Mediating role of self-compassion in the association between moral injury and depression among Korean youths

BACKGROUND: Beyond the trauma research, it was assumed that ordinary younger people can experience moral injury, leading to depression. Based on this assumption, this study investigated the mediating pathways by which moral injury, caused by oneself, others, and by betrayal of others, impacts depression through self-compassion. METHODS: Overall, 1,567 South Korean youths responded to an online survey that employed three scales: the Moral Injury Experience Scale, the Korean version of the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. A mediation analysis was used to examine whether moral injury predicted depression through positive (self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity) and negative components (self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification). RESULTS: The results showed that the three types of moral injury (by oneself, by others, and by betrayal of others) had a significant direct effect on depression and a significant indirect effect via the negative components, while the three positive components did not have any significant mediating effect. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, a sociocultural explanation, in addition to the existing theoretical frameworks, is required to understand the depression occurring in the current young generation in South Korea.