Symptoms and correlates of post-traumatic growth versus depreciation among Ukrainian adults: A structural equation modeling approach

What helps people to repair and grow after trauma? We address this question by integratingmoral dimensions into models of post-traumatic change. A national sample of adults residing inUkraine (N = 6,340) during the on-going war was assessed in 2025 for war-related stressors,core-belief disruption (CBD), post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD), moral injury(MI), moral sensitivity (MS), and outcomes of post-traumatic growth (PTG) and post-traumaticdepreciation (PTD). Using structural equation modeling approach with strong measurementinvariance across gender and combat-exposure groups, we found that war-related stressors andCBD explained substantial variance in PTSD (r2=.69), MI (r2=.37), and MS (r2=.33). Critically,MI and MS formed distinct pathways: MI uniquely predicted PTD (β≈.36) but not PTG (β≈.06),whereas MS predicted PTG (β≈.42) but not PTD (β≈.03). Indirect-effect analyses indicated thatwar-related stressors and CBD increased PTD via PTSD and MI, while PTG wasfostered primarily via MS and less so via PTSD. The model accounted for significant variance inboth PTG (r2=.48) and PTD (r2=.35). This is the first study to examine the link between CBDand MI and integration of moral sensitivity – a core construct in moral psychology – into traumascience. The results identify moral sensitivity as a protective factor and moral injury asa risk factor for divergent post-traumatic trajectories, suggesting targets for moral repair andsensitivity-building interventions in populations exposed to ongoing atrocities.