Psychological Impacts and Strategies for Supporting Journalists Facing Moral Injury
Psychological Impacts and Strategies for Supporting Journalists Facing Moral Injury
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Issue Date
2024-12
Authors
Tesla, Sarah
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Abstract
This paper examines the growing concern of moral injury among journalists, building on the foundational work of Dr. Anthony Feinstein, who first highlighted the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance abuse among war correspondents (Feinstein & Nicolson, 2005; Feinstein et al., 2018). While PTSD has been more widely studied, this review extends the discussion to the less-explored phenomenon of moral injury among journalists. Originally conceptualized within military psychology, moral injury refers to the profound psychological distress that arises when individuals are compelled to act in ways that violate their moral beliefs or witness events that conflict with their ethical standards. The paper reviews critical studies, including the development and validation of the Toronto Moral Injury Scale for Journalists (Osmann et al., 2024), which marks a significant advancement in assessing the unique psychological challenges this professional group faces. However, despite these advances, important research gaps remain, particularly regarding the long-term effects of moral injury and its impact on journalists from diverse cultural backgrounds. The paper concludes by proposing directions for future research and the development of therapeutic interventions to support journalists' mental health, emphasizing the need for longitudinal studies and culturally sensitive approaches. It also explores the most effective therapeutic strategies for moral repair.
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Keywords
moral injury , journalism , cultural sensitivity , moral repair
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States , openAccess