MORAL INJURY, COMPASSION FATIGUE, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGIES AMONG YOUNG HEALTH PROFESSIONALS: THE MODERATING ROLE OF THE LIGHT TRIAD
Keywords:
Compassion Fatigue, Faisalabad, Light Triad, Moral Injury, Psychopathology, SPSS Process Macro, Young Health ProfessionalsAbstract
The present study investigated the predictive relationship between moral injury, compassion fatigue, and psychopathological symptoms among young healthcare professionals in Faisalabad, Pakistan, while exploring the potential moderating influence of the Light Triad personality framework. Healthcare is inherently a morally laden profession; however, systemic constraints often force practitioners into ethical dilemmas that result in "moral injury." Using a cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected from 710 practitioners (aged 25–35) from public and private hospitals. The instruments included the Moral Injury Symptom Scale (MISS-HP), Compassion Fatigue Scale (CFS), Light Triad Scale (LTS), and the DSM-5 Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Scale. Following a rigorous translation process into Urdu, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted. Results revealed that moral injury significantly and positively predicted compassion fatigue (β = 0.233, p < .05), and compassion fatigue served as a partial mediator between moral injury and various psychopathologies. Interestingly, the Light Triad comprising Kantianism, Humanism, and Faith in Humanity did not significantly moderate the impact of moral injury on mental health (p = .704). These findings underscore that individual prosocial traits may be insufficient to buffer against systemic ethical failures, necessitating organizational-level reforms to protect the mental health of the frontline medical workforce.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Hira Majeed, Ayesha Meraj, Dr. Abid Ali (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
