Abstract
The construct of moral injury is relatively new, primarily studied in trauma-exposed military personnel, and measurement scales recently available to screen symptoms of moral injury. However, no scale exists for firefighters; consequently, resulting in limited data for the risk and protective factors of moral injury in firefighters. Firefighters are considered one of the most stressful occupations, responding to critical incidents involving personal threat or harm to self, a violation of core beliefs about the world, and witnessing pain and suffering of others. Exposures to a single traumatic event or cumulative traumatic events can result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicide ideation and possibly risk for moral injury. The objective of this study aims to address the gap in available instruments by developing a moral injury scale for firefighters and assess the potential risk and protective factors of moral injury in firefighters.
