Examining the Factor Structure of the Moral Injury Events Scale in a Veteran Sample

Military Behavioral Health

et al. 2020

Section: Measurementsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Moral Injury: Theory, Measurement, and Applications

Atuel

Chesnut

Military Behavioral Health

et al. 2020

“…All articles included populations with experience with military service either directly through their personal service or indirectly as professionals working with military personnel. Articles with quantitative procedures ( n = 17), including psychometric analyses, collected data from U.S. veteran populations (i.e., Braitman et al., 2018; Currier, Foster, & Isaak, 2019; Currier, Holland, Drescher, & Foy, 2015; Currier et al., 2018; Forkus, Breines, & Weiss, 2019; Frankfurt et al., 2018; Lancaster & Harris, 2018; Richardson et al., 2019; Smigelsky, Mallot, Veazey Morris, Berlin, & Neimeyer, 2019), both veterans and active duty personnel (i.e., Battles et al., 2018; C. Bryan et al., 2016; Koenig et al., 2018a, 2018b; Litz et al., 2018), active duty Marines (i.e., Nash et al., 2013), or members of the National Guard/Reserves (i.e., C. Bryan, Bryan, Roberge, Leifker, & Rozek, 2018). Additionally, Battaglia et al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining Moral Injury Among Military Populations: A Systematic Review

Journal of Traumatic Stress

Lamson

Smith

et al. 2020

Military service often requires engaging in activities, witnessing acts, or immediate decision‐making that may violate the moral codes and personal values to which most individuals ascribe. If unacknowledged, these factors can lead to injuries that can affect the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health of military men and women. The term moral injury has been assigned to these soul‐ceasing experiences. Although researchers have attempted to define moral injury and what leads to such experiences, inconsistencies across definitions exist. In addition, nearly all existing definitions have lacked empirical support. The purpose of the present systematic review was to explore how moral injury has been defined in research with military populations, using Cooper's approach to research synthesis as well as PRISMA guidelines. An in‐depth review of 124 articles yielded 12 key definitions of moral injury across the literature. Two of these 12 definitions were grounded in empirical evidence, suggesting that much more research is needed to strengthen the face validity and reliability of the construct. Quality rankings were developed to categorize each of the included articles. The findings punctuate the need for empirical evidence to further explore moral injury, particularly among samples inclusive of service members and the biopsychosocial–spiritual experiences associated with such injuries.

“…Moral injury (MI) is the term scholars have chosen to capture the wide array of experiences linked to the transgression of one's core beliefs of right and wrong (Litz et al., 2009; Shay, 1994). Current MI theory and research have indicated that there are two primary sources of moral transgressions: self‐directed (i.e., committing a transgression by one's own action or inaction) and other‐directed (i.e., witnessing or being the victim of another's transgression; Litz et al., 2018; Richardson et al., 2020; Schorr et al., 2018; Stein et al., 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral Injury and Social Well‐Being: A Growth Curve Analysis

Chesnut

Journal of Traumatic Stress

Morgan

et al. 2020

Self Cite

Moral injury (MI) may occur in the context of committing transgressions (i.e., self‐directed MI reactions), witnessing transgressions, or being the victims of others’ transgressions (i.e., other‐directed MI reactions) that violate an individual's moral principles. Veterans with MI may experience impaired social well‐being (SWB). Studies on MI and veterans’ SWB have focused almost exclusively on social support and used cross‐sectional data. The present study used growth curve analyses to examine the associations between self‐ and other‐directed MI reactions and veterans’ levels of social support, social functioning, social activities, and social satisfaction over the first 18 to 21 months of their transition to civilian life (N = 9,566). The results demonstrated declines in all SWB outcomes, with self‐ and other‐directed MI reactions having differential effects. Higher versus lower levels of other‐directed MI reactions were related to lower baseline scores on all SWB outcomes, βs = −.06 to −.20, and steeper declines over time in social functioning, β = −.09, and social satisfaction, β = −.10. Higher versus lower levels of self‐directed MI reactions were related to lower baseline levels of social functioning, β = −.07, but higher baseline levels of social activity, β = .04. Higher versus lower levels of self‐directed MI reactions were related to a steeper decline in social activity over time, β = −.10. These findings present a more nuanced picture than that depicted by current MI theoretical frameworks and support further research to uncover moderators of the associations between self‐ and other‐directed MI reactions and SWB outcomes.