Conflictual teacher-student relationships are more strongly linked to teacher stress and burnout than relationship closeness¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A prior systematic review (Field, 2019, 21 studies) reported conflictual relationships were more highly linked to stress and burnout, with less evidence for closeness-wellbeing associations. → Rhoda Lai 2026

Evidence¶

Rhoda Lai 2026¶

Rhoda Lai, Jennifer Southam, Luella Mageean, Sue Roffey, Kelly-Ann Allen. (2026). Associations Between Teacher-Student Relationship Quality and Middle and Secondary School Teachers' Wellbeing: A Systematic Review. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10107-2

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports, citing Field (2019), that in that earlier review of 21 studies "conflictual relationships were more highly linked to stress and burnout". Field's review defined wellbeing largely as absence of stress, burnout, and poor mental health, which may explain the stronger conflict findings.

"conflictual relationships were more highly linked to stress and burnout, while less evidence was found for the association between relationship closeness and teacher wellbeing"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Perceived student misbehavior is consistently identified as a key source of teacher stress and is positively associated with emotional exhaustion — related
• Preliminary evidence suggests perceived problem behavior effects on teaching stress are mediated by teachers' perceptions of relationship conflict — related
• Educator social-emotional competency and wellbeing contribute to warm student-teacher relationships and to trusted adults who model stress management for students — related
• Interventions targeting teacher-student relationships improved relationship ratings, but effects on teacher wellbeing were mixed — related
• Teacher-student relationship measurement in middle/secondary wellbeing research is highly varied and mostly relies on tools formulated for primary school relationships — related