Adam P. McGuire

• Ph.D.
• The University of Texas at Tyler; VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans

Background Alternative, easily accessible treatment options are needed to aid efforts to address the negative effects of PTSD among veterans. One approach that has shown promise in a pilot trial is a moral elevation-based intervention titled, MOVED. Qualitative feedback from veterans in the pilot trial identified several strengths, but also highlig...

Background: Alternative, easily accessible treatment options are needed to aid efforts to addressthe negative effects of PTSD among veterans. One approach that has shown promise in a pilottrial is a moral elevation-based intervention titled, MOVED. Qualitative feedback from veteransin the pilot trial identified several strengths, but also highlight...

Purpose of Review This review paper addresses the betrayal-based moral injury experiences of cis women and sexual and gender minorities (SGM). Since the experiences of these groups have not received as much attention in the literature as other groups, such as cis men in the military, this paper encourages continued scholarship and partnership with...

Objective: Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or moral injury are at risk of maladaptive response styles to positive emotions, such as emotional numbing. A potential pathway to target problematic responses to positive affect is a positive psychology intervention that elicits moral elevation—feeling inspired after witnessing someone...

Purpose of Review Moral injury has garnered increased empirical and societal interest in the past fifteen years. We sought to conduct a multidisciplinary examination of several developmental, contextual, and relational models of moral injury to better inform professional research and practice. Findings There are numerous models of moral injury wit...

Moral elevation is described as feeling inspired after witnessing someone engage in virtuous behavior, whereas moral injury is the result of internal conflict that stems from exposure to morally injurious experiences. This study explored the relationship between eliciting moral elevation, daily motives, and affective experiences for veterans with m...

Goal-setting is a key component to psychotherapy; however, little is known about self-generated goals of veterans with trauma distress. In this study, we explored goals set by veterans within a positive psychology intervention. Qualitative data was collected in an online intervention study that targeted positive social processes by eliciting moral...

The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore whether gratitude is associated with the intention to dropout when accounting for academic adjustment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among a sample of student veterans with disabilities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, involving the participation of 129 student veterans...

Objective: Veterans with PTSD or moral injury are at risk of maladaptive response styles to positive emotions, such as emotional numbing. A potential pathway to target problematic responses to positive affect is a positive psychology intervention that elicits moral elevation—feeling inspired after witnessing someone perform a virtuous act. This stu...

Given the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury to negatively impact relationships of veterans, researchers have increasingly focused on social functioning assessment. However, extant studies have often relied on self-report methods and relatively broad relational measures. To better understand the dynamic process of social...

A promising approach to enhancing trauma-focused treatment is moral elevation—feeling inspired by witnessing a virtuous act. This study explored potential links between eliciting elevation and relevant outcomes in a series of case examples. Veterans with probable posttraumatic stress disorder completed experimental tasks including a written trauma...

Background: Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury can encounter several barriers to treatment, including limited access to care and low engagement with therapy. Furthermore, most treatment approaches focus on alleviating distress rather than cultivating positive experiences that could facilitate trauma recovery. A pot...

Social isolation is a relevant problem for veterans who are at risk for disengaging from others as a function of transition stress from military life to civilian life, and given high rates of exposure to trauma and psychological distress. Few researchers have examined social isolation in veterans over time, particularly during COVID-19 that led to...

Background Using an experimental study, we examined the link between state moral elevation and stigmatic beliefs surrounding male veterans with military sexual trauma (MST). Methods Undergraduate students were presented with a video or written narrative of a male veteran self-disclosing how they struggled with and overcame MST ( n = 292). Particip...

Theorists have posited that people experience behavior metaphorically in “social space” as above versus below others (agency), close versus distant (communion), and morally/spiritually pure or near the heavens versus degrading. Recent research suggests that perceived moral virtue accounts for unique variance in social perceptions, but studies have...

Research on moral elevation has steadily increased and identified several psychosocial benefits that bear relevance to both the general population and people with psychological distress. However, elevation measurement is inconsistent, and few state-level measures have been created and critically evaluated to date. To address this gap, the State Mor...

Given the risk for veterans with PTSD and moral injury to experience negative social consequences, researchers have increasingly focused on social functioning assessment; however, one gap is the lack of observer-rated assessment and reliance on self-report measures. To better understand the dynamic process of social functioning and how it is affect...

Background and Objectives: A promising approach to incorporate positive psychology principles into trauma-focused treatment is moral elevation—feeling inspired by witnessing a virtuous act. This study aimed to explore potential links between inducing moral elevation and relevant outcomes in a series of case examples.Methods: Veterans with probable...

Background: Veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury can encounter several barriers to treatment including limited access to care and low engagement with in-person therapy. Further, most approaches focus on alleviating distress rather than cultivating positive experiences that could facilitate trauma recovery. O...

Background Dispositional gratitude has been implicated as a psychological characteristic that may modulate risk for mental health outcomes. Using a population-based sample of U.S. military veterans, this study evaluated the association between dispositional gratitude and the development of psychopathology and suicidal behaviors over a 7-year period...

Social isolation is a relevant problem for veterans who are at risk for disengaging from others as a function of transition stress from military life to civilian life, and given high rates of exposure to trauma and psychological distress. Few researchers have examined social isolation in veterans over time, particularly during COVID-19 that led to...

Moral elevation is described as feeling inspired after witnessing someone perform a virtuous act. Past work suggests the features of moral elevation may be contrary to PTSD, yet few studies have directly tested its impact on relevant symptoms. This experimental study assessed changes in trauma-related cognitions and emotions from after a trauma rem...

Lifestyle behaviors such as exercise, sleep, smoking, diet, and social interaction are associated with depression. This study aimed to model the complex relationships between lifestyle behaviors and depression and among the lifestyle behaviors. Data from three waves of the Midlife in the United States study were used, involving 6898 adults. Network...

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to significant stressors and shifts in social life, yet social interactions experienced by people with trauma exposure during the COVID pandemic is largely unknown. This study assessed frequency of interactions, social support given and received, and prosocial behavior using online survey methods (N=1049). W...

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common problem for veterans. Resilience, the tendency to bounce back from difficult circumstances, is negatively associated with posttraumatic cognitions (PTCs) among individuals with a history of trauma, and it may be important to understand responses to trauma reminders. Method: Using a quas...

Moral elevation is described as feeling inspired after witnessing someone perform a virtuous act. Past work suggests moral elevation may be antithetical to PTSD, yet few studies have directly tested its impact on relevant symptoms. This experimental stud¬y assessed changes in trauma-related cognitions and emotions from after a trauma reminder task...

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common problem for veterans. Resilience, the tendency to bounce back from difficult circumstances, is negatively associated with posttraumatic cognitions (PTCs) among individuals with a history of trauma, and thus it may be important to understand responses to trauma reminders. Method: Using a qu...

Research on moral elevation has steadily increased and identified several psychosocial benefits that bear relevance to both the general population and people with psychological distress. However, elevation measurement is inconsistent, and few state-level measures have been created and critically evaluated to date. To address this gap, the State Mor...

Moral elevation and mental health stigma among religious and spiritual people

Dispositional gratitude may be linked to positive mental health outcomes, yet population-based data on this association are lacking. Military veterans are an ideal population in which to examine this question given high rates of psychiatric morbidities and efforts to promote psychological resilience in this population. Data were analyzed from a nat...

Moral elevation is a positive emotion described as feeling inspired by others’ virtuous actions. Elevation has several psychosocial benefits, some of which may be relevant to trauma-related distress; however, past studies have primarily examined elevation in nonclinical, civilian populations or in naturalistic studies. This experimental study used...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) are highly comorbid among the veteran population. Impulsivity, particularly negative and positive urgency, are prevalent within this dual-diagnosis population and associated with negative outcomes. One possible correlate of negative/positive urgency is intolerance of uncertainty...

Introduction: Social distancing and sheltering-in-place mitigate the physical health risks of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19); however, there are concerns about the impact on mental health and social engagement. Methods: We used data from a U.S.-based online survey (March 2020) to examine patterns of social support and prosocial behavior, explore...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by strong negative emotions, often in response to trauma cues or reminders. Subsequent emotion regulation strategies impact the maintenance of PTSD symptoms and other trauma-related outcomes (depression, substance use). This study aimed to examine a range of trauma-cued emotions to enhance our u...

Gratitude has been consistently linked to well-being, but its influence on health-related functioning is not well understood. Furthermore, research suggests the need to differentiate between-person and within-person effects of personality characteristics, and research on gratitude and health has not typically done so. This prospective study aimed t...

Introduction: Social support is known to buffer posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, but the stress-buffering properties of striving to help and support others (compassionate goals) have received less attention. Recent research suggests that compassionate goals shape social support processes and dampen stress responses following social th...

Given the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury in veterans and limitations to current treatments, novel approaches are needed to target both PTSD and moral injury and directly impact psychosocial growth. One potential way to address this need is through moral elevation—a positive emotional state described as feeling u...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major health concern among veterans, specifically African American veterans, and is commonly comorbid with other negative mental health outcomes including substance use disorders (SUD) and symptoms of depression. The current study examined intolerance of uncertainty as a mediator of the relationship between...

Whereas past studies primarily examined state-level gratitude measured across long periods of time and in the context of positive events, this study assessed situational predictors of state gratitude and its affective outcomes in the context of specific positive and negative naturalistic events. Across seven weeks, 147 undergraduates recorded best...

Dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions are important in the emergence and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the modification of such cognitions is a proposed mechanism of trauma treatment. However, the authors are not aware of any research examining trauma-related cognitions as a treatment mechanism in a sample of individuals...

Objective: Resilience has been associated with less severe psychiatric symptomatology and better treatment outcomes among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD). However, it remains unknown whether resilience increases during psychotherapy within the comorbid PTSD and SUD population with unique feat...

Social support is a known protective factor against the negative psychological impact of natural disasters. Most past research has examined how the effects of exposure to traumatic events influences whether someone meets diagnostic criteria for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); it has also suggested sequelae of disaster exposure...

After a mass shooting, community members may experience not only distress, but also feeling uplifted or morally elevated by others’ prosocial responses to the trauma. Those experiencing elevation may be more likely to strive to support others (compassionate goals) and to endorse posttraumatic growth (PTG). However, the role of elevation in PTG, and...

Laboratory studies suggest that witnessing virtuous acts triggers moral elevation, an emotion characterized by feeling uplifted and increased prosocial motives. However, it remains unknown whether regular inductions can increase elevation and prosocial motives in daily life without being vulnerable to habituation or adaptation effects. Participants...

Objectives: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is thought to mediate the effects of stress on illness. Research has identified a limited number of psychological variables that modulate human HPA responses to stressors (e.g. perceived control and social support). Prosocial goals can reduce subjective stress, but have not been carefully e...

Background: Traditional nursing pedagogies have not systematically addressed the ageist perspectives students bring into training that threaten competent care for older adults. The current study evaluated nursing students' shifts in attitudes, knowledge about aging, and social goals during a program of repeated and structured social interactions w...

Previous research has indicated that at clinical levels, health anxiety is cross-sectionally correlated with both somatic symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, research has not tested mediational models of how health anxiety may lead to diminished HRQOL prospectively, and more broadly outside of clinical contexts. In the con...

Servicemembers returning from recent conflicts frequently report symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are subsequently assessed within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical system. Information on potential cognitive and behavioral correlates of TBI is available from multiple sources. A Veteran's symptom presentation m...

Veterans undergoing evaluation for mild traumatic brain injury commonly report insomnia, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive dysfunction. This study examines the effects of self-reported amount of sleep and subjective sleep quality on neuropsychological test performance. 262 veterans were seen for neuropsychological assessment in a Veterans Affairs...