Exploring the Role of Moral Injury and Meaning Pursuit in the Relationship Between Combat Experience and Well-Being Among Active-Duty Military Members in the United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact and mechanisms of combat exposure on military personnel’s psychological adaptation. Using data from the Military Health and Well-Being Project (MHWBP), which targeted US military personnel with combat experience, the authors analyzed the mediating effect of moral injury on the relationship between combat exposure and well-being, as well as the moderating effect of meaning pursuit using a moderated mediation model. The data of 1495 military personnel were analyzed, and significant correlations were found among the variables. The mediating effect of moral injury was found to be significant using the Process Macro. Furthermore, the moderating effect of meaning pursuit on the mediating process of moral injury was also significant, indicating that individuals with higher levels of meaning pursuit experienced a relatively lower mediating effect of moral injury. Based on these results, the implications, limitations, and future research directions concerning the mechanisms through which combat exposure affects military personnel’s well-being were discussed.