Guilt-related cognition and self-compassion could mediate the relation between coercive control and moral injury in women survivors of intimate partner violence.

OBJECTIVE: Victim-survivors of coercive control (CC), abuse characterized by one partner controlling another's tangible and psychosocial resources, may experience moral injury (MI), distress from action or inaction that violates one's values. Similarly, victim-survivors of CC can experience distressing guilt-related cognition (GRC) regarding the abuse and diminished self-compassion (SC). Given that research investigating relationships between CC and MI is limited, this study examined whether a positive relation between CC and MI could plausibly be mediated through indirect effects of high GRC and low SC.

METHOD: Women (n = 366) in the United States completed online measures of CC, GRC, SC, and MI.

RESULTS: Parallel mediation analysis showed that higher CC was associated with higher MI indirectly through increased GRC and decreased SC. These results provide preliminary evidence to support plausible pathways connecting CC to MI severity.

CONCLUSIONS: Given that CC and MI can be easily assessed and GRC and self-compassion can be modified through intervention, these findings underscore conceptual links among these variables that could guide future clinical research, given this study's design precludes conclusions regarding relationship directionality and causality. Research to assess possible longitudinal effects of CC on MI is recommended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).