Moral Injury in Women Veterans: A Grounded Theory Study
Format Type
Plenary
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
14-1-2021 11:15 AM
End Date
14-1-2021 11:35 AM
Abstract
The purpose of this presentation is to describe a research study on military moral injury that the president of the Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. and a faculty associate of the University of Phoenix are conducting. The research question is: What is the nature of moral injury for U.S. women veterans?
This study is using a qualitative grounded theory design. The purpose is to discover a theory of the nature of moral injury for U.S. women veterans. Data was first collected from in-depth interviews with women who are no longer serving in the U.S. Department of Defense, achieved the rank of E-5 or above, served at least five years in the military, and participated in or were the target of activities by military personnel that created inner conflict or violated their personal moral values. Nineteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews with this inclusion criteria were conducted.
After those interview, the data collection method was changed to anonymous online surveys. Some women expressed a desire to participate in an online questionnaire as opposed to a telephone interview since reflection on experienced moral conflict is deeply personal. Switching to an online form for collecting data gave the team access to people who felt that they could not verbalize their experiences but who were willing to contribute rich and in-depth data to the study. To date, 40 women have completed the survey.
Keywords
military moral injury, women veterans, grounded theory, moral conflict
ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6376-4188
Moral Injury in Women Veterans: A Grounded Theory Study
The purpose of this presentation is to describe a research study on military moral injury that the president of the Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. and a faculty associate of the University of Phoenix are conducting. The research question is: What is the nature of moral injury for U.S. women veterans?
This study is using a qualitative grounded theory design. The purpose is to discover a theory of the nature of moral injury for U.S. women veterans. Data was first collected from in-depth interviews with women who are no longer serving in the U.S. Department of Defense, achieved the rank of E-5 or above, served at least five years in the military, and participated in or were the target of activities by military personnel that created inner conflict or violated their personal moral values. Nineteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews with this inclusion criteria were conducted.
After those interview, the data collection method was changed to anonymous online surveys. Some women expressed a desire to participate in an online questionnaire as opposed to a telephone interview since reflection on experienced moral conflict is deeply personal. Switching to an online form for collecting data gave the team access to people who felt that they could not verbalize their experiences but who were willing to contribute rich and in-depth data to the study. To date, 40 women have completed the survey.