Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40614018›Full record

ArticleJournal of religion and health2026

Bringing Light into the Dark: Moral Injury and Exploring the Impact of Eliciting Moral Elevation on the Daily Experiences of U.S. Veterans.

Adam P McGuire, Lindsay L Lange, Adrian J Bravo, Jeff M Gabelmann, Zannie L Montgomery, Rachel L Davies, Michelle L Kelley

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Article in Journal of religion and health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. The Limbic Brain, Moral Distress and Ethical Decision-Making in Nursing Practice.Nursing philosophy : an international journal for healthcare professionals · 2026
    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

7 authors.

Adam P McGuireDepartment of Psychology and Counseling, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, TX, 75799, USA. amcguire@uttyler.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4512-1207
Lindsay L LangeDepartment of Psychology and Counseling, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, TX, 75799, USA.
Adrian J BravoDepartment of Psychological Sciences, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.
Jeff M GabelmannDepartment of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Zannie L MontgomeryDepartment of Psychological Sciences, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.
Rachel L DaviesVirginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Michelle L KelleyDepartment of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Moral elevation is described as feeling inspired after witnessing someone engage in virtuous behavior, whereas moral injury is the result of internal conflict that stems from exposure to morally injurious experiences. Building on previous work that used moral elevation to benefit veterans, this study explored the relationship between eliciting elevation, daily motives, and affective experiences for veterans with moral injury-related distress. Using an ABA experimental design, veterans (final n = 22) first completed 4 daily surveys that only included brief daily measures (A), followed by 4 days of measures combined with a daily elevation-eliciting exercise (B), then 4 daily surveys with measures only again (A). On days 5-8, elevation was elicited by presenting short video clips featuring moral exemplars performing virtuous acts, consistent with previous work. Using linear mixed effects models, we assessed the concurrent effects of state elevation on daily experiences during days with elevation elicitation. We also fit linear mixed effects models to compare pre-post changes in daily experiences before and after days 5-8 of watching elevation videos. Results indicated state elevation after videos was linked with higher daily positive affect, self-improvement motives, and compassionate motives. Veterans also reported a significant decrease in daily negative affect, fear, hostility, guilt, and sadness, along with significant decreases in suicidal ideation in the four days after watching elevation videos compared to baseline. These findings provide preliminary support for the potential benefits of eliciting elevation in veterans with moral injury distress and suggest elevation elicitation could be associated with desirable outcomes in daily life.

Indexed as

MoralsVeteransAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMotivationStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesDaily diary surveyMoral elevationMoral injuryVeterans

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.