Psychological (In) Flexibility Mediates the Effect of Loneliness on Psychological Stress. Evidence from a Large Sample of University Professors Ortega-Jiménez, David Ruisoto, Pablo Díaz Bretones, Francisco José del Rocío Ramírez, Marina Vaca Gallegos, Silvia Psychosocial factors Psychological (in)flexibility Professor Mental health This study was funded by the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (Ecuador) (Research Project PROY.PSC.1055 and the National Council for the Control of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (CONSEP). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee for Research in Human Beings (Comité de Ética de Investigación en Seres Humanos, CEISH) of the Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Ecuador (MSP-DIS-2015-0088-O, 29 June 2015). The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy and ethical reasons. Psychological stress, loneliness, and psychological inflexibility are associated with poorer mental health and professional performance in university teachers. However, the relationship between these variables is understudied. The aim of the present study is to analyze the mediating role of psychological (in)flexibility on the effect of loneliness on psychological stress. A total of 902 professors from 11 universities in Ecuador were analyzed using standardized scales: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) to assess psychological stress, the Loneliness Scale Revised-Short (UCLA-3) for loneliness, and the Avoidance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-7) and Life Engagement Test as double measures of psychological (in)flexibility. Mediation was tested by using PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results indicated that psychological flexibility mediated the relationship between loneliness and stress in university professors, regardless of sex and the measure of psychological (in)flexibility considered. The practical implications of the results are discussed herein. 2021-05-07T10:32:50Z 2021-05-07T10:32:50Z 2021-03-15 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Ortega-Jiménez, D.; Ruisoto, P.; Bretones, F.D.; Ramírez, M.d.R.; Vaca Gallegos, S. Psychological (In)Flexibility Mediates the Effect of Loneliness on Psychological Stress. Evidence from a Large Sample of University Professors. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 2992. [https:// doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062992] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/68385 10.3390/ijerph18062992 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España MDPI