Date of Award

4-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Rodger Bufford, PhD

Second Advisor

Kenneth Logan, PsyD

Third Advisor

Freeman Chakara, PsyD

Abstract

Moral injury (MI) is a construct that has gained significant traction over the past decade and holds great implications for the etiology, nosology, and treatment of trauma. MI literature is currently limited by established measures of MI which share various strengths and weaknesses, and there has been a call in the literature to address measurement of MI (Griffin et al., 2019). In this study we propose a new measure of MI, the Adult Moral Injury Scale (AMIS), and will conduct initial validation of this measure. The AMIS is designed to be a content valid measure of MI symptoms in the general population of U.S. Adults (regardless of military status or occupation) and to address spiritual/existential crises that are regarded by many as primary to the development and maintenance of MI, but often ignored in previous MI measures. Though a two-factor structure was anticipated, EFA conducted in this study indicated the AMIS is a unidimensional measure in this sample with strong factor loadings across all 39 items, exceptional internal consistency, and is estimated to have strong factor replicability. Content validity analysis overall supported the AMIS as a valid measure of MI, though further analysis is required in future studies. Finally, participants identified as receiving mental health treatment were shown to have significantly higher AMIS scores than those not receiving mental health treatment, suggesting light evidence for the discriminant validity of the AMIS. Overall, this study supports the AMIS as a potentially valid measure of MI, though additional research is needed before it can be utilized as a measurement tool in research or clinical settings.

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