Browsing by Subject "moral injury"

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    An Empirical Investigation of Moral Injury in Combat Veterans
    (2015-09) Frankfurt, Sheila
    The moral injury construct was proposed to identify and describe the deleterious impact of engaging in acts that transgress accepted boundaries of behavior during combat and that challenge one’s sense of self as a good person. These acts, labeled “transgressive acts,” are proposed to lead to a guilt and shame-based syndrome of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, demoralization, self-handicapping, and self-injury. Although the moral injury construct has been gaining clinical and popular attention in recent years, little empirical research on a frequently cited model of moral injury (Litz et al., 2009) has been conducted. The current study tested key tenets of this moral injury model using structural equation modeling (SEM) in a sample of combat-exposed male veterans (N = 190). Findings supported some assertions of this moral injury model. SEM supported the direct effect of transgressive acts on guilt, and the indirect effect of transgressive acts on suicidality and demoralization through guilt. An alternative configuration of moral injury wherein demoralization was a mechanism (not outcome) of moral injury fit the data adequately; transgressive acts had an indirect effect through demoralization on suicidality and PTSD. Limitations of the study include the use of cross-sectional data and limited measures of moral injury mechanisms and outcomes. We conclude with implications for future research for veterans experiencing moral injury.
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    Moral Injury Among Professionals In K-12 Education: A Mixed Methods Inquiry
    (2018-06) Sugrue, Erin
    This dissertation presents an explanatory sequential mixed methods study of moral injury among professionals in K-12 public education. Moral injury refers to the lasting psychological and existential harm that occurs when an individual engages in or witnesses acts that violate deeply held moral beliefs and expectations. Two hundred eighteen licensed K-12 professionals in one urban school district in the Midwest completed an on-line survey that included measures of moral injury and emotional and behavioral correlates. The K-12 professionals exhibited levels of moral injury similar to those experienced by military veterans, and those working in high-poverty, racially segregated schools were significantly more likely to endorse experiences of moral injury. Based on these findings, 21 professionals who had demonstrated high levels of moral injury during the quantitative portion of the study were invited to participate in individual interviews about their experiences. Using a post-intentional phenomenological approach, and informed by Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality Theory, the analysis demonstrates how structures and processes of race and class oppression produce an education context that is rife with moral wrongs and accompanying distress. Recommendations are made for how the construct of moral injury can be employed to work towards eliminating educational injustice.