A Meta-Analysis of the Internal Consistency of the Moral Injury Event Scale, 2021-2022

DOI

The Moral Injury Event Scale (MIES) is a tool for measuring exposure to potentially morally injurious event(s) and distress. While it reported satisfactory psychometric properties in its early development studies, it has since been used in multiple contexts and populations without assessment of its changing reliability or validity. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the MIES psychometric properties across settings and to determine the factors influencing its variability. A systematic search of electronic databases (PsychINFO; PTSD Pubs; MEDLINE; Scopus; Web of Science) was undertaken to identify studies reporting MIES reliability and validity data. A total of 42 records were found up-to-April-2022. Most papers reported Cronbach's Alpha so analyses of other reliability and validity metrics (e.g., test-retest, inter-rater reliability) were not possible. The review found the MIES to be a generally internally consistent tool based on alpha estimates at both Full-scale (α=.88) and Sub-scales (⍺=.82-.92). The review uncovered high heterogeneity and inconsistencies in its administration and modification although figures generally remained above acceptable levels (⍺≥.70). Based on the review, the MIES represents an internally reliably tool for measuring potentially morally injurious events and distress at both Full and Sub-Scales according to pooled Cronbach's Alpha estimates.The Moral Injury Event Scale (MIES) is a tool for measuring exposure to potentially morally injurious event(s) and distress. While it reported satisfactory psychometric properties in its early development studies, it has since been used in multiple contexts and populations without assessment of its changing reliability or validity. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the MIES psychometric properties across settings and to determine the factors influencing its variability. A systematic search of electronic databases (PsychINFO; PTSD Pubs; MEDLINE; Scopus; Web of Science) was undertaken to identify studies reporting MIES reliability and validity data. A total of 42 records were found up-to-April-2022. Most papers reported Cronbach's Alpha so analyses of other reliability and validity metrics (e.g., test-retest, inter-rater reliability) were not possible. The review found the MIES to be a generally internally consistent tool based on alpha estimates at both Full-scale (α=.88) and Sub-scales (⍺=.82-.92). The review uncovered high heterogeneity and inconsistencies in its administration and modification although figures generally remained above acceptable levels (⍺≥.70). Based on the review, the MIES represents an internally reliably tool for measuring potentially morally injurious events and distress at both Full and Sub-Scales according to pooled Cronbach's Alpha estimates.

A systematic search of studies reporting the MIES’ reliability and validity was undertaken between June-2021-to-April-2022 via electronic databases (PsychINFO; PTSD Pubs; MEDLINE; Scopus; Web of Science). Boolean search terms and MeSH headings captured Moral Injury (MORAL, MORAL INJUR, MORALLY INJURIOUS, TRANSGRESS, BETRAY) and the MIES (MORAL INJURY EVENT SCALE) along with articles citing the original design studies (Bryan et al., 2016; Nash et al., 2013). A Google Scholar alert for “MORAL INJURY EVENT* SCALE” was also set-up between June-2021-to-April-2022. There were no date restrictions on the searches.

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-856549
Metadata Access https://datacatalogue.cessda.eu/oai-pmh/v0/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_ddi25&identifier=96c6ee00b19139d6490d0c88c1d13b580f1fdde5e586037ae3ec2c5708fa2832
Provenance
Creator Steen, S, University of Hertfordshire
Publisher UK Data Service
Publication Year 2023
Rights Scott Steen, University of Hertfordshire; The Data Collection is available to any user without the requirement for registration for download/access.
OpenAccess true
Representation
Language English
Resource Type Numeric
Discipline Psychology; Social and Behavioural Sciences
Spatial Coverage United Kingdom