Traumatic Experiences May Negatively Impact Military Members’ Personal Moral Values
This synthesis-based presentation examines the role of moral injury in American service men and women. Moral injury has increasingly become a focus of discussion and research. This document specifically aims to assess the role of traumatic military experiences and the impact on morality. In the seminal work of Litz, et al. (2009) moral injury is defined as an act of transgression that shatters moral and ethical expectations rooted in spiritual, cultural-based, organizational, and group based rules about fairness and the value of life. The most commonly identified transgressions include betrayals, incidents involving injury or harm to civilians, within-rank violence, inability to prevent death or suffering, and ethical dilemmas or moral conflicts. Researchers have empirically demonstrated the potential damage that moral injuries have on American soldiers. The transgressions illustrated by Drescher, et al. (2011) showed behaviors such as destructive anger, alienation, social withdrawal, depression, and suicidal ideation. Finally, moral injury can negatively impact functioning and quality of life for both affected soldier or veteran and their family members. Future direction for theory and intervention research, highlighting the importance of repairing moral injury, are proposed.
PSY 499, Capstone
Mary Ann Winter-Messiers
PFB 114
1:30 – 2:00 PM