Meaning, Perceived Growth, and Posttraumatic Stress Among Teachers in El Salvador: Assessing the Impact of Theistic and Non-Theistic Experiences of Spirituality

It is well established that theistic and non-theistic forms of spirituality can be an important factor in mental health, particularly after a stressor or trauma. This pattern might be more pronounced in highly religious countries. Focusing on 257 violence-exposed teachers from educational departments throughout El Salvador, the roles of theistic and non-theistic spiritual experiences were examined in teachers' meaning made of salient stressors from their lives, perceptions of posttraumatic growth (PTG), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Three major findings emerged in statistical analyses: (1) non-theistic spiritual experiences uniquely predicted greater meaning made in the presence of control variables; (2) theistic and non-theistic experiences jointly increased explained variance in perceived PTG, with neither approach emerging as a unique predictor; and (3) non-theistic experiences predicted lower PTSD symptom severity and theistic experiences uniquely linked with more trauma-related symptomatology. These findings support the importance of spirituality research in persons exposed to pervasive trauma and the importance of developing interventions for this population, as spirituality may be a protective factor.