Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2016

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Cooperating University

University of Kentucky

Department

Social Work

Degree Program

Social Work, PhD

Committee Chair

Van Zyl, Michiel

Committee Member

Archuleta, Adrian

Committee Member

Flaherty, Chris

Committee Member

Lawson, Thomas

Committee Member

Rote, Sunshine

Author's Keywords

military; social work; moral Injury; existential; PTSD; resiliency

Abstract

Military personnel returning from deployment often report a variety of distressing symptoms stemming from exposure to prolonged, extreme deployment stress, and traumatic experiences. In addition to reporting symptoms consistent with the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, they are also known to report struggling with existential angst often leading to great despair and a sense of profound changes in the core of their being. While this phenomenon, referred to herein as Moral Injury, has traditionally received little attention, it is beginning to emerge as a potentially viable construct in practice and research and may assist in explaining the effects of war on the whole person than Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) alone. However, this concept has yet to be empirically defined, and its relationship to other known constructs such as PTSD, Disorders of Extreme Stress – Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS), and Existential Well-Being (EWB), appears to be conceptually related but has not well established. Using data gathered from the administration of the Spiritual Attitudes Inventory – Revised (2010) to OEF/OIF Servicemembers upon return from deployment, this study explored the relationships between the constructs in question to identify the differences, similarities, and relationships to obtain a clearer picture of the complexity of post-deployment distress. This instrument assessed respondents on each of the constructs including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PCL-M), Disorders of Extreme Stress – Not Otherwise Specified, Existential Well-Being. The theoretical model for the concept of Moral Injury was extrapolated from the DESNOS sub-domains. The results indicated that the parent constructs PTSD, Moral Injury and Existential Well-Being were highly correlated with and between one another. However, when the analysis delved into exploring the relationships at the sub-domain level, differences could be identified which provided a more detailed model of the thematic intersections between these constructs. By doing so, this study fills a gap in the current body of research by offering a preliminary conceptual model of Moral Injury from a symptomological perspective while also illustrating the relationship between this emerging construct, PTSD and Existential Well-Being.

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