Meaning of work in the association between traumatic events experienced and posttraumatic growth among workers in...

Traumatic experiences are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Although meaning-making has been emphasized in PTG, little research has examined whether the meaning of work is involved in cross-sectional indirect associations between traumatic events experienced and PTG. In South Korea, research has focused mainly on events meeting the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), whereas events not meeting DSM criteria among workers remain underexamined.

This study measured traumatic events experienced, meaning of work, and PTG in 328 workers aged 20 years or older. Traumatic events experienced were classified as events meeting DSM-5 criteria or events not meeting these criteria. Cross-sectional indirect associations were examined using SPSS 21.0 and the PROCESS Macro.

In cross-sectional indirect-effect models, meaning of work showed a significant indirect association between the total number of traumatic events experienced and PTG. A significant indirect association through meaning of work was also observed for events not meeting DSM criteria, whereas no significant indirect association was found for events meeting DSM criteria.

In this worker sample, events not meeting DSM criteria were highly prevalent. Meaning of work may be cross-sectionally associated with how workers interpret and integrate such events. These exploratory findings suggest that meaning-centered approaches may complement workplace mental health interventions, although longitudinal studies are needed to test temporal and causal processes.