When a morally injurious event becomes central to identity, mental health outcomes are worse

What is it about?

Event centrality is the extent to which an individual views an event as a reference point for interpreting other life events, a turning point in their life, and a central component of their identity. It has important implications for mental health outcomes, with events perceived as more central to identity associated with poorer outcomes. We have shown that when a morally challenging event becomes central to identity, moral injury outcomes are worse. However, this effect was mediated by the strength of guilt and shame experienced, indicating that these moral emotions are important to understanding and treating moral injury.

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Photo by Ali Arjmandi on Unsplash

Photo by Ali Arjmandi on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The findings of this study suggest that, while the centrality of a morally challenging life event to self-identity is an important factor in moral injury, moral injury severity may be influenced more strongly by the moral emotions of guilt and shame. These findings present potential directions for future intervention studies, suggesting that the treatment of moral injury could be enhanced by targeting different underlying mechanisms from those typically targeted in the treatment of traumatic stress.