.65 (1.01—2.69)] and years served as a teacher [aOR—2.85 (1.05—7.74)] were significantly associated with overall PSS. The overall PSS had a positive significant correlation with compassion satisfaction (r =  + 0.31, p < 0.01) and a negative significant correlation with burnout (r = − 0.23, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

A significant correlation between PSS and the emotions of ProQOL was found among state school teachers. Hence, optimizing social support would help improve school teachers' ProQOL.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44192-025-00170-0.

Background

Social support is defined as “information leading the subject to believe that he is cared for and loved, esteemed, and a member of a network of mutual obligations” [1]. Social support can be received from family, friends, neighbours, and institutions [2]. Reducing psychological pressure, improving the ability to adapt to society, and tension palliation are the benefits of social support [1, 3]. Also, social support helps maintain good physical and mental health. Low social support is associated with stress, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and medical morbidity and mortality [4]. In the past few decades, scientists have focused on social support, especially in the context of health [5]. Also, social support positively influences academic self-efficacy via professional identity [3].

Teachers are considered a professional group of helpers. Professional quality of life (ProQOL) is “the quality one feels in relation to their work as a helper” [6]. Positive and negative aspects of one’s job influence the ProQOL [6]. Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue denote the positive and negative emotions of ProQOL respectively. Compassion satisfaction is “about the pleasure you derive from being able to do your work well. You may feel like it is a pleasure to help others through your work. You may feel positively about your colleagues or your ability to contribute to the work setting or even the greater good of society” [6]. Compassion fatigue consists of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Burnout is concerned with emotions such as anger, depression, exhaustion, and frustration. Secondary traumatic stress is concerned with emotions such as fear and work-related trauma [6]. Work engagement is important for reducing compassion fatigue and maintaining compassion satisfaction among teachers [7]. Also, a systematic review found that teachers are at risk of compassion fatigue. When teachers have inadequate empathetic ability due to compassion fatigue they might quit their profession and students will lose their helpers [8].

A correlation between social support and ProQOL is reported among nurses from China [9], Saudi Arabia [10], Spain [11], Taiwan [12], midwives from China [13], and social workers from China [14] and Israel [15]. However, social support groups for special education teachers [16] and structured debriefing sessions for emergency and intensive care health care professionals [17] did not achieve a significant difference in ProQOL. A French study reported that teachers receiving high social support at work were significantly less likely to report burnout [18]. Teachers are the backbone of the education system. Studies on perceived social support (PSS) and ProQOL among teachers are scarce, especially in rural and low-middle-income, South Asian regions.

PSS and ProQOL among teachers of government schools are seldom assessed in Sri Lanka. Schools in Sri Lanka were closed from time to time due to the economic crisis which affected school teachers and students [19]. The negative effects of the economic crisis could continue to impact rural regions [20]. In Sri Lanka, the rural sector (55.1%) had a slightly higher percentage of persons compared to the urban sector (54.2%) whose schooling has been affected by the economic crisis [21]. Also, the rural sector (62.1%, 61.2%) showed a higher percentage of decrease in individual and household income compared to the urban sector (54.2%, 56.8%) due to the impact of the economic crisis [21]. Hence, assessing the PSS and ProQOL among teachers is important in rural regions, especially during and after an economic crisis. Anuradhapura district is the largest by surface area (10.9%) in the country [22] and the district belongs to the North Central Province. It is a predominantly rural [23], agrarian [24] district in Sri Lanka. Its population density is 131 persons per km² [25] compared to the country’s density of 351 per km² [22]. Anuradhapura educational zone has the highest number of schools in the North Central Province [26]. And, Nuwaragampalatha East educational division has the highest number of 1AB-type schools in the Anuradhapura educational zone [27]. Sri Lanka has type 1AB, 1C, 2 and 3 schools, of which type 1AB schools are the only ones offering classes in advanced-level science with or without non-science subjects [28]. Also, Nuwaragampalatha East divisional secretariat division has the largest population and population density in the Anuradhapura district [25]. The division has nearly equal proportions of the population in the urban and rural sectors [29]. We aimed to determine PSS, ProQOL, and its association with variables of interest among government school teachers in the Nuwaragampalatha East educational division of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Further, we describe the correlation between PSS and ProQOL [compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress)].

Methods

Study design, study setting, and study population

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among government school teachers in the Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura district is a predominantly rural [23], agrarian [24] district and the largest by surface area in Sri Lanka [22]. In 2022, nearly 12,000 teachers were employed in 565 government schools in the Anuradhapura district [26]. The teachers in the Nuwaragam Palatha East educational division of Anuradhapura district were considered the study population during the study period (n = 1509) [27]. Nuwaragampalatha East educational division has the highest number of 1AB-type schools in the Anuradhapura educational zone [27]. Sri Lanka has type 1AB, 1C, 2 and 3 schools, of which type 1AB schools are the only ones offering classes in advanced-level science with or without non-science subjects [28]. Also, Nuwaragampalatha East divisional secretariat division has the largest population and population density in the Anuradhapura district [25]. The division has nearly equal proportions of the population in the urban and rural sectors [29]. In Sri Lanka, there are free government schools and fee-levying private schools. Majority of the Sri Lankan children are educated through government schools and the teachers of these schools receive their salaries from the government.

Sampling method and selection criteria

The study included all consenting teachers of the top three government schools (with grade 1 to 13 classes) having the highest student–teacher ratio in the Nuwaragampalatha East educational division of Anuradhapura district. All teachers employed in the selected schools at least for the last 30 days or more were included. The teacher’s age, sex, and the teacher’s grade of employment were not considered for selection.

Study instrument

The self-administered questionnaire has three parts: socio-demographic factors, the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS), and the Professional Quality of Life 5 (ProQOL 5) scale. The socio-demographic data included the following: age, sex, years residing in Anuradhapura, whether the participant was the head of household, religion, education level, marital status, whether the participant was living alone, number of adults and children at home (males and females), household income, district of permanent residence, sector, distant to the workplace from the present resident, number of years served as a teacher, number of years/months served as a teacher in the present school, and teacher’s grade. MSPSS [30] and ProQOL 5 [31] scales were used to measure PSS (from a significant other, family, and friends) and ProQOL (compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress) respectively. The MSPSS and the ProQOL 5 scales comprise 12 and 30 questions respectively. Each question of MSPSS is scored from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (very strongly agree). A total score was calculated by adding all values across the 12 questions and subsequently, a mean score was obtained. The mean scale score of 5.1 to 7 shows high support, a score of 3 to 5 moderate support, and 1 to 2.9 low support [30]. Each question of ProQOL 5 is scored from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). A total score was calculated by adding all values across the 10 relevant questions for compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. A total score of ≥ 42 shows a high level, a score of 23 to 41 moderate level, and ≤ 22 low level [31]. The participants received the questionnaire in the Sinhala language as they were recruited from Sinhala medium schools. A previous study used the MSPSS scale translated into the Sinhala language among the Sri Lankan population [32]. The corresponding author of the present study and the above study with the MSPSS Sinhala translation are the same (DR). The ProQOL scale “may be freely copied as long as (a) author is credited, (b) no changes are made other than creating or using a translation, and/or replacing "[helper]" with a more specific term such as "nurse.", and (c) it is not sold” [31]. The ProQOL 5 scale was back-translated from Sinhala to English by a bilingual (Sinhala and English), English language teacher. The face validity of the questionnaire on socio-demographic factors was established and subsequently, it was pre-tested in five subjects to improve its language and sequence.

Data collection

The data collection of the study was conducted during February and March 2023. Prior permission for the data collection was obtained from the director of the Anuradhapura zonal education office and the principals of the selected schools. With the guidance of the relevant principals, the teachers were approached to obtain informed written consent before providing a copy of the questionnaire for data collection. The participants were asked about any unclear facts and allowed to ask questions to ensure that subjects understood the information provided. Explaining the study, obtaining informed written consent, and data collection was done by the investigators. The questionnaire was self-administered by the participants with instructions from the investigators. All necessary measures were taken to preserve the participant’s privacy and confidentiality.

Data description and analysis

The collected data was entered in Microsoft Excel (Online Resource 1). Frequencies with percentages and means with standard deviations were reported for categorical and continuous variables respectively. The analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and add-ins. Logistic regression was performed to determine the significant association for socio-demographic factors against PSS and ProQOL (p < 0.05). Adjusted odds ratios (alpha exp(b)) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were presented for each variable of interest. Spearman’s Rho was sorted for MSPSS score against the ProQOL scores (p < 0.05). Also, the Kruskal–Wallis test (and when significant post hoc Dunn multiple comparisons test) was performed as an additional analysis to determine significant differences between the three types of schools (girls’, boys’, and mixed schools) in relation to the median of the following: compassion satisfaction, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, overall PSS, PSS from a significant other, family and friends (p < 0.05).

Results

Of the selected three schools, there was one girls’ school, one boys’, and one mixed school. The girls’, boys’, and mixed schools had 181, 147, and 68 teachers respectively. All three selected schools were 1AB-type schools. The overall participation rate was satisfactory (85%—338/396) with 83% (151/181) in the girls’ school, 84% (124/147) in the boys’ school, and 93% (63/68) in the mixed school. Out of the 338 teachers who participated in the study, one was omitted from the analysis due to missing data and another was omitted as her service at the present school was less than 30 days. Therefore, 336 questionnaires were included in the final analysis (99%—336/338). The Cronbach’s alpha of questions representing PSS from a significant other, family and friends of MSPSS, and compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress of ProQOL were 0.87, 0.92, 0.92, 0.78, 0.63, and 0.74 respectively, indicating good internal consistency in the responses.

Demographic data

The participant’s mean (SD) age was 46.1 (8.7) years, ranging from 25 to 59 years. The girls’ school had the highest number of participants (44%—149/336) followed by the boys’ school (37%—124/336) and the mixed school (19%—63/336). Most of the teachers were females (82%—276/336), non-head of the household (80%—267/336), Buddhists (97%—327/336), having higher education (63%—211/336), married (94%—315/336), not living alone (98%—330/336), having a monthly income of ≤ Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) 100,000 (63%—212/336), permanently residing in Anuradhapura (98%—329/336), living in an urban area (74%—250/336), and having a teachers’ grade of class II—grade I or above (72%—243/336). Most of the teachers had ≤ 01 male adults in the household (61%—204/336), ≤ 01 female adults in the household (55%—185/336), no male children in the household (57%—191/336), and no female children in the household (57%—190/336). The mean (SD) years of residence at Anuradhapura was 32.7 years (16.5) ranging from 01 to 59 years. Teachers lived at a mean (SD) distance of 7.4 (10.2) km from the workplace ranging from 0.2 to 104 km. The mean (SD) years of service as a teacher was 20.4 (9.5) years ranging from 0.5 to 39 years. The mean (SD) years of service as a teacher in the present school was 5.5 (4.6) years ranging from 0.2 to 30 years.

Perceived social support and its association with the variables of interest

The mean (SD) scores for the PSS from significant other, family, friends, and overall were 5.4 (1.0), 5.6 (1.0), 5.2 (1.0), and 5.4 (0.9) respectively. Most of the teachers had a high level of PSS from the significant other (57%—190/336), a high level of PSS from the family (62%—209/336), a moderate level of PSS from the friends (56%—189/336), and a high level of overall PSS (61%—205/336). Figure 1 shows the percentage of teachers from the girls’ school, boys’ school, and mixed school against the level of PSS from significant other, family, and friends.

Fig. 1.

Percentage of teachers for the components of perceived social support

Of the participants, 69% (85/124) of teachers with a monthly household income of more than LKR 100,000 had a high level of overall PSS, compared to 57% (120/212) of teachers with a monthly household income of LKR 100,000 or less. 65% (106/163) of teachers who served as a teacher for ≥ 20 years had a high level of overall PSS, compared to 57% (99/173) of teachers who served as a teacher for < 20 years. Logistic regression revealed that monthly household income [aOR—1.65 (95% CI 1.01—2.69)] and years served as a teacher [aOR—2.85 (95% CI 1.05—7.74)] were significantly associated with the overall PSS (Table 1).

Table 1.

Overall perceived social support against the variables of interest

Variable	Description	Overall perceived social support		Logistic regression
		High	Moderate or Low	Coefficient	p-value	Adjusted odd ratio (95% CI)
1. Age (years)	≥ 45	114	71	− 0.91	0.07	0.40 (0.15—1.06)
	< 45	91	60
2. Sex	Male	32	28	− 0.62	0.24	0.54 (0.19—1.51)
	Female	173	103
3. Years resided in Anuradhapura	≥ 35	103	69	− 0.08	0.75	0.92 (0.57—1.50)
	< 35	102	62
4. Head of the household	Yes	39	30	0.42	0.40	1.52 (0.57—4.07)
	No	166	101
5. Religion	Buddhist	199	128	− 0.43	0.57	0.65 (0.14—2.95)
	Other	06	03
6. Highest educational level	Higher educated	122	89	− 0.29	0.29	0.75 (0.44—1.28)
	GCE A/L completed or below	83	42
7. Marital status	Yes	193	122	0.24	0.65	1.27 (0.45—3.59)
	No	12	09
8. Living alone	No	201	129	− 1.20	0.22	0.30 (0.04—2.08)
	Yes	04	02
9. No of male adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	83	49	0.13	0.65	1.13 (0.66—1.95)
	< 2	122	82
10. No of female adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	94	57	0.03	0.90	1.03 (0.61—1.74)
	< 2	111	74
11. No of male children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	86	59	− 0.08	0.74	0.92 (0.56—1.50)
	None	119	72
12. No of female children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	94	52	0.46	0.08	1.58 (0.95—2.62)
	None	111	79
13. Monthly household income (LKR)	> 100,000	85	39	0.50	0.04	1.65 (1.01—2.69)
	≤ 100,000	120	92
14. District of permanent residence	Anuradhapura	201	128	0.23	0.78	1.26 (0.26—6.15)
	Other	04	03
15. Sector of present residence	Urban	158	92	0.38	0.23	1.46 (0.79—2.72)
	Rural	47	39
16. Distant to the workplace from the present residence (km)	< 5	114	66	− 0.04	0.89	0.96 (0.55—1.67)
	≥ 5	91	65
17. No of years served as a teacher	≥ 20	106	57	1.05	0.04	2.85 (1.05—7.74)
	< 20	99	74
18. No of years served as a teacher in the present school	≥ 5	99	59	0.05	0.84	1.05 (0.64—1.72)
	< 5	106	72
19. Teacher’s grade	≥ Class II Grade I	148	95	− 0.11	0.73	0.89 (0.48—1.67)
	< Class II Grade I	57	36

CI Confidence interval, GCE A/L General certificate of education (advanced level)

Italic values indicate significance with a p-value of < 0.05

Professional quality of life and its association with variables of interest

The overall mean (SD) scores for compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress were 43.0 (3.7), 21.8 (4.3), and 24.2 (5.2) respectively. Most of the teachers had a high level of compassion satisfaction (68%—228/336), a low level of burnout (56%—187/336), and a moderate level of secondary traumatic stress (60%—201/336). Figure 2 shows the percentage of teachers from the girls’ school, boys’ school, and mixed school against the level of emotions of ProQOL.

Fig. 2.

Percentage of teachers for the emotions of professional quality of life

Of the participants, 69% (227/330) of teachers who did not live alone had a high level of compassion satisfaction, compared to 17% (01/06) of teachers who lived alone. 72% (134/185) of teachers with less than two adult females (≥ 12 years) in the household had a high level of compassion satisfaction, compared to 62% (94/151) of teachers with two or more adult females (≥ 12 years) in the household. Logistic regression revealed that living alone [aOR—15.02 (95% CI 1.43—157.74)], and the number of adult females in the household [aOR—0.43 (95% CI 0.24—0.75)] was significantly associated with compassion satisfaction (Table 2). Logistic regression revealed no significant association between burnout and the variables of interest (Table 3). 64% (130/204) of teachers with less than two adult males (≥ 12 years) in the household had high or moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress, compared to 55% (72/132) of teachers with two or more adult males (≥ 12 years) in the household. Logistic regression revealed that the number of adult males (≥ 12 years) in the household [aOR—2.21 (95% CI 1.27—3.82)] was significantly associated with secondary traumatic stress (Table 4).

Table 2.

Compassion satisfaction against the variables of interest

Variable	Description	Compassion satisfaction		Logistic regression
		High	Moderate or Low	Coefficient	p-value	Adjusted odd ratio (95% CI)
1. Age (years)	≥ 45	136	49	0.01	0.98	1.01 (0.38—2.71)
	< 45	92	59
2. Sex	Male	43	17	0.02	0.97	1.02 (0.35—2.99)
	Female	185	91
3. Years resided in Anuradhapura	≥ 35	117	55	0.10	0.70	1.10 (0.66—1.84)
	< 35	111	53
4. Head of the household	Yes	50	19	0.28	0.59	1.33 (0.48—3.70)
	No	178	89
5. Religion	Buddhist	221	106	− 1.10	0.21	0.33 (0.06—1.84)
	Other	07	02
6. Highest educational level	Higher educated	138	73	− 0.11	0.70	0.90 (0.51—1.58)
	GCE A/L completed or below	90	35
7. Marital status	Yes	215	100	0.13	0.82	1.14 (0.37—3.51)
	No	13	08
8. Living alone	No	227	103	2.71	0.02	15.02 (1.43—157.74)
	Yes	01	05
9. No of male adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	90	42	0.16	0.60	1.17 (0.66—2.08)
	< 2	138	66
10. No of female adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	94	57	− 0.85	0.00	0.43 (0.24—0.75)
	< 2	134	51
11. No of male children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	96	49	− 0.16	0.54	0.85 (0.51—1.43)
	None	132	59
12. No of female children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	102	44	0.16	0.55	1.18 (0.69—2.00)
	None	126	64
13. Monthly household income (LKR)	> 100,000	82	42	− 0.21	0.42	0.81 (0.49—1.35)
	≤ 100,000	146	66
14. District of permanent residence	Anuradhapura	222	107	− 1.02	0.36	0.36 (0.04—3.20)
	Other	06	01
15. Sector of present residence	Urban	171	79	0.02	0.96	1.02 (0.53—1.97)
	Rural	57	19
16. Distant to the workplace from the present residence (km)	< 5	120	60	− 0.11	0.72	0.90 (0.50—1.61)
	≥ 5	108	48
17. No of years served as a teacher	≥ 20	123	40	0.84	0.11	2.31 (0.82—6.51)
	< 20	105	68
18. No of years served as a teacher in the present school	≥ 5	113	45	0.08	0.76	1.08 (0.64—1.84)
	< 5	115	63
19. Teacher’s grade	≥ Class II Grade I	170	73	− 0.07	0.83	0.93 (0.49—1.78)
	< Class II Grade I	58	35

CI Confidence interval, GCE A/L General certificate of education (advanced level)

Italic values indicate significance with a p-value of < 0.05

Table 3.

Burnout against the variables of interest

Variable	Description	Burnout		Logistic regression
		High and Moderate	Low	Coefficient	p-value	Adjusted odd ratio (95% CI)
1. Age (years)	≥ 45	69	116	0.48	0.32	1.62 (0.62—4.18)
	< 45	80	71
2. Sex	Male	35	25	− 0.81	0.14	0.44 (0.15—1.30)
	Female	114	162
3. Years resided in Anuradhapura	≥ 35	74	98	0.12	0.63	1.12 (0.70—1.81)
	< 35	75	89
4. Head of the household	Yes	36	33	0.19	0.72	1.21 (0.43—3.37)
	No	113	154
5. Religion	Buddhist	148	179	− 2.00	0.07	0.14 (0.02—1.16)
	Other	01	08
6. Highest educational level	Higher educated	97	114	0.04	0.89	1.04 (0.61—1.76)
	GCE A/L completed or below	52	73
7. Marital status	Yes	144	171	− 1.00	0.10	0.37 (0.11—1.21)
	No	05	16
8. Living alone	No	146	184	0.79	0.42	2.20 (0.33—14.76)
	Yes	03	03
9. No of male adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	57	75	0.11	0.69	1.12 (0.65—1.91)
	< 2	92	112
10. No of female adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	66	85	− 0.10	0.71	0.91 (0.54—1.52)
	< 2	83	102
11. No of male children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	67	78	0.03	0.91	1.03 (0.63—1.68)
	None	82	109
12. No of female children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	63	83	0.26	0.31	1.30 (0.79—2.13)
	None	86	104
13. Monthly household income (LKR)	> 100,000	49	75	0.28	0.25	1.33 (0.82—2.15)
	≤ 100,000	100	112
14. District of permanent residence	Anuradhapura	145	184	0.61	0.48	1.84 (0.34—9.95)
	Other	04	03
15. Sector of present residence	Urban	115	135	− 0.32	0.31	0.73 (0.39—1.35)
	Rural	34	52
16. Distant to the workplace from the present residence (km)	< 5	81	99	− 0.06	0.84	0.94 (0.55—1.63)
	≥ 5	68	88
17. No of years served as a teacher	≥ 20	60	103	0.23	0.64	1.26 (0.47—3.38)
	< 20	89	84
18. No of years served as a teacher in the present school	≥ 5	62	96	0.11	0.67	1.11 (0.68—1.81)
	< 5	87	91
19. Teacher’s grade	≥ Class II Grade I	101	142	0.08	0.81	1.08 (0.58—2.02)
	< Class II Grade I	48	45

CI Confidence interval, GCE A/L General certificate of education (advanced level)

Table 4.

Secondary traumatic stress against the variables of interest

Variable	Description	Secondary traumatic stress		Logistic regression
		High and Moderate	Low	Coefficient	p-value	Adjusted odd ratio (95% CI)
1. Age (years)	≥ 45	108	77	− 0.43	0.39	0.65 (0.25—1.72)
	< 45	94	57
2. Sex	Male	38	22	− 0.39	0.47	0.68 (0.24—1.91)
	Female	164	112
3. Years resided in Anuradhapura	≥ 35	101	71	0.13	0.59	1.14 (0.70—1.85)
	< 35	101	63
4. Head of the household	Yes	41	28	0.28	0.57	1.33 (0.50—3.52)
	No	161	106
5. Religion	Buddhist	199	128	− 1.45	0.06	0.23 (0.05—1.06)
	Other	03	06
6. Highest educational level	Higher educated	127	84	0.07	0.79	1.08 (0.63—1.83)
	GCE A/L completed or below	75	50
7. Marital status	Yes	193	122	− 0.88	0.10	0.42 (0.15—1.18)
	No	09	12
8. Living alone	No	199	131	− 0.16	0.87	0.86 (0.14—5.38)
	Yes	03	03
9. No of male adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	72	60	0.79	0.00	2.21 (1.27—3.82)
	< 2	130	74
10. No of female adults (≥ 12 years) in household	≥ 2	91	60	− 0.34	0.20	0.71 (0.42—1.20)
	< 2	111	74
11. No of male children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	90	55	− 0.08	0.74	0.92 (0.56—1.50)
	None	112	79
12. No of female children (< 12 years) in household	≥ 1	85	61	0.49	0.06	1.63 (0.98—2.72)
	None	117	73
13. Monthly household income (LKR)	> 100,000	81	43	− 0.42	0.09	0.66 (0.40—1.07)
	≤ 100,000	121	91
14. District of permanent residence	Anuradhapura	198	131	− 0.29	0.72	0.75 (0.15—3.63)
	Other	04	03
15. Sector of present residence	Urban	150	100	− 0.20	0.53	0.82 (0.43—1.53)
	Rural	52	34
16. Distant to the workplace from the present residence (km)	< 5	104	76	0.35	0.22	1.42 (0.81—2.47)
	≥ 5	98	58
17. No of years served as a teacher	≥ 20	94	69	0.36	0.47	1.44 (0.53—3.91)
	< 20	108	65
18. No of years served as a teacher in the present school	≥ 5	94	64	− 0.13	0.59	0.87 (0.54—1.43)
	< 5	108	70
19. Teacher’s grade	≥ Class II Grade I	140	103	0.54	0.10	1.71 (0.90—3.26)
	< Class II Grade I	62	31

CI Confidence interval, GCE A/L General certificate of education (advanced level)

Italic values indicate significance with a p-value of < 0.05

Perceived social support and professional quality of life

Compassion satisfaction had a significant positive correlation with overall PSS (r =  + 0.31, p < 0.01), PSS received from a significant other (r =  + 0.28, p < 0.01), family (r =  + 0.31, p < 0.01) and friends (r =  + 0.24, p < 0.01). Burnout had a significant negative correlation with overall PSS (r = − 0.23, p < 0.01), PSS received from a significant other (r = − 0.18, p < 0.01), family (r = − 0.22, p < 0.01) and friends (r = − 0.20, p < 0.01). Secondary traumatic stress showed a significant negative correlation with PSS from family (r = − 0.11, p = 0.04). However, secondary traumatic stress did not have a significant correlation with overall PSS (r = − 0.10, p = 0.06), PSS received from a significant other (r = − 0.04, p = 0.43), and friends (r = − 0.11, p = 0.05). Moreover, a comparison of the girls’, boys’, and mixed schools for the PSS and ProQOL scores among the teachers did not reveal any significance (Table 5).

Table 5.

Perceived social support and professional quality of life among teachers of different types of schools

School type item	Girls’ school (n = 149)	Boys’ school (n = 124)	Mixed school (n = 63)	Kruskal Wallis
	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	p-value
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	(Effect size)
Compassion satisfaction	43.0 (41.0–46.0)	43.0 (41.0–46.0)	43.0 (40.0–47.0)	0.99
	43.0 (3.6)	43.1 (3.5)	43.1 (4.3)	(–0.00)
Burnout	21.0 (19.0–25.0)	22.0 (20.0–24.0)	22.0 (17.0–25.0)	0.37
	21.7 (4.2)	22.2 (3.9)	21.0 (4.9)	(-0.00)
Secondary traumatic stress	24.0 (20.0–27.0)	23.0 (20.0–27.0)	24.0 (20.0–29.0)	0.48
	24.3 (4.6)	23.9 (5.6)	24.3 (5.7)	(-0.00)
Perceived social support from the significant other	5.3 (4.8–6.3)	5.3 (4.7–6.0)	5.8 (5.0–6.8)	0.06
	5.4 (1.1)	5.3 (1.0)	5.7 (1.0)	(0.01)
Perceived social support from the family	5.5 (4.8–6.5)	5.8 (5.0–6.3)	6.0 (5.0–6.6)	0.36
	5.6 (1.0)	5.6 (1.0)	5.8 (1.0)	(0.00)
Perceived social support from friends	5.0 (4.5–5.8)	5.0 (4.5–6)	5.0 (5.0–6.0)	0.24
	5.2 (1.0)	5.2 (1.0)	5.4 (0.9)	(0.00)
Overall perceived social support	5.3 (4.8–6.2)	5.4 (4.7–5.9)	5.6 (5.0–6.3)	0.16
	5.4 (0.9)	5.4 (0.9)	5.6 (0.9)	(0.01)

Discussion

Our study revealed a high level of overall PSS, a high level of compassion satisfaction, a low level of burnout, and a moderate level of secondary traumatic stress among government school teachers. And, the overall PSS had a positive significant correlation with compassion satisfaction and a negative significant correlation with burnout. A Taiwanese study showed that social support positively and significantly affects teacher effectiveness [33]. Also, we found that monthly household income and years of service have a significant association with PSS among government teachers. The teachers with a higher monthly household income had a comparatively high level of overall PSS. A German study among middle-aged urban inhabitants reported that low social support is observed more frequently in socio-economically deprived individuals [34]. Further, high social support was associated with high work engagement among participants from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 study [35]. Moreover, we found that the teachers with a higher number of years of service had a comparatively high level of overall PSS. Likewise, Taiwan teachers with 11 to 20 years of service showed the highest social support [33]. However, an American study points out that years of service in the same job position are also associated with burnout [36]. Furthermore, the aORs of monthly household income (1.65) and years served as a teacher (2.85) showed small and medium effect sizes respectively indicating the former having a smaller influence compared to the latter on the overall perceived social support [37].

Most of the teachers in our study have had high levels of compassion satisfaction, low levels of burnout, and moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress along with high levels of overall PSS. Similarly, social companionship significantly predicted intrinsic satisfaction among school teachers in Turkey [38]. Findings on the association between family members and ProQOL are scarce in the literature. However, teachers in our study who did not live alone had a comparatively high level of compassion satisfaction and teachers with two or more adult males in the household had comparatively low levels of secondary traumatic stress. Furthermore, the aOR of living alone (15.02) showed a large effect size indicating a larger influence on compassion satisfaction. The aOR of the number of adult males (2.21) showed a medium effect size indicating a moderate influence on the secondary traumatic stress [37]. Better social support from the family members would have improved ProQOL by increasing compassion satisfaction and decreasing secondary traumatic stress. Thus, our findings would be an important lead to future studies on the above area. Nevertheless, burnout did not reveal a significant association with any study variables of interest. However, a scoping review found sex, age, marital status, teaching experience, economic status of the family, number of children, work-related factors, and subject taught to be correlated with burnout [39].

The overall PSS of our study had a positive significant correlation with compassion satisfaction and a negative significant correlation with burnout. Similarly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, PSS was positively associated with compassion satisfaction and negatively associated with burnout but not associated with secondary traumatic stress among medical social workers in China [14]. Also, PSS was found significantly related to compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among hospital emergency nurses in Spain [11]. Further, school principals’ provision of social support to their teachers is emphasized to create a supportive workplace [40]. In the present study, PSS or ProQOL did not reveal a significance between the three types of schools (girls’, boys’, and mixed schools) showing that the teachers’ PSS and ProQOL do not depend upon the gender of the student population.

Anuradhapura is a rural agrarian district in Sri Lanka where studies were not previously reported on PSS and ProQOL among teachers. And, similar regional assessments of the teaching profession are scarce. Our study revealed that the PSS received by government school teachers from family, friends, and significant others had a significant correlation with their ProQOL. This emphasizes the need to optimize the social support received by teachers to ease social and work-related issues and improve their quality of life. The findings of a cross-sectional study conducted in a particular educational division of a rural district cannot be generalized nor it could be expected to reveal definitive causality. Nevertheless, our study findings would guide future studies and relevant interventions among school teachers.

Conclusions

Our study revealed a high level of perceived social support among government school teachers. The overall perceived social support had a positive significant correlation with compassion satisfaction and a negative significant correlation with burnout among government school teachers. Optimizing the social support teachers receive will help ease social and work-related issues and improve the quality of life. The findings are vital as the study was conducted in a rural South Asian region and would help to implement similar studies and relevant interventions among school teachers.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Author contribution

All authors conceived the idea of the study and participated in designing the study. SN1, SN2, HN, CN, SN3, and MP were involved in data collection. All authors were involved in data analysis and interpretation. SN1, SN2, HN, CN, SN3, and MP drafted the manuscript while DR critically revised it. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

The study was self-funding.

Data availablity

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information file.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Allied Science, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka (ERC/2022/60). Prior permission for the data collection was obtained from the director of the Anuradhapura zonal education office and the principals of the selected schools. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants. All necessary measures were taken to preserve the participant’s privacy and confidentiality. The study was performed following the Declaration of Helsinki. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.