Transgressions of self and others: Exploring the associations between moral injury symptoms, social connectedness, and psychological well-being.

OBJECTIVE: Moral injury and lack of social connectedness are negatively associated with psychological well-being for those who have transitioned from military to civilian roles. However, the way in which the experiences of moral injury shape veterans' social connectedness and psychological well-being is less well understood. The present study explores the nature of the relationships between aspects of moral injury, social connectedness, and psychological well-being. METHOD: Australian Defence Force veterans (N = 240; Mage = 50.86, SDage = 12.77; 86.5% male) participated in an online survey, providing data on their experiences of moral injury events, expressions of moral injury symptoms, sense of social connectedness, and psychological well-being. Path analyses were used to test interrelationships between these constructs. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that both transgressions related to self and others were positively related to self-directed and other-directed moral injury symptoms, respectively. In turn, other-directed and self-directed moral injury symptoms were negatively associated with psychological well-being via social connectedness, with self-directed moral injury symptoms maintaining a negative association with psychological well-being. Additional testing found the path model remained constant when comparing the model fit between those who reported being deployed in combat roles and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: The study underscores the significance of social connectedness in relation to veteran psychological well-being, emphasizing the importance of using an integrative support system that can holistically address both the internal moral quandaries and the external challenges of social reintegration in the ex-serving veteran context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).