Exposure to potentially morally injurious events, disruption in assumptive world, moral injury symptoms, and psychological distress among Israeli female veterans

Exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) during military service is associated with mental health problems. However, knowledge about these associations and possible mechanisms of effect among female combat veterans is sparse. This study examines associations between PMIEs, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms among female veterans, as well as the mediating role of disruption in assumptive world and moral injury (MI) symptoms. A volunteer sample of Israeli female combat veterans (n = 885) and non-combat veterans (n = 728) responded to self-report questionnaires in a cross-sectional design study. Results show that combat veterans reported higher levels of PMIEs, PTSD and MI symptoms, but not CPTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms, as compared to non-combat veterans. Importantly, PMIEs was indirectly associated with PTSD, complex PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms through serial mediators of disruption in assumptive world and MI symptoms. This study emphasized the exposure to PMIEs and its posttraumatic sequelae among female combat veterans as compared to non-combat veterans. Our findings also suggest that future longitudinal studies should examine the mediating role of disruption in assumptive world and MI symptoms for the deleterious effects of exposure to PMIEs during military service.