Psych 190: Warriors at Home Dr. Elena Klaw

Identity changes in warriors  Sense of self  Sense of purpose  Relationships  Moral injury  Effects  Self forgiveness  Posttraumatic growth

 What aspects of a military member’s sense of self may change as a result of participating on war?

 Safety & trust in the world  Sense of control may be gone  Feeling of indestructability  May feel like a “bad” person Effects:  May try to exert control: give orders  May feel hopeless & helpless: depressed  May feel that they deserve special treatment and disappointed

 May have foreshortened sense of future  May have anxiety about redeployment  May feel like damaged goods  May feel that they have failed if they lost buddies in the war  May miss a sense of mission  May question spiritual beliefs, feel abandoned or unloved by higher power

 Redployment anxiety may affect whole family  May feel unworthy of love and care  May feel weak  May feel useless especially with a physical disability  May feel others would hate them if they knew what they did in service  May feel out of place, like misfits or loners  May feel hardened  May feel abandoned by the gov’t Effects: May self isolate

 Litz et al. (2009) “Throughout history, warriors have been confronted with moral and ethical challenges and modern unconventional guerilla wars amplify these challenges. “  “Potentially morally injurious events, such as perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations may be deleterious in the long- term, emotionally, psychologically, behaviorally, spiritually, and socially.”  “Warriors may also bear witness to intense human suffering and cruelty that shakes their core beliefs about humanity. “

 Service members deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan have been exposed to high levels of violence and its aftermath. 27% surveyed had experienced ethical dilemmas, possibly because of ambiguity of the enemy.  In 2003, 52% of soldiers and Marines surveyed reported shooting or directing fire at the enemy.  32% reported being directly responsible for the death of an enemy combatant (Hoge et al., 2004).  65% reported seeing dead bodies or human remains, 31% reported handling or uncovering human remains, 60% reported having seen ill/wounded women and children who they were unable to help.  2003, 20% of soldiers & Marines surveyed endorsed responsibility for the death of a non-combatant.

 After controlling for combat exposure, taking a life was a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms, alcohol abuse, anger, and relationship problems.  Especially associated with chronic PTSD and depression.  May have long lasting psycho-social impact including guilt and shame.  This sense of shame may lead to a negative attributional style, withdrawal, and avoidance behavior

 Veterans who have experienced atrocities and/or killing as part of war need professional support to accommodate their experiences into their own moral schemas.  Self forgiveness challenges internal, stable, and global attributions.  Correlated with reduced PTSD severity.  Increasing feelings of worth reduces isolation and increase social support.  Reduces both avoidance symptoms and self punishing behaviors.  Allows traumatized veterans to develop adaptive ways of relating, and new meanings as they integrate into civilian world.

 See self as more capable and self reliant  Appreciate family and friends more  Can practice acceptance of changes