ificant variance in teacher burnout. However, it was found that age, sex, and grade level effected feelings of depersonalization in teachers but did not affect the other stress-related dimensions of burnout, namely feelings of emotional exhaustion or a depleted sense of personal accomplishment. Precisely the same finding was observed in a study conducted by Bernstein (1990) on a large sample of elementary school teachers.
To the extent that burnout is an index of degree of occupational stress, it seems reasonable to suggest that the findings observed by Bernstein (1990) and Derobbio (1995) indicate that one reason different grade levels may be associated with differential levels of stress is because of the differential nature of the stressors associated with different grade levels on teachers' feelings of depersonalization. In other words, the kinds of stressors experienced by middle school and high school teachers may be more depersonalizing than the kinds of stressors experienced by elementary school teachers (e.g. middle s
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