Autonomy-thwarting leadership practices are defined by controlling, domineering behavior by leadership, and insisting on compliance based on feelings of guilt and shame.

A subsection of this style of leadership is “transactional leadership”, defined by ensuring compliance, and closely monitoring employee behavior, like autonomy-thwarting leadership, but mainly differs in the strong association with burnout among teachers, and its broader range as a concept, as it includes certain domineering factors that autonomy-thwarting leadership alone doesn't consider.

This study hypothesized that autonomy-thwarting leadership would leave teachers feeling unsupported and overwhelmed, leading to somatic stress.