Objective: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a prominent mental health condition that affects military personnel. Moral injury is another mental health concern among military personnel that requires further investigation. Moral injury results when the individual is exposed to a situation or event that violates their moral code. Meanwhile, PTSD results when there is a substantial threat of harm. Although distorted cognitions are core components of PTSD symptomatology, there is no research of cognitions in moral injury. The current study examined how maladaptive cognitions (i.e., self-worth and judgment, threat of harm, forgiveness of the situation reliability, trustworthiness of others, forgiveness of others, forgiveness of self, and atonement) may be associated with either moral injury or PTSD. Method: Participants (N = 253) were recruited online and eligible for the study if they endorsed a previous deployment, answered military-specific questions, and reported clinical levels of distress on PTSD and Moral Injury self-report measures. An overwhelming majority of participants experienced foreign deployment(s; 90.1%). Results: Data indicated that moral injury was defined by atonement, self-worth and judgment, reliability and trustworthiness of others, and forgiveness of others while PTSD was defined by threat of harm and forgiveness of the situation. Forgiveness of self was not associated with moral injury nor PTSD. Conclusion: The results highlighted that moral injury and PTSD are associated with distinct maladaptive cognitions. The results of the current study can assist in treatment of moral injury and PTSD by identifying the maladaptive cognitions specific to moral injury that may be targets for change during treatment. Clinical Impact StatementPrevious research on trauma-related mental health issues have focused primarily on PTSD; however, research should also examine moral injury. Although distorted cognitions are core components of PTSD symptomatology, there is a lack of research identifying distorted cognitions within moral injury. The current study sought to identify specific cognitions associated with moral injury or PTSD. Our results highlighted that moral injury and PTSD are distinct regarding maladaptive cognitions. It may benefit clinical treatment to identify and recognize the maladaptive cognitions when treating moral injury or PTSD.

Chaplains are an integral part of mental health treatment within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and over the past decade, efforts have been made to integrate chaplain services into behavioral health treatment. One unique duty of chaplains is to conduct spiritual assessments, which are characterized as collaborative discussions with veterans to understand their overall religious and belief system, identify spiritual injuries, and how to integrate one’s spiritual values into medical care. Although spiritual assessments in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers have evolved throughout the years to adopt a more structured approach, spiritual assessments can vary depending on site, clinical setting, and medical center. The present study sought to examine chaplains’ perspectives on standardizing spiritual assessments and incorporating empirically validated measures into the assessments. Thematic analysis was conducted on two focus groups of chaplains from a large VHA medical center. Overall, chaplains appeared interested in standardizing spiritual assessments, with an expressed desire to maintain their current conversational format.

Moral injury tends to be conceptualized through an interplay of psychological and religious concerns. Recent qualitative research has begun utilizing chaplains to bolster the understanding of moral injury within veterans. The current study examined qualitative data regarding how moral injury is viewed through the lens of Chaplain Services within the Veterans Health Administration (VA). Specifically, chaplains were asked to describe how moral injury presents, what kinds of complaints veterans voice with regard to moral injury, and how moral injury impacts social functioning. Chaplains highlighted how moral injury is a pervasive issue affecting veterans across multiple domains. Clinical implications discussed further.

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Objective Specific pain conditions such as back pain and migraines are associated with increased risk of suicide mortality after accounting for key covariates. The purpose of the current study was to assess the associations of specific pain conditions with suicide attempts. Design Case-control Setting Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Subjects Individuals who utilized VHA services with a record of a suicide attempt (n = 30,051) in Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014 were identified and propensity score matched with controls with no such record (n = 30,051). Methods Data on pain condition diagnoses (back pain, arthritis, migraine, headaches, psychogenic pain, neuropathy, fibromyalgia) psychiatric diagnoses, medical comorbidity, and demographics were extracted from VHA medical record and suicide surveillance datasets. Results Unadjusted logistic regression analyses found that each of the pain conditions were associated with suicide attempts (e.g., back pain: Odds ratio [OR]=3.25, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=3.12-3.39). After adjusting for mental health conditions, medical comorbidity, and each of the pain conditions, the effects were attenuated across pain conditions; however, remained significant for each of the pain conditions except for fibromyalgia. Specifically, back pain (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.19-1.32), migraines (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.14-1.46), headaches (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.19-1.48), and neuropathic pain (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.33-1.74) were each associated with increased odds of a suicide attempt. Fibromyalgia was the only pain condition associated with re-attempt status (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.08-1.45). Conclusions Specific pain conditions are associated with increased odds of suicide attempts even after including key covariates. Limitations Limitations of the study include the retrospective study design and lack of examination into additional variables including prescription opioid use, pain intensity, and pain duration. The case-control design also limits the ability to draw causal or temporal conclusions.