What is it about?
This paper presents the findings of a study on moral injury in Dutch military veterans. During missions, military personnel may be exposed to or involved in situations that are potentially morally injurious, including engagement in actions that actively transgress their moral beliefs and expectations, failing to prevent such actions, or witnessing such actions. Such actions may have a multidimensional psychosocial impact, known as moral injury. In this study we found three groups who differed with regards to levels of moral injury and PTSD. Higher levels coincided with higher psychopathology and poorer family functioning.
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Why is it important?
Moral injury is a relatively new clinical concept that has been studied predominantly in US military veterans. This is one of the first studies of moral injury among Dutch treatment-seeking military veterans. The study shows that for this group, moral injury is a clinically relevant concept.
Perspectives
When the moral injury concept started to gain prominence, some 10-15 years ago, we wondered whether it might be applicable to Dutch military veterans. These veterans often have mission-related experiences that are different from US military veterans - especially the fact that they are more often involved in peacekeeping and training missions rather than combat missions. This study showed that the concept is applicable to them and forms the basis for further efforts to address moral injury in this population.
Prof. dr. Jackie June ter Heide
ARQ Centrum'45 and Utrecht University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Moral injury in Dutch treatment-seeking veterans: a latent profile analysis, European Journal of Psychotraumatology, September 2026, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2026.2709318.
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