Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Original article

Meaning of work in the association between traumatic events experienced and post-traumatic growth among workers in South Korea: a cross-sectional study: Miyoung Kim, Sang Baek Koh, Yujin Kim; Ann Occup Environ Med 2026;e35. Published online July 27, 2026; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2026.38.e35 [Accepted]

Abstract PDF: Background
Traumatic experiences are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic 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.
Methods
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 (model 4).
Results
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 not meeting DSM criteria, whereas no significant indirect association was found for events meeting DSM criteria.
Conclusions
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.

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Original Article

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Related Factors in Firefighters of a Firestation: Soon Chan Kwon, Jaechul Song, Soo Jin Lee, Inah Kim, Jaewoo Koh, Hyunchul Ryou, Seok Hyun Kim, Daeho Kim, Seung Ah Jung; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2008;20(3):193-204. Published online September 30, 2008; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2008.20.3.193

OBJECTIVES
To investigate the factors related with posttraumatic symptoms and to estimate the prevalence of posttraumatic disorder of urban male firefighters.
METHODS
From a study sample comprising 260 male firefighters from one fire station, the responses from 146 who had experienced one or more traumatic events, responded to the 'Impact of Event Scale-Revised Korean version' (IES-R-K) and didn't show any evidence of depression were analyzed. We surveyed the firefighters using a self-administered questionnaire including general characteristics, job-related characteristics, IES-R-K, and a 'Firefighters and paramedics' incident stressor'.
RESULTS
The mean value of IES-R-K in this study was 11.3 and it was higher in the married firefighters than in the unmarried firefighters (p=0.005) and in the 24-hr shift workers than in the ordinary day shift workers (p=0.032). The frequency of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of the firefighters in this study using IES-R-K was 13.7%, with a cutoff point of 24/25. The overall number of experiences of 25 traumatic events was larger in emergency medical personnel and rescue workers than in other work functions (p=0.000).
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of PTSD symptoms in firefighters was estimated to 13.7% using IES-RK and was higher than the prevalence of PTSD in the general population. A program to manage the mental health and provide early detection for mental illness for firefighters is needed.

Citations

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