(PS14-57) The Role of Meaning in Life in Mental Health Outcomes of Trauma-exposed Child Protective Workers

Child Protective Workers (CPWs) are tasked with caring for children subjected to abuse or neglect and, as a result, can be exposed to higher than average stressors and/or traumas than the general population. Encountering trauma within the workplace may put CPWs at high risk of experiencing psychopathology, including symptoms of depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and excessive alcohol use. Factors that protect against pathology after a traumatic event are not well understood within the CPW occupation. Search for meaning in life has been associated with increased depression and anxiety symptoms, whereas presence of meaning in life has been associated with decreased psychopathology including depression, anxiety, alcohol use, and PTSD symptoms. Meaning in life may be an important predictor of mental health among CPWs given workplace stressors; however this hasn’t been previously examined. The aim of the current study was to investigate how meaning in life is associated with PTSD symptoms, alcohol use, and depression and anxiety symptoms in trauma-exposed CPWs. We hypothesized that presence of meaning in life will be negatively associated with PTSD symptoms, alcohol use, and depression-anxiety symptoms whereas search for meaning in life will be positively associated with these outcomes.

The current study included a trauma-exposed sample of Los Angeles County CPWs (N=59, 89.8% female, 32.2% White). On average, participants were 55.2 years old (SD = 11.0) and had worked as a CPW for 13.3 years (SD = 7.5). Greater search for meaning in life (r = 0.386, p < 0.01) was significantly associated with greater depression-anxiety symptoms, but was not significantly associated with alcohol use (r = 0.141, p = 0.285) or PTSD symptoms (r = 0.175, p = 0.185). By contrast, greater presence of meaning in life was significantly associated with reduced alcohol use (r = -0.334, p = 0.01), but was not significantly associated with depression-anxiety symptoms (r = -0.214, p = 0.103) or PTSD symptoms (r = -0.170, p = 0.199).
 

Our results suggest that increased presence of meaning in life may protect against problematic alcohol use in trauma-exposed CPWs. Given that higher search for meaning in life was associated with greater depression-anxiety symptoms, this may be an important target of intervention for trauma-exposed CPWs. Limitations of our study include the small sample size and cross-sectional design. Future research could look into a larger sample of trauma-exposed CPWs or other high-risk occupations in a prospective design to establish temporality between these variables.