Work-intensity demands, autonomous motivation, and school support show distinct associations with perceived distress and low perceived coping in teachers

Teacher stress may involve distinct experiences of perceived distress and low perceived coping that relate differently to working conditions and motivational resources. This cross-sectional study examined work-intensity demands, school support, autonomous motivation, and two facets of perceived stress among 5,312 Romanian teachers. Partial least squares structural equation modelling estimated the formative work-intensity composite, higher-order constructs, indirect associations, and the interaction term; covariance-based analyses supplemented the assessment of the reflective measurement structure. A two-factor PSS-10 specification fit better than a unidimensional model under both estimators. Work-intensity demands were positively associated with autonomous motivation, strongly associated with perceived distress, and weakly associated with low perceived coping. School support was associated with a weaker work-intensity slope for perceived distress, whereas the interaction with low perceived coping was small and positive, contrary to the proposed buffering pattern. Four indirect associations through autonomous motivation were negative and significant; those involving work-intensity demands were opposite in sign to the corresponding direct associations at mean school support. School support and autonomous motivation were negatively associated with both stress facets, with stronger associations with low perceived coping. These findings support distinguishing the two stress facets and considering both demanding working conditions and school-level resources when examining teacher stress.