What Is Moral Injury?

Abstract

Combat-related guilt in Vietnam veterans was described as early as 1973 [1], but it was only in 1994 that Jonathan Shay first coined the term of moral injury to describe the psychological suffering that resulted from moral transgressions in war [2]:"I've come to strongly believe through my work with Vietnam veterans (. . .) that moral injury is an essential part of any combat trauma that leads to lifelong psychological injury. Veterans can usually recover from horror, fear, and grief once they return to civilian life, so long as "what's right" has not also been violated" (p. 20).