Moral Injury in Trauma-Exposed, Treatment-Seeking Police Officers and Military Veterans

Latent Class Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID15529593
AuthorsBeijka Mensink (corresponding author), Annette van Schagen (0000-0003-3231-1383), Niels Van Der Aa (0000-0003-1366-4001), F Jackie June Ter Heide (0000-0001-7593-4359)
Year2022
Volume13
Pages904659-904659
Publication date2022-07-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2022.904659
PMID35898627
OpenAlexW4285043190
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited41

Exposure to morally injurious events may have a severe, prolonged negative impact on psychosocial functioning, known as moral injury (MI). Research into the prevalence of MI has mostly focused on event exposure rather than on psychosocial impact. Also, the relationship between MI and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains a matter of interest. The aim of this study was to identify MI and PTSD symptom profiles among trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking police officers and military veterans, and to explore demographic and clinical differences between symptom profiles. Latent class and multinomial regression analyses were conducted in a sample of 1,703 participants, using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Four classes of participants were identified, labeled as a MI class ( n = 192; 11.27%), a MI-PTSD class ( n = 565; 33.18%), a PTSD class ( n = 644; 37.82%), and a Neither MI-nor PTSD class ( n = 302; 17.73%), resulting in 44.45% ( n = 757) of participants who met an MI symptom profile with or without PTSD. There were significant differences between the classes in terms of gender as well as PTSD and comorbid psychopathology symptom severity, the latter of which was highest in the MI-PTSD class. In conclusion, a substantial subgroup of trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking police officers and military veterans could be classified as suffering from MI. Routinely screening for MI in treatment-seeking police officers and military veterans is recommended, and interventions aimed at relieving MI in these populations may be indicated

Latent class model · Moral injury · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Psychopathology · Psychosocial · Psychotherapist · Clinical Psychology · Medicine · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Traumatic Brain Injury Research

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