Moral Injury Among University Faculty in Light of Selected Variables

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the level of moral injury among faculty members at the University of Baghdad and to examine differences in moral injury according to gender, years of professional experience, and academic specialization. The study adopted a quantitative research approach by administering a Moral Injury Scale developed by the researcher to a stratified random sample of 200 faculty members from the Colleges of Engineering, Science, Education for Women, and Science for Women at the University of Baghdad. Data were collected using a 30-item Moral Injury Scale, whose validity and reliability were established through appropriate psychometric and statistical procedures. The findings revealed that the overall level of moral injury among faculty members was not high. The results also indicated no statistically significant differences in moral injury attributable to gender or academic specialization. However, statistically significant differences were found based on years of professional experience, with faculty members who had more than 15 years of experience reporting lower levels of moral injury than those with fewer years of experience. Based on these findings, the study recommends designing counseling and professional development programs to enhance moral resilience among faculty members, particularly those with limited professional experience. It also recommends reviewing university policies and procedures to promote fairness and transparency, creating a supportive academic environment that minimizes situations leading to moral injury, and encouraging further Arab studies addressing this emerging construct in different academic settings. The originality of this study lies in addressing moral injury within the Iraqi university context, a contemporary construct that has received limited attention in the Arab academic literature. Furthermore, the study contributes by developing and validating an Arabic Moral Injury Scale with sound psychometric properties for assessing moral injury among university faculty members, thereby addressing a significant research gap and providing a valuable instrument for future studies.