TY - JOUR
T1 - Moral injury appraisals and posttraumatic stress symptoms in trauma-exposed police officers
T2 - a latent class analysis
AU - Mooren, Nora
AU - de la Rie, Simone M.
AU - Boelen, Paul A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024/6/21
Y1 - 2024/6/21
N2 - Background: Police officers encounter various potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and may be compelled to engage in actions that contradict their moral codes. Consequently, they are at risk to develop symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but also moral stress or moral injury (MI). To date, MI in police officers has received limited attention. Objective: The present study sought to identify classes of MI appraisals and PTSD symptoms among police officers exposed to PTEs, while also investigating potential clinical differences between these classes. Method: For this study, 421 trauma-exposed police officers were assessed on demographics and several clinical measurements including MI appraisals (self-directed and other-directed), PTSD severity, and general psychopathology. Latent class and regression analyses were conducted to examine the presence of different classes among trauma-exposed police officers and class differentiation in terms of demographics, general psychopathology, PTSD severity, mistrust, guilt, self-punishment, and feelings of worthlessness. Results: The following five classes were identified: (1) a ‘Low MI, high PTSD class’ (28%), (2) a ‘High MI, low PTSD class’ (11%), (3) a ‘High MI, high PTSD class’ (17%), (4) a ‘Low MI, low PTSD class’ (16%), and (5) a ‘High MI-other, high PTSD class’ (27%). There were significant differences between the classes in terms of age, general psychopathology, PTSD severity, mistrust, guilt, and self-punishment but no differences for gender and feelings of worthlessness. Conclusion: In conclusion, we identified five classes, each exhibiting unique patterns of cognitive MI appraisals and PTSD symptoms. This underscores the criticality of measuring and identifying MI in this particular group, as it allows for tailored treatment interventions.
AB - Background: Police officers encounter various potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and may be compelled to engage in actions that contradict their moral codes. Consequently, they are at risk to develop symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but also moral stress or moral injury (MI). To date, MI in police officers has received limited attention. Objective: The present study sought to identify classes of MI appraisals and PTSD symptoms among police officers exposed to PTEs, while also investigating potential clinical differences between these classes. Method: For this study, 421 trauma-exposed police officers were assessed on demographics and several clinical measurements including MI appraisals (self-directed and other-directed), PTSD severity, and general psychopathology. Latent class and regression analyses were conducted to examine the presence of different classes among trauma-exposed police officers and class differentiation in terms of demographics, general psychopathology, PTSD severity, mistrust, guilt, self-punishment, and feelings of worthlessness. Results: The following five classes were identified: (1) a ‘Low MI, high PTSD class’ (28%), (2) a ‘High MI, low PTSD class’ (11%), (3) a ‘High MI, high PTSD class’ (17%), (4) a ‘Low MI, low PTSD class’ (16%), and (5) a ‘High MI-other, high PTSD class’ (27%). There were significant differences between the classes in terms of age, general psychopathology, PTSD severity, mistrust, guilt, and self-punishment but no differences for gender and feelings of worthlessness. Conclusion: In conclusion, we identified five classes, each exhibiting unique patterns of cognitive MI appraisals and PTSD symptoms. This underscores the criticality of measuring and identifying MI in this particular group, as it allows for tailored treatment interventions.
KW - cognitive appraisals
KW - latent class analysis
KW - Moral injury
KW - police officers
KW - PTSD
KW - trauma
U2 - 10.1080/20008066.2024.2365030
DO - 10.1080/20008066.2024.2365030
M3 - Article
C2 - 38904156
AN - SCOPUS:85196653108
SN - 2000-8198
VL - 15
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - European Journal of Psychotraumatology
JF - European Journal of Psychotraumatology
IS - 1
M1 - 2365030
ER -