Gender and teaching experience differences in occupational stress and psychological symptoms among Chinese junior high school teachers

Background: Teaching is a high-stress profession globally, yet the associations of gender and teaching experience with occupational wellbeing in non-Western contexts like China remain insufficiently examined, challenging the direct applicability of Western-centric stress models. Objective: This study aimed to examine differences in occupational stress and psychological symptoms by gender and teaching experience among Chinese junior high school teachers, testing the generalizability of established stress theories within this specific socio-cultural and institutional setting. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 397 teachers from public junior high schools in Henan Province, China. Participants completed the validated Occupational Stress Questionnaire for Teachers and the Symptom Checklist-90. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, polynomial trend analysis, and effect size calculations. Results: No statistically or practically significant gender differences were found in any stress dimension or psychological symptom domain. In contrast, a strong, nonlinear association with teaching experience emerged. Teachers with over 30 years of experience reported significantly lower overall stress and fewer psychological symptoms compared to early- and mid-career groups, with moderate-to-large effect sizes, indicating a distinct late-career protective effect. Conclusion: The absence of gender differences challenges universal assumptions about gendered stress patterns, highlighting the critical moderating role of socio-cultural context. The pronounced protective effect of long-term tenure suggests a unique career-stage dynamic within the high-pressure Chinese educational system. These findings advocate for a decisive shift in policy and intervention focus-from gender-based to experience-tailored support systems-and underscore the urgency of addressing systemic stressors, particularly for teachers in early to mid-career stages.