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Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and moral injury among college students
Folly Folivi1, Adrian J Bravo1
1Department of Psychological Sciences, William & Mary.
Objective:
Prior research has identified a link between potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and moral injury, but there is a dearth of research into whether college students may also be at risk of developing moral injury. The present study examined whether PMIEs relate to moral injury among college students and if one type of PMIE (i.e., commission with agency, commission under duress, acts of omission, witnessing, and betrayal) was more salient in predicting moral injury among this population.
Method:
Participants were 397 U.S.-based college students (63.2% White, non-Hispanic; 61.9% female; 55.2% first-year students) who endorsed exposure to one or more stressful experiences that went against their moral code or values and completed measures on PMIEs and moral injury.
Results:
Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that betrayal, commission with agency, and acts of omission PMIEs were significantly and positively associated with moral injury total score and moral injury shame-related outcomes, while betrayal and commission under duress were uniquely and positively associated with moral injury trust violation-related outcomes. When a PMIE total score was included in the model, only betrayal remained statistically significantly associated with moral injury trust violation outcomes. The PMIE total score was positively associated with moral injury total score and moral injury shame-related outcomes.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that college students may be at risk of developing moral injury after PMIE exposure and may benefit from interventions that target specific PMIEs to mitigate moral injury development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
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