The social aspect of experiencing moral injury in the context of family relationships
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29038/2227-1376-2025-46-fedKeywords:
moral injury, moral distress, compassion fatigue, emotional expressiveness, family relationshipsAbstract
Purpose. The purpose of this publication is to provide a theoretical overview of psychological approaches to studying the problem of moral trauma in individuals and to clarify the characteristics of the connection between the experience of MT by young people in the context of family relationships, in particular the attitude of parents/guardians in situations where their physical or mental health is impaired.
Methods. The theoretical and empirical study used methods of theoretical analysis of psychological literature (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and psychodiagnostic methods, represented by: the Moral Injury Symptom Scale (MISS-M-SF) (adapted for the civilian population by L. Zaseikina, M. Kozigora), the Method for Measuring Expressed Emotions (LEE); mathematical and statistical methods (quantitative and qualitative analysis, Fisher's φ-angle, correlation analysis).
Results. The empirical research confirms the importance of studying family relationships in the experience of moral trauma by adolescents, as there are strong correlations between MT symptoms and a lack of support, irritation, and criticism from reference adults, as well as a lack of care on their part. In general, moral trauma in adolescence is manifested by symptoms of shame, lack of trust, moral conflict, and difficulty forgiving. MT symptoms such as religious conflict and loss/diminishment of religious faith are identified as the main ones in this age group.
Conclusions. A theoretical review of psychological literature confirms the complexity and ambiguity of the problem of moral trauma. The presented results do not claim to be exhaustive and have certain limitations in the context of presenting scientists' approaches to highlighting the symptoms, determinants, and signs of moral trauma, as well as the specifics of its experience by representatives of various professions. We see the prospect of further scientific research in analyzing the role of peers in experiencing MT in conditions of prolonged traumatic stress in adolescence.
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