Date Presented 04/06/19
In a sample of 389 student veterans, we employed regression to establish that the meaningfulness of occupation mediated the relationship between social and community-based occupation and both psychological and subjective well-being. Occupation was also associated with greater coping skills and social support, in turn contributing to greater psychological and subjective well-being, respectively. Findings support OTs’ use of occupation to promote veterans’ well-being.
Primary Author and Speaker: Adam Kinney
Additional Authors and Speakers: Aaron Eakman
PURPOSE: We sought to understand the mechanisms by which engagement in occupation fosters Veterans’ wellbeing.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: The transition to civilian life poses a threat to Veterans’ overall wellbeing. Veterans report that civilian life is inherently less meaningful and satisfying compared to military service, and that health conditions further limit their ability to achieve a coveted version of their lives (Brenner et al., 2008). Engagement in occupation is capable of promoting and sustaining Veterans’ wellbeing during this transition. However, the influence of occupation upon Veterans’ wellbeing has not been explored. Personal meanings, perceived social support, and coping ability emerge from occupation, and may in turn enhance Veterans’ wellbeing (Eakman & Eklund, 2012; Gregg, Kitzman, & Shordike, 2016; Hawkins, McGuire, Linder, & Britt, 2015). We investigated whether personal meanings, social support, and coping skills mediated the relationship between social and community-based occupation and two outcomes reflecting perspectives on wellbeing: psychological wellbeing (meaning in life) and subjective wellbeing (life satisfaction). Results may inform occupational therapy efforts which utilize occupation to promote Veterans’ wellbeing.
DESIGN: We employed an explanatory cross-sectional design on a sample of 389 student Veterans enrolled in college between 2013 and 2018. We sent email invitations to online surveys which generated responses to the below constructs.
METHOD: The online survey included valid and reliable measures of the following constructs: social and community-based occupation; meaningful occupation; social support; coping skills; health conditions (posttraumatic stress [PTSD], depression, and somatic symptoms); meaning in life; and life satisfaction. Participants responded to a series of items establishing the presence of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and reported demographic characteristics (age, gender, and marital status). We used a regression framework to test whether meaningful occupation, social support, and coping skills mediated the relationship between social and community-based occupation and both meaning in life and life satisfaction. We included the indicators of the above health conditions and demographic characteristics as covariates.
RESULTS: There were significant and positive total effects of social and community-based occupation upon both life meaning (.10, SE = .04, p = .006) and life satisfaction (.15, SE = .03, p < .001). Statistical evidence suggests that the observed relationship between social and community-based occupation and both life meaning (.07, SE = .02, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .04, .11) and life satisfaction (.07, SE = .02, 95% CI = .05, .11) is partially due to a sense of meaningful occupation. Statistical evidence also suggests that the relationship between engagement in such occupation and meaning in life and life satisfaction is partially due to occupation’s relationship with coping skills (.03, SE = .01, 95% CI = .01, .06) and social support (.04, SE = .01, 95% CI = .02, .07), respectively.
CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that the positive relationship between social and community-based occupation and both psychological and subjective wellbeing was partially due to the meaning Veterans ascribed to their occupations. Further, engagement in such occupations was associated with greater perceived coping skills and social support, in turn contributing to greater psychological and subjective wellbeing, respectively.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Results suggest that occupational therapists can employ occupations which afford positive personal meanings, connection with others, and the ability to cope to enhance Veterans’ wellbeing during their transition to the civilian community.
References
Brenner, L., Gutierrez, P., Cornette, M., Betthauser, L., Bahraini, N., & Staves, P. (2008). A qualitative study of potential suicide risk factors in returning combat veterans. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 30(3), 211-225. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.30.3.n6418tm72231j606
Eakman, A. M., & Eklund, M. (2012). The relative impact of personality traits, meaningful occupation and occupational value on meaning in life and life satisfaction. Journal of Occupational Science, 19(2), 165-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2012.671762
Gregg, B. T., Kitzman, P. H., & Shordike, A. (2016). Well-being and coping of student veterans readjusting into academia: A pilot survey. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 32(1), 86-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/0164212X.2015.1082081
Hawkins, B. L., McGuire, F. A., Linder, S. M., & Britt, T. W. (2015). Understanding contextual influences of community reintegration among injured servicemembers. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 52(5), 527-542. http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2014.08.0196
