Service members' exposure to potentially morally injurious events: Intimate partner knowledge and response

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Military Mental Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Moral injury, stemming from events violating deeply held moral beliefs, impacts emotions and behaviors.
• Service members worry about judgment when disclosing military experiences.
• Limited research exists on intimate partners' awareness of and reactions to service members' potentially morally injurious experiences (PMIEs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the extent to which intimate partners are aware of service members' PMIEs.
• To examine factors influencing disclosure of PMIEs to partners.
• To assess partners' reactions to learning about service members' PMIEs.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of data from 579 couples (1,158 individuals).
• Included male service members' reports of deployment experiences (PMIEs by self, PMIEs by others, loss, life threat).
• Included female civilian partners' reports of being told about these events.

Main Results:

• Partners were less likely to report being told about PMIEs compared to threat or loss experiences.
• Greater reported seriousness and distress regarding experiences correlated with higher likelihood of partner disclosure.
• Partners reported low levels of negative opinion changes after learning of PMIEs by self or others.

Conclusions:

• Disclosure of PMIEs to partners is less common than other deployment experiences.
• Disclosure likelihood is influenced by the perceived seriousness and distress associated with the experience.
• Partners' reactions to PMIE disclosures appear largely non-judgmental in this sample, suggesting potential for supportive relationships.