Citation

Koenig HG, Youssef NA, Ames D, Teng EJ, Hill TD. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

School of Sociology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/NMD.0000000000001077

PMID

31738222

Abstract

Moral injury (MI) is a syndrome thought to be separate from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet having some overlap. To determine the overlap, we examined the relationship between MI and the four DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters (B, C, D, E) in US veterans and active duty military (ADM). The 45-item Moral Injury Symptom Scale (MISS-M) was administered to 591 veterans and ADM who had served in a combat theater and had PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were measured with the PTSD Symptom Checklist-5, which assesses the four PTSD symptom clusters. Total MISS-M scores were more strongly associated with PTSD symptom cluster D (negative cognitions and emotions) in both bivariate and multivariate analyses.

FINDINGS for a 10-item version of the MISS-M (MISS-M-SF) closely followed those of the MISS-M. Although the overlap between MI and PTSD occurs to some extent across all PTSD symptoms clusters, the largest overlap tends to be with the negative cognitions and emotions cluster.

Language: en