Thesis
The relationship between temperament, moral injury appraisals, and PTSD symptoms
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
12/2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000007245
Abstract
Objective. Moral injury is a new stressor-related syndrome that stems from “the lasting psychological, biological, spiritual, behavioral, and social impact of perpetuating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations” (Litz et al., 2009, p.697). Although Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) research has demonstrated connections between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), and behavioral activation system (BAS), there is currently no research examining the relationships of these motivational systems and moral injury appraisals, associated affective states, and specific PTSD symptoms. This study examined the moderating effects of RST temperament systems on moral injury appraisals of blame, PTSD symptoms, trauma-related guilt cognitions, shame, and anger. Method. Participants were 232 Washington State University undergraduate students who completed measures of demographics, RST temperament systems, PTSD symptoms, trauma-related guilt, trauma-related shame, and trauma-related anger from January 2024 to July 2024. Analyses were conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro for SPSS.
Results. Results indicated a significant moderating effect of BIS and BAS in predicting moral injury appraisals of self-blame, trauma-related guilt cognitions, and trauma-related shame. This effect demonstrated that high BIS temperaments predicted more moral injury appraisals of self-blame, trauma-related guilt cognitions, and trauma-related shame but only at higher levels of BAS. Conclusions. These findings indicate that the relationship between BIS, moral injury appraisals, trauma-related guilt cognitions, and trauma-related shame is contingent upon an individual’s level of BAS, but that this is not the case for appraisals of other-blame, PTSD symptoms, or trauma-related anger. Future studies should consider the importance of examining both RST temperament systems when considering moral injury appraisals and trauma symptoms.
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Details
- Title
- The relationship between temperament, moral injury appraisals, and PTSD symptoms
- Creators
- Delaney Adams
- Contributors
- Walter Scott (Chair)Maria Gartstein (Committee Member)Cornelia Kirchhoff (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Psychology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 47
- Identifiers
- 99901195540001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis