Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39801350›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of psychotraumatology2025

Experiences and impact of moral injury in prisons.

Victoria Williamson, Dominic Murphy, Danielle Lamb, Radha Kothari, Derek Tracy, Neil Greenberg

Abstract readLetter
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of psychotraumatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Victoria WilliamsonInstitute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3110-9856
Dominic MurphyInstitute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Danielle LambNIHR ARC North Thames, Department of Applied Health Research, UCL, London, UK.
Radha KothariKing's College Hospital, NHS Trust, London, UK.
Derek TracyInstitute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Neil GreenbergInstitute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Moral injury is the persistent mental or emotional distress resulting from events that challenge one's moral beliefs. It is characterised by intense shame, guilt, worthlessness, disgust or anger and can contribute towards the development of serious mental disorders. The nature of working in prisons means that staff often face physically and psychologically challenging scenarios, and prison staff report high rates of mental ill-health and suicidal thoughts. Equally, detainees may be especially vulnerable to moral injury-related mental health difficulties having engaged in illicit actions and been found guilty by a jury of their peers as well as, in high profile cases, the court of public opinion. Despite this, there is an evidence gap about the extent of moral injury in both prison staff and detainee populations, and about how prison staff/detainees can be better supported. How struggling with moral injury may be linked to reoffending amongst detainees and burnout or resignations in prisons staff is currently unknown. In resource strapped prison settings, emerging treatments for moral injury-related mental health difficulties are unlikely to be appropriate or feasible. In this article, we highlight the contexts in which moral injury may arise; the unique challenges to treatment and support for moral injury in prison settings; and offer targeted recommendations for future research and clinical practice.

Indexed as

MoralsPrisonersPrisonsBurnout, ProfessionalHumansDaño moraldetaineeMoral injuryprisiónprisontratamientotraumatreatment

Identifiers

PMID39801350
PMCPMC11731261

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.