Could the complying with WHO physical activity recommendations improve stress, burnout syndrome, and resilience? A cross-sectional study with physical education teachers

Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-022-00981-6 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Could thecomplying withWHO physical activity recommendations improve stress, burnout syndrome, andresilience? Across‑sectional study withphysical education teachers GabrielGonzález‑Valero1· CarlosDavidGómez‑Carmona2· AlejandroBastida‑Castillo3· JuanAntonioCorral‑Pernía4· FélixZurita‑Ortega5· EduardoMelguizo‑Ibáñez5 Received: 18 March 2022 / Accepted: 20 June 2022 / Published online: 16 July 2022 © The Author(s) 2022 Abstract Purpose Teachers are exposed to inherent psychosocial risks in the workplace such as chronic stress, psychological distress, exhaustion, and burnout syndrome. To compare the values in psychosocial variables based on compliance with the recommendations for physical activity by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the type of physical activity performed. Methods The study had a non-experimental and comparative design, with measurements in a single group. The sample was composed of 415 physical education teachers from Spain, with an age range of 21–53years (28.78 ± 6.15) and a heterogeneous distribution of gender (69.4% male; 30.6% women). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, and an Ad-Hoc questionnaire were used to record the sociodemographic aspects and physical-sports practice. Results Most of the teachers complied with the recommendations for physical activity practice (n = 335; 80.7%). Physical activity was associated with lower signs of burnout and a greater ability to overcome. Although, teachers who did not comply with WHO recommendations, showed greater stress and emotional exhaustion. In conclusion, enough practice of physical activity based on WHO was shown as a preventive factor of stress and signs of burnout. Conclusions The findings suggest that perform physical activity based on the WHO recommendations helps for work stress prevention and burnout syndrome in teachers, as well as to overcome work adversities. Keywords Stress· Burnout· Resilience· Physical education· Teachers Introduction Teaching is considered a difficult profession where the inherent psychosocial risks and the educational environment are one of the main factors of work accidents or diseases. The International Labour Organization (ILO) indicates that the problems of chronic stress, anxiety, exhaustion, or depression are increasing in this sector [1, 2]. Specifically, burnout syndrome is understood as a prolonged state of stress [3] and is a psychosocial indicator that directly affects mental health and physical well-being [4, 5]. Also, burnout syndrome is presented in different ways such as emotional exhaustion, irritability, and lack of motivation towards work (depersonalization), reduced achievement feelings like failure or incompetence [6]. However, teachers must be resilient to overcome these circumstances and learn to deal adversity in the current educational systems [7]. Insituations of adversity at work, de * Eduardo Melguizo-Ibáñez [email protected] 1 Departamento de Didáctica de la Expresión Musical, Plástica y Corporal. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación y del Deporte., Universidad de Granada, Melilla, España 2 Grupo de Optimización del Entrenamiento y Rendimiento Deportivo (GOERD). Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte, Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres, España 3 Departamento de Actividad Física y Deporte, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, España 4 Departamento de Educación Física y Deporte, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, España 5 Departamento de Didáctica de la Expresión Musical Plástica y Corporal. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación., Universidad de Granada, Granada, España 350 Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 Vera-García and Gabari-Gambarte [8] mention that the most resilient teachers achieve better skills and competencies in work commitment and reduce chronic stress; while, the less resilient teachers have a predisposition to increase the effect of tiredness and indifference. Furthermore, resilience has been shown to help reduce perceived stress and feelings of exhaustion in teachers [9]. In this sense, physical-sports activity programs are one of the strategies used to promote resilience [10]. Physical activity is associated with health promotion on the physical, psychosocial, cognitive, and emotional levels [11, 12]. Studies showed that physical activity is a priority element in today’s society, with special importance in social and health policies [13, 14]. Specifically, physical activity has been considered an essential tool that directly affects the quality of life and presents psychosocial benefits in teaching professionals [15–17]. Programs that include physical-sports activity have been effective for reducing work stress and improving teacher satisfaction, as well as facilitating coping strategies to face adversities in the work environment [18–20]. In this sense, the World Health Organization (WHO) [21] in its document of global recommendations on physical activity for health, disseminates that in adults (18–64years) the practice a minimum of 150min per week of moderate or 75min of vigorous aerobic physical activity helps to improve muscle and cardiorespiratory functions, as well as reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases and mental health problems. Failure to comply with these recommendations and a sedentary lifestyle have a negative impact on people’s lives [22], and are associated with cardiovascular diseases such as obesity, heart attacks, high cholesterol, diabetes and the development of various types of cancer [23, 24]. Likewise, Callow etal. [25] state that low levels of physical activity favor the development of psychological illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Therefore, the main purpose of the present study was to compare the reported values in psychosocial variables such as stress, burnout syndrome, and resilience related to compliance or not compliance with the WHO physical activity recommendations and the type of physical activity performed by physical education teachers. Materials andmethods Design andparticipants A quantitative study with a non-experimental design (ex post facto), of a comparative nature, was carried out by measuring a single group. Dependent variables were recorded to describe parameters related to stress, burnout syndrome, resilience, and practice of physical activity. The study sample was composed of 415 physical education teachers from Spain (Table1), with a heterogeneous distribution according to gender, being 288 male (69.4%) and 127 women (30.6%). A convenience sampling was used to select the participants that need to have an academic title that allows teaching physical education as inclusion criteria. Instruments andvariables Ad‑Hoc questionnaire It is an own elaboration sheet where the sociodemographic and physical-sports aspects were collected by self-registration. The gender and age of the participants, the region of origin, the compliance of physical activity recommended by the WHO [21] as 150min/week of moderate physical activity or 75min/week vigorous and the type of physicalsports practice based on the adapted classification of CastroSánchez etal. [26] were recorded. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) The original “Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)” questionnaire by Cohen etal. [27] was adapted into Spanish by Remor [28]. This scale is a self-registration instrument in which the perceived levels of stress in people during the last month are evaluated. It is composed of 14 items that are answered through a Likert scale with five alternative responses (0 = never, 1 = rarely, 2 = occasionally, 3 = often, and 4 = very often). The sum of the items indicates that a Table 1 Participants’ region distribution Region Frequency (n) Relative frequency (%) Andalucía 108 26.0 Castilla La Mancha 77 18.6 Valencia 48 11.6 Madrid 47 11.3 Galicia 32 7.7 Castilla y León 26 6.3 Murcia 20 4.8 Cataluña 14 3.4 Extremadura 10 2.4 Baleares 8 1.9 Asturias 8 1.9 Aragón 7 1.7 Canarias 5 1.2 País Vasco 2 0.5 Navarra 1 0.2 Cantabria 1 0.2 La Rioja 1 0.2 351Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 higher score is related to higher level of perceived stress. In this way, percentiles can be extracted in which stress is classified as low, moderate or high. In these total scores, it must be considered that the values of items 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13 must be inverted. For example, item 5: “How often have you felt that you have effectively faced the important changes that have been happening in your life?”. The original study by Cohen etal. [27] determined the reliability of α = 0.85, while, Remor (2006) shows values of α = 0.81 in the adaptation to Spanish. In the present study, the value obtained in the internal consistency of the scale was α = 0.893, which guarantees the reliability of the scale. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) The version adapted to Spanish by Seisdedos [29] was used from the original version “Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)” by Maslach and Jackson [30]. This questionnaire consists of 22 items that are answered using a Likert-type scale (where 0 = Never and 6 = Daily) that measures the burnout level. If participants reach percentiles greater than 75 are included in the high category, between 75 and 25 in the middle category, and below 25 points in the low category. Likewise, this scale responds to three dimensions: (a) Emotional exhaustion (EE) that assess the experience of being exhausted emotionally due to the high demands for work/study and consists of nine items (1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 20); (b) Depersonalization (D) that measures the relational distancing through five items (5, 10, 11, 15, 22); and (c) Personal fulfillment (PF) that describes the successful making of work/study towards others, as well as the competence feelings through eight items (4, 7, 9, 12, 17, 18, 19, 21). The internal consistency of the original questionnaire proposed by Maslach and Jackson [30] showed a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for all items of 0.83 (EE: α = 0.74; RP: α = 0.77; D: α = 0.59). Instead, Seisdedos [29] obtained α = 0.90 for EE, α = 0.79 for D and α = 0.71 for RP. In the present study, the general reliability was α = 0.68, and specifically for each dimension was α = 0.849 for EE, α = 0.723 for D, and α = 0.74 for RP that guarantees the reliability of the present study data. Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD‑RISC) The version validated in Spanish by Crespo etal. [31] from the “Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC” by Connor and Davidson [32] was used. This scale consists of 25 items, where the compliance of the statements in the last month must be indicated on a Likert-type scale where 0 = “it was not true at all” and 4 = “true usually”. Scores can range from 0 to 100, obtaining greater resilience with higher scores. Attending Serrano-Parra etal. [33] this construct can be categorized into low resilience (first quartile), moderate resilience (second and third quartile), and high resilience (fourth quartile). This scale is divided into five dimensions: (a) Factor 1 reflects the notion of personal competence, high standards and tenacity (PECT) composed of Items 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25; (b) Factor 2 is related to confidence in one’s instincts, tolerance to negative effects and strengthening of the stress effects (TTE) composed of Items 6, 7, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20; (c) Factor 3 refers to positive change acceptance and secure relationships (PASR) composed of Items 1, 2, 4, 5, 8; (d) Factor 4 is related to control and purpose (CONP) composed of Items 13, 21, 22; and (e) Factor 5 with spiritual influences (SE) composed of Items 3 and 9. The original version [32] obtained good results with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.89 and a test–retest reliability of 0.87 in the general population. In the study by SerranoParra etal. [33], the general reliability was α = 0.906 and obtained different values for each dimension: selfefficacy–tenacity, α = 0.822; tolerance–strengthening, α = 0.677; acceptance and safe relationships, α = 0.677; control and purpose, α = 0.699; spirituality, α = 0.344. In the present study, a reliability of α = 0.911 was obtained for the entire scale, as well as for the different factors: PECT, α = 0.836; TTE, α = 0.746; PASR, α = 0.786; CONP, α = 0.641; and SE, α = 0.495. Only spirituality (SE) category did not guarantee the scale reliability. Procedure A google form was created with the instruments specified above. First, the purpose of the study was explained, as well as the acceptance of participation in the study ensuring the anonymity of the participants. For his administration, the form was sent by e-mail. To ensure the reliability of the answers, one of the questions was related to the academic degree that allowed them their professional development, and two questions were duplicated, to verify that the questions had not been answered randomly. In this way, several cases were detected and a total of 42 questionnaires were deleted. This research study has complied with the principles of ethics for research with human established in the Declaration of Helsinki on 1975 and under the supervision of the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Granada (1230/CEIH/2020). Statistical analysis The normality and homogeneity of the variance of the variables were verified through the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. To establish comparisons between variables, Student’s t test and contingency tables were used for 352 Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 independent samples. Differences between participants were determined with Pearson’s chi-squared test. A oneway analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also performed with the Bonferroni post hoc test for the analysis between physical-sport variables. A significance level of p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 was established. The magnitude of the differences (effect size; ES) was obtained using Cohen’s d [34]. Their interpretation was established as null (0–0.19), low (0.20–0.49), moderate (0.50–0.79), or high (≥0.80) [35]. Thus, the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated for each effect size. Statistical software SPSS 25.0 (SPSS, IBM, SPSS Statistics, v.25.0 Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data analysis and treatment. Results Table2 shows the mean ± SD of the psychosocial variables. In this case, t test expressed a significance difference between the participants that compliance and no compliance with the practice of 150min or more of physical activity per week. These mean comparisons highlight that the participants who did not reach the recommended minimum of physical activity present the highest levels of ESUM (M = 2.63; SD = 0.60; ES = 0.678) and EE (M = 3.71; SD = 0.81; ES = 0.569). For RP (p = 0.048; ES = 0.307), physical education teachers who if they reached the minimum recommendations for physical activity obtained the highest mean values (M = 2.96; SD = 0.73). At a statistical level of p ≤ 0.05, the participants who carried out 150min or more of physical activity per week, presented higher data for RSUM (M = 2.84; SD = 0.56; TE = 0.453), PECT (M = 3.04; SD = 0.63; ES = 0.528), TTE (M = 2.66; SD = 0.66; ES = 0.415), PASR (M = 3.01; SD = 0.68; ES = 0.370) and CONP (M = 2.89; SD = 0.79; TE = 0.309). Table3 lists the categories of psychosocial variables according to physical activity practice. Statistically significant data were recorded (p ≤ 0.05). Subjects who obtained low stress (92.1%), followed by medium stress (85.5%) and high stress (67.2%), performed physical activity 150min or more a week. For burnout syndrome, it was highlighted that of the people who did not present burnout syndrome (89.1%), they practiced 150min or more of weekly physical activity. Likewise, the subjects who reported that they Table 2 Comparison of stress, burnout syndrome and resilience by the compliance or not compliance with the volume of physical activity recommendations by the WHO PA physical activity, ESUM Estrés summation, EE emotional exhaustion, D depersonalization, PF personal fulfillment, RSUM resilience summation, PECT personal competence, high standards, and tenacity, TTE trust, tolerance, and empowerment, PASR positive acceptance and secure relationships, CONP control and purpose, SE spiritual influences Levene test T test ES (d) CI 95% PA MSD FSig TGl Sig Perceived stress ESUM Yes 2.19 0.66 1.407 0.236 −5.365 129.25 0.001 0.678 [0.430; 0.926] No 2.63 0.60 Burnout syndrome EE Yes 3.24 0.83 0.001 0.973 −4.503 121.86 0.001 0.569 [0.322; 0.816] No 3.71 0.81 DYes 2.88 0.94 3.548 0.060 −0.913 132.44 0.362 0.109 [−0.135; 0.353] No 2.98 0.82 PF Yes 2.96 0.73 1.725 0.600 2.315 129.51 0.048 0.307 [0.062; 0.552] No 2.74 0.66 Resilience RSUM Yes 2.84 0.56 2.528 0.113 3.639 110.52 0.001 0.453 [0.207; 0.699] No 2.58 0.63 PECT Yes 3.04 0.63 1.992 0.159 4.242 111.55 0.001 0.528 [0.281; 0.774] No 2.70 0.70 TTE Yes 2.66 0.66 0.519 0.472 3.369 112.02 0.001 0.415 [0.170; 0.661] No 2,38 0.73 PASR Yes 3.01 0.68 4.641 0.032 2.751 108.65 0.007 0.370 [0.125; 0.615] No 2.75 0.79 CONP Yes 2.89 0.79 2.207 0.138 2.461 111.32 0.014 0.309 [0.065; 0.554] No 2.64 0.88 SE Yes 2.22 1.02 4.420 0.036 −1.108 143.65 0.270 0.132 [−0.112; 0.376] No 2.35 0.82 353Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 practiced physical activity showed the highest percentages of high resilience (85.7%). Table4 shows the results of the relationships between psychosocial variables and physical-sports practice. Statistically significant differences were found (p ≤ 0.05), where the participants who did not practice any type of physicalsports modality had the highest mean values for SUME (M = 2.70; D.T. = 0.59) in relation to those that do so in INCS (TE = 0.744), ISWC (TE = 0.960), CCS (TE = 0.861), and CSWC (TE = 0.678). The same occurs for AE (M = 3.72; D.T. = 0.71), although in this case the effect is associated with INCS (TE = 0.522), ISWC (TE = 1.029), and CCS (TE = 0.777). Significant data were also obtained (p ≤ 0.05), in the subjects that do not perform any type of sport, they report lower resilience values (M = 2.52; D.T. = 0.68) and lower CPET levels (M = 2.57; D.T. = 0.76) y APRS (M = 2.66; D.T. = 0.81), comparing this relationship with the INCS (TE = 0.491; TE = 0.719; TE = 0.473), ISWC (TE = 0.802; TE = 0.957; TE = 0.776) y CSWC (TE = 0.588). Concerning the above, Table5 shows the relationship between the categories of psychosocial variables and the practice of sport, for which statistically significant differences were found (p ≤ 0.05). Teachers who practice individual sports without contact showed the highest percentages of high stress (42.6%), followed by those who do not practice any type (26.2%). Along the same lines, among the teachers who presented severe burnout values, they practiced individual sports without contact (27.3%), group sports without contact (27.3%) and contact (27.3%). Thus, among the participants who presented a higher percentage of high resilience, they practiced individual sports without contact (50.5%) and group sports with contact (16.5%). Discussion The purpose of this study was to compare whether compliance with the volume of physical activity recommended by the WHO could improve psychosocial aspects such as stress, burnout syndrome and resilience in physical education teachers, in addition to comparing it according to the type of physical activity-sports performed. Several studies address these constructs in isolation or show a similar nature [36–40]. However, the physical activity recommendations proposed by the WHO [21] have only been used for studies related to congenital problems, mortality and quality of life in adults [41–44]. However, from the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study that focuses on the specific group of physical education teachers, hosting participants from all over the national territory and as a whole explores the relationships between psychosocial variables and the recommendations of WHO [21] physical activity practice. In this sense, those teachers who did not practice the minimum recommended hours of physical activity per week or some type of sport, obtained the highest levels of stress and emotional attention. On the other hand, those who did work three hours or more a week showed good personal fulfillment. This is confirmed by the results obtained by Jodra and Domínguez [45], in which they point out that those teachers who are physically inactive are those who presented a greater predisposition to develop pathologies such as anxiety and burnout. As Raven and Kleinert [46] or Smetackova [47] showed, negative associations were found between physical activity and emotional exhaustion, with this practice of physical activity being a predictor of exhaustion. The practice of regular physical activity has an impact on the quality of life [48] and presents both physical and psychological benefits in people who are dedicated to teaching, as it contributes to reducing the levels of perception of factors related to diseases related to negative subjective health states [15, 49, 50]. Thus, several studies have carried out intervention programs based on physical activity and have shown to be Table 3 Frequency and relative frequency of participants that compliance and not compliance physical activity recommendations in the different categories of stress, burnout syndrome, and resilience Output variable Category Physical activity Total Sig Yes No Perceived stress Low 35 (92.1%) 3 (7.9%) 38 (100%) p ≤ 0.05 Medium 218 (85.5%) 37 (14.5%) 255 (100%) High 82 (67.2%) 40 (32.8%) 122 (100%) Burnout syndrome Not burnout 139 (89.1%) 17 (10.9%) 156 (100%) p ≤ 0.05 Low burnout 109 (73.6%) 39 (26.4%) 148 (100%) Medium burnout 78 (78.0%) 22 (22.0%) 100 (100%) High burnout 9 (81.8%) 2 (18.2%) 11 (100%) Resilience Low 0 (0.0%) 1 (100.0%) 1 (100%) p ≤ 0.05 Medium 178 (76.7%) 54 (23.3%) 232 (100%) High 156 (85.7%) 26 (14.3%) 182 (100%) 354 Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 Table 4 Psychosocial variables according to physical-sports practice Variable Category Sport Mean DT FSig TE (d) IC 95% Perceived stress SUME NP 2.70 0.59 7.212 p ≤ 0.05 a, b, c, d 0.744a 0.960b 0.861c 0.678d [0.445; 1.040] [0.529; 1.391] [0.459; 1.263] [0.318; 1.038] INCS 2.22 0.66 ISWC 2.11 0.65 CCS 2.16 0.67 CSWC 2.27 0.67 Burnout syndrome EE NP 3.72 0.71 5.983 p ≤ 0.05 a, b, c 0.522a 1.029b 0.777c [0.227; 0.817] [0.595; 1.464] [0.378; 1.175] INCS 3.30 0.83 ISWC 2.96 0.78 CCS 3.14 0.79 CSWC 3.43 0.92 D NP 3.00 0.85 1.171 p ≥ 0.05 NP NP INCS 2.93 0.94 ISWC 2.71 0.82 CCS 2.71 0.98 CSWC 2.95 0.88 PF NP 2.81 0.73 2.145 p ≥ 0.05 NP NP INCS 3.00 0.71 ISWC 2.99 0.78 CCS 2.71 0.66 CSWC 2.98 0.70 Resilience SUMR NP 2.52 0.68 4.473 p ≤ 0.05 a, b 0.491a 0.802b[0.196; 0.786] [0.378; 1.227] INCS 2.82 0.59 ISWC 2.99 0.40 CCS 2.81 0.44 CSWC 2.82 0.61 CPST NP 2.57 0.76 7.415 p ≤ 0.05 a, b, d 0.719a 0.957b 0.588d [0.421; 1.018] [0.526; 1.388] [0.231; 0.947] INCS 3.04 0.62 ISWC 3.20 0.46 CCS 2.96 0.63 CSWC 2.99 0.67 TTE NP 2.35 0.80 2.801 p ≥ 0.05 NP NP INCS 2.61 0.72 ISWC 2.79 0.57 CCS 2.65 0.49 CSWC 2.66 0.63 PASR NP 2.66 0.81 4.172 p ≤ 0.05 a, b 0.473a 0.776d[0.178; 0.767] [0.352; 1.119] INCS 3.01 0.72 ISWC 3.20 0.47 CCS 3.00 0.54 CSWC 2.89 0.74 CONP NP 2.66 0.97 0.822 p ≥ 0.05 NP NP INCS 2.87 0.80 ISWC 2.86 0.63 CCS 2.90 0.62 CSWC 2.84 0.92 SI NP 2.31 0.85 1.611 p ≥ 0.05 NP NP INCS 2.15 1.04 ISWC 2.48 1.02 CCS 2.17 1.00 CSWC 2.41 0.90 355Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 effective in controlling stress levels and promoting motivation and satisfaction in teachers [18, 19]. The practice of a physical-sports activity is associated with the resilience process, being greater in those subjects who perform it and those who opt for individual sports with contact. Similar data to those obtained by Hegberg and Tone [51] and Laborde etal. [20] which confirm that sports practice promotes the development of multiple capacities, such as optimism, emotional intelligence, facing adverse situations or motivation to improve insituations of disadvantage. In this sense, with the practice of physical-sports activity, specific situations will be experienced, which will favor the development of resilient capacity [52, 53]. Specifically, the high levels of stress were related to the subjects who did not practice any type of sport or those who opted for the individual ones without contact. Similarly, it happens with those who present a severe burnout, being teachers who perform individual sports without contact, collective sports without and with contact, the most likely to manifest this pathology. Normally, exhaustion is the result of the work stress of teachers and at this point is where physical activity acts as a tool for stress reduction [46]. Although some studies show that there are no associations in all teaching populations [54] as pointed out by Obando-Mejía etal. [55] the practice of physical activity contributes favorably to the reduction of stressful processes [18]. Similarly, RamónSuárez etal. [56] and Reynada-Estrada etal. [57] state that the practice of this reduces negative social behaviors, as well as the improvement of emotional intelligence [58]. For this reason, and under the need to overcome adversity, high levels of resilience were associated with subjects who perform individual sports without contact and group sports with contact. The present study was not without limitations, the study design is descriptive and cross-sectional with the isolated measurement of a group. It would be interesting if future studies approach this line of research from different measurement points and thus be able to establish cause–effect Table 4 (continued) SUME stress summatory, EE emotional exhaustion1, D depersonalization, PF personal fulfillment; SUMR summatory of resilience, CPST personal competence, high standards, and tenacity, TTE trust, tolerance, and empowerment, PASR positive acceptance and secure relationships, CONP control and purpose, SI spiritual influences, NP no practice, INCS individual non-contact sport, ISWC individual sport with contact, CCS contactless collective sports, CSWC collective sport with contact a Differences between NP and DISC b Differences between NP and ISWC c Differences between NP and CCS d Differences between NP and CSWC e Differences between INCS and ISWC f Differences between INCS and CCS g Differences between INCS and CSWC h Differences between ISWC and CCS i Differences between ISWC and CSWC j Differences between CCS and CSWC Table 5 Categories of psychosocial variables according to types of sports practiced NP not practice, INCS individual non-contact sport, ISWC individual sport with contact, CS contactless collective sports, CSWC collective sport with contact Variable Category Sport Total Sig NP INCS ISWC CS CSWC Perceived stress Low 3 (7.9%) 18 (47.4%) 5 (13.2%) 8 (21.1%) 4 (10.5%) 38 (100%) p ≤ 0.05 Medium 23 (9.0%) 134 (52.5%) 26 (10.2%) 31 (12.2%) 41 (16.1%) 255 (100%) High 32 (26.2%) 52 (42.6%) 7 (5.7%) 8 (6.6%) 23 (18.9%) 122 (100%) Burnout syndrome No burnout 12 (7.7%) 73 (46.8%) 25 (16.0%) 22 (14.1%) 24 (15.4%) 156 (100%) p ≤ 0.05 Low burnout 31 (20.9%) 69 (46.6%) 9 (6.1%) 16 (10.8%) 23 (15.5%) 148 (100%) Medium burnout 13 (13.0%) 59 (59.0%) 4 (4.0%) 6 (6.0%) 18 (18.0%) 100 (100%) Severe burnout 2 (18.2%) 3 (27.3%) 0 (0.0%) 3 (27.3%) 3 (27.3%) 11 (100%) Resilience Low 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (100%) 1 (100%) p ≤ 0.05 Medium 41 (17.7%) 112 (48.3%) 15 (6.5%) 27 (11.6%) 37 (15.9%) 232 (100%) High 17 (9.3%) 92 (50.5%) 23 (12.6%) 20 (11.0%) 30 (16.5%) 182 (100%) 356 Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 relationships and follow-up of the participants. The study sample was specific to a teaching area and should not be generalized to the other specialties. Also, as a perspective for future lines of research, a more detailed analysis of physical activity is proposed and even that can be measured with valid and reliable tools. Conclusions The subjects who did not comply with the minimum recommendations for practicing physical activity or sports modality showed greater stress and emotional exhaustion. While physical activity was associated with fewer signs of burnout syndrome and greater capacity for self-improvement. Thus, teachers who opt for individual non-contact sports presented greater stress and signs of burnout, which is why these sports modalities were associated with greater resilience. For this reason, physical activity can act as a preventive means of stress and burnout syndrome, as well as favoring the capacity for personal improvement. The findings suggest the use of strategies for practicing physical activity based on the WHO [21] recommendations for the prevention of work stress and burnout syndrome in teachers, as well as to overcome work adversities. Funding Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA. This research received no external funding. Availability of data and material Not applicable. Code availability Not applicable. Declarations Conflict of interest None of the authors has a conflict of interest to declare, and all authors were involved in the study design, data collection and interpretation, and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. This manuscript is not currently being considered for publication by another journal. Ethical approval The present research has followed at all times the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, guaranteeing at all times the rights of the participants. Likewise, the present study has been approved and supervised by an ethics committee of the University of Granada (1230/CEIH/2020). Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. References 1. González-Valero G, Puertas-Molero P, Ramírez-Granizo I, Sánchez-Zafra M, Ubago-Jiménez JL (2019) Relación del mindfulness, inteligencia emocional y síndrome de burnout en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje: una revisión sistemática. SPORT TK-Rev EuroAm Cienc Deporte 8(2):13–22. https:// doi. org/ 10. 6018/ sportk. 401061 2. Puertas-Molero P, Zurita-Ortega F, Chacón-Cuberos R, MartínezMartínez A, Castro-Sánchez M, González-Valero G (2018) An explanatory model of emotional intelligence and its association with stress, burnout syndrome, and non-verbal communication in the university teachers. J Clin Med 7(12):524. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ jcm71 20524 3. Penachi E, Teixeira ES (2020) Ocorrência da síndrome de burnout em um grupo de professores universitários. Educ (UFSM) 45(1):9. https:// doi. org/ 10. 5902/ 19846 44431 778 4. Melguizo-Ibáñez E, Viciana-Garófano V, Zurita-Ortega F, UbagoJiménez JL, González-Valero G (2021) Physical activity level, mediterranean diet adherence, and emotional intelligence as a function of family functioning in elementary school students. Children 8(1):6. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ child ren80 10006 5. Metlaine A, Sauvet F, Gomez-Merino D, Elbaz M, Delafosse JY, Leger D etal (2017) Association between insomnia symptoms, job strain and burnout syndrome: a cross-sectional survey of 1300 financial workers. BMJ Open 7(1):e012816. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1136/ bmjop en2016012816 6. Moss M, Good VS, Gozal D, Kleinpell R, Sessler CN (2016) A Critical Care Societies Collaborative statement: burnout syndrome in critical care health-care professionals. A call for action. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 194(1):106–113. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1164/ rccm. 2016040708ST 7. Ellison DW, Woods AM (2019) Physical education teacher resilience in high-poverty school environments. Eur Phy Educ Rev 25(4):1110–1127. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1177/ 13563 36x18 800091 8. de vera-García M, Gabari-Gambarte M (2019) Resilience as a protective factor of chronic stress in teachers. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ 9(3):159–175. https:// doi. org/ 10. 30552/ ejihpe. v9i3. 332 9. Richards KAR, Levesque-Bristol C, Templin TJ, Graber KC (2016) The impact of resilience on role stressors and burnout in elementary and secondary teachers. Soc Psychol Educ 19(3):511–536. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s112180169346-x 10. Romero Barquero CE (2015) Meta-análisis del efecto de la actividad física en el desarrollo de la resiliencia (The effect of physical activity in the development of resilience: A metaanalysis). Retos Digit 98–103. https:// doi. org/ 10. 47197/ retos. v0i28. 34829 11. Mattli R, Farcher R, Syleouni M-E, Wieser S, Probst-Hensch N, Schmidt-Trucksäss A etal (2020) Physical activity interventions for primary prevention in adults: a systematic review of randomized controlled trial-based economic evaluations. Sports Med 50(4):731–750. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s4027901901233-3 12. Morton KL, Atkin AJ, Corder K, Suhrcke M, van Sluijs EMF (2016) The school environment and adolescent physical activity and sedentary behaviour: a mixed-studies systematic review: school environment and adolescent PA. Obes Rev 17(2):142– 158. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ obr. 12352 357Sport Sciences for Health (2023) 19:349–358 1 3 13. Sk Y-C, Yiu-Choi EK (2019) Assessing the mental health, physical activity levels, and resilience of today’s junior college students in self-financing institutions. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16(17):3210. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ ijerp h1617 3210 14. Melguizo-Ibáñez E, Zurita-Ortega F, Ubago-Jiménez JL, LópezGutiérrez CJ, González-Valero G (2022) An explanatory model of the relationships between sport motivation, anxiety and physical and social self-concept in educational sciences students. Curr Psychol. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s1214402202778-9 15. Carson RL, Baumgartner JJ, Ota CL, Kuhn AP, Durr A (2017) An ecological momentary assessment of burnout, rejuvenation strategies, job satisfaction, and quitting intentions in childcare teachers. Early Childhood Educ J 45:801–808. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s106430160831-9 16. Machado H, Gouveia de Morais E, Barbosa MA, Guimarães EC, Porto CC (2019) Impacto da saúde na qualidade de vida e trabalho de docentes universitários de diferentes áreas de conhecimento. Cien Saude Colet 24(11):4111–4123. https:// doi. or g/ 10. 1590/ 141381232 01824 11. 28712 017 17. Toker S, Biron M (2012) Job burnout and depression: unraveling their temporal relationship and considering the role of physical activity. J Appl Psychol 97(3):699–710. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1037/ a0026 914 18. Abós Á, Sevil-Serrano J, Julián-Clemente JA, Generelo E, García-González L (2019) Improving teachers’ work-related outcomes through a group-based physical activity intervention during leisure-time. J Exp Educ 89:1–20. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1080/ 00220 973. 2019. 16813 49 19. Kim G-C, Gurvitch R (2020) The effect of sports-based physical activity programme on teachers’ relatedness, stress and exercise motivation. Health Educ J 79(6):658–670. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1177/ 00178 96920 906185 20. Laborde S, Dosseville F, Allen MS (2016) Emotional intelligence in sport and exercise: a systematic review: emotional intelligence. Scand J Med Sci Sports 26(8):862–874. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ sms. 12510 21. World Health Organization (2020) Recomendaciones mundiales sobre actividad física para la salud. WHO, Suiza 22. Raza W, Krachler B, Forsberg B, Sommar JN (2020) Health benefits of leisure time and commuting physical activity: a meta-analysis of effects on morbidity. J Transp Health 18(100873):100873. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jth. 2020. 100873 23. Conde-Pipó J, Melguizo-Ibáñez E, Mariscal-Arcas M, ZuritaOrtega F, Ubago-Jiménez JL, Ramírez-Granizo I etal (2021) Physical self-concept changes in adults and older adults: influence of emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation and sports habits. Int J Environ Res Public Health 18(4):1711. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ ijerp h1804 1711 24. Muros JJ, Cofre-Bolados C, Arriscado D, Zurita F, Knox E (2017) Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lifestyle, physical fitness, and mental wellness among 10-y-olds in Chile. Nutrition 35:87–92. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. nut. 2016. 11. 002 25. Callow DD, Arnold-Nedimala NA, Jordan LS, Pena GS, Won J, Woodward JL, Smith JC (2020) The mental health benefits of physical activity in older adults survive the COVID-19. Am J Geriatric Psychiatry 28(10):1046–1057. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jagp. 2020. 06. 024 26. Castro-Sánchez M, Zurita-Ortega F, Martínez-Martínez A, Chacón-Cuberos R, Espejo-Garcés T (2016) Clima motivacional de los adolescentes y su relación con el género, la práctica de actividad física, la modalidad deportiva, la práctica deportiva federada y la actividad física familiar. [Motivational climate of adolescents and their relationship to gender, physical activity, sport, federated sport and physical activity family]. Rev Int Cienc Deporte 12(45):262–77. https:// doi. org/ 10. 5232/ ricyd e2016. 04504 27. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R (1983) A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav 24(4):385–396. https:// doi. org/ 10. 2307/ 21364 04 28. Remor E (2006) Psychometric properties of a European Spanish version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Span J Psychol 9(1):86–93. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1017/ s1138 74160 00060 04 29. Seisdedos N (1997) Manual MBI, Inventario burnout Maslach. Editorial TEA, Madrid 30. Maslach C, Jackson SE (1981) The measurement of experienced burnout. J Organ Behav 2(2):99–113. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ job. 40300 20205 31. Crespo M, Fernández-Lansac V, Soberón C (2014) Adaptación Española de la “Escala de resiliencia de Connor-Davidson” (CDRISC) en situaciones de estrés crónico [Spanish version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) for chronic stress situations]. Behav Psychol 22(2):219–238 32. Connor KM, Davidson JRT (2003) Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depress Anxiety 18(2):76–82. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ da. 10113 33. Serrano-Parra MD, Garrido-Abejar M, Notario-Pacheco B, Bartolomé-Gutiérrez R, Solera-Martínez M, Martínez-Vizcaíno V (2012) Validity of the Connor Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC) in people from 60-to-75 years old. Int J Psychol Res 5(2):49–57 34. Cohen J (1988) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Erlbaum, Hillsdale 35. Cohen J (1992) A power primer. Psychol Bull 112(1):155–159. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1037// 00332909. 112.1. 155 36. Birchinall L, Spendlove D, Buck R (2019) In the moment: does mindfulness hold the key to improving the resilience and wellbeing of pre-service teachers? Teach Teach Educ 86(102919):102919. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. tate. 2019. 102919 37. Chesak SS, Khalsa TK, Bhagra A, Jenkins SM, Bauer BA, Sood A (2019) Stress management and resiliency training for public school teachers and staff: a novel intervention to enhance resilience and positively impact student interactions. Complement Ther Clin Pract 37:32–38. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ctcp. 2019. 08. 001 38. Jennings PA, Doyle S, Oh Y, Rasheed D, Frank JL, Brown JL (2019) Long-term impacts of the CARE program on teachers’ self-reported social and emotional competence and well-being. J Sch Psychol 76:186–202. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jsp. 2019. 07. 009 39. Mesurado B, Laudadío J (2019) Experiencia profesional, capital psicológico y engagement. Su relación con el burnout en docentes universitarios. Propós represent 7(3):12. https:// doi. org/ 10. 20511/ pyr20 19. v7n3. 327 40. Soykan A, Gardner D, Edwards T (2019) Subjective wellbeing in New Zealand teachers: an examination of the role of psychological capital. J Psychol Couns Sch 29(2):130–138. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1017/ jgc. 2019. 14 41. Atad OI, Caspi D (2020) Exercise and perceived quality of life among frail older adults. Qual Ageing 21(1):29–38. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1108/ qaoa0820190047 42. Larsson L, Johansson B, Sandberg C, Apers S, Kovacs AH, Luyckx K etal (2019) Geographical variation and predictors of physical activity level in adults with congenital heart disease. Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc 22:20–25. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ijc ha. 2018. 11. 004 43. Li T, Wei S, Shi Y, Pang S, Qin Q, Yin J etal (2016) The doseresponse effect of physical activity on cancer mortality: findings from 71 prospective cohort studies. Br J Sports Med 50(6):339– 345. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1136/ bjspo rts2015094927