Childhood Trauma and Depressive Symptoms Among Young Adults: The Moderating Role of Career Satisfaction

Objective: Although the link between childhood trauma and depression has previously been established, more protective factors have yet to be explored. This study examined the moderating effects of career satisfaction on the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms. Method: A convenience sample of young adults (N = 340) aged 18 to 24 in a survey project. Participants completed validated screening measures for childhood trauma and depressive symptoms, as well as their level of career satisfaction at baseline (T1), then reported their depressive symptoms again at follow-up (T2) after 3 months. Multiple regression and moderation analyses were used to analyze the data. Results: After controlling for demographic variables and T1 depressive symptoms, childhood trauma (β =.284, p <.001) and career satisfaction (β = −.081, p =.043) significantly predicted T2 depressive symptoms. Moreover, career satisfaction also moderated the effects of childhood trauma on T2 depressive symptoms—childhood trauma predicted T2 depressive symptoms only when the level of career satisfaction was low (B =.514, p =.001). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that career satisfaction could buffer the effects of childhood trauma on subsequent depressive symptoms. Screening for depressive symptoms and counseling services at the workplace might be beneficial to young adults with childhood trauma. Future studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of trauma-informed career counseling interventions.