Examining the psychometric properties of the expressions of moral injury scale in a sample of first responders.

OBJECTIVE

There is emerging evidence that first responders, like military personnel, are at risk for exposure to potentially morally injurious events. However, studies examining expressions of moral injury in first responders are nascent, in large part due to the limited number of measures validated for use in this population. To address this gap, the present study sought to investigate the psychometric properties of the in a sample of first responders.

METHOD

The psychometric properties of the were investigated in a sample of 228 first responders to determine reliability, convergent validity, discriminative validity, and divergent validity. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the bifactor model identified in a veteran sample (Currier et al., 2018).

RESULTS

Results yielded an excellent fit for the bifactor model with correlated self-directed and other-directed subscales identified in the development study. In addition, the measure evidenced strong reliability, convergent validity, discriminative validity, and divergent validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the present study suggest that the is a psychometrically sound measure capable of assessing self- and other-directed expressions of moral injury in first responders. The significance of these findings to our understanding of moral injury in first responders and their implications for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).