Author: James J. Sabo, PhD
Institution: Capella University
Year: 2023
Citation (APA 7th edition):
Sabo, J. J. (2023). Predicting Moral Injury With Moral Foundations and Length of Service Among Emergency Paramedics (Order No. 30819309). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2903234253). https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/predicting-moral-injury-with-foundations-length/docview/2903234253/se-2
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Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate if aspects of morality and length of service would
predict moral injury in emergency paramedics. To address the gap in the literature, five domains
of morality (care/harm, fairness/cheating, loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion,
sanctity/degradation) and length of service (measured in years), and the combination of these
variables were examined to see whether they predicted moral injury. A quantitative
nonexperimental methodology was used. The responses from a purposive sample were collected
online through SurveyMonkey. The participants were paramedics working primarily in
emergency EMS ambulance systems for at least one year. A simultaneous multiple linear
regression was used to determine the predictor variables’ unique predictive ability on the
outcome variable. A stepwise multiple linear regression was used to analyze which predictor
variable or combination of predictor variables predicted the most variance in moral injury. The
results indicated that MI was significantly predictable collectively F (6, 69) = 3.318, p = .006, R²
= .224, and the variables collectively accounted for 22.4% of the variance of MI (the effect size
was small). Two predictor variables, purity (t = 2.478, p = .016) and fairness (t = 2.111, p =
.038), were significantly unique contributors, with purity (r = .388) accounting for 33.8% of the
variance in MI and fairness (r = .337) accounting for 33.7% of the variance in MI, both which
are effect sizes of medium. The results of the stepwise multiple regression indicated that the best
combination of predictor variables was purity, fairness, and ingroup collectively F (3, 72) =
6.643, p = .001, R² = .217, and the variables collectively accounted for 21.7% of the variance in
MI (the effect size was small). Also, a surprise finding was that 92% of the sample had clinical
moral injury scores. The results of this study suggest that the purity and fairness aspects of
morality contribute the most to moral injury in emergency paramedics with at least one year of
experience. Future research could examine replication of the results with emergency paramedics
since this study was unique, including more diverse geographical response areas of paramedic
populations and exploration of moral injury and the associated adverse outcomes in emergency
paramedics.
Copyright Notice
© James J. Sabo, 2023. All rights reserved.
This dissertation was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral degree at Capella University and was originally published through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
The author retains full copyright ownership. Permission is granted for free personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Any commercial use, redistribution, or modification requires prior written permission from the author.