Citation

Richardson NM, Lamson AL. Spiritual. Clin. Pract. (Wash. D. C.) 2022; 9(3): 145-158.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Educational Publishing Foundation of the American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/scp0000270

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

As research continues to expand our understanding of moral injury, much remains unknown about these invisible injuries of war, particularly in relation to other stress disorders commonly experienced by military populations. While some overlap in symptomology may exist between other military traumatic stress disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), less is known about the symptoms of moral injury and how those symptoms are unique from or interface with PTSD and TBI. The current review sought to highlight literature on moral injury in the context of military service members by differentiating moral injury and diagnostic symptomology of PTSD and TBI and providing historical context and theoretical exploration of the common injuries experienced by military personnel. The biopsychosocial-spiritual framework was introduced as an important foundation for better understanding the interconnected yet distinct differences between common military experiences that often lead to injuries of the mind (PTSD), body (TBI), and soul (moral injury) for our men and women in uniform. The authors concluded that while significant strides have been made for differentiating between diagnostic criteria for common trauma responses impacting service members and veterans since the 1980s, actions in delineating the deeper rooted morally injurious experiences of military service are needed. Key steps for addressing the gaps in our understanding of and empirically validated treatments for moral injury are also introduced. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en

Keywords

Military Personnel; Mind; Moral Injury; Posttraumatic Stress; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Soul; Traumatic Brain Injury