@article{ref1,
title="Moral injury among women military veterans and demand for cigarettes: a behavioral economic investigation using a hypothetical purchase task",
journal="Preventive medicine",
year="2024",
author="McDaniel, Justin T. and Redner, Ryan and Haun, Jolie N. and McCowen, Patrick and Higgins, Stephen T.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: Unlike the United States general population, veteran women - as opposed to veteran men - have greater smoking prevalence; yet, little is known regarding factors that influence smoking in veteran women. The purpose of this study was to begin examining the relationship between a psychological concept known as moral injury and demand for cigarettes among veteran women. <br><br>METHODS: Veteran women who smoke (n = 44) were recruited for this cross-sectional study from Amazon MTurk, Reddit, and a veteran-serving non-profit organization in June-July 2023. Consenting participants received $2 for completing the cigarette purchase task (CPT), Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and the military version of the Moral Injury Symptom Scale (MISS-M-SF). We examined five CPT demand indices and calculated a modified exponential demand model stratified by moral injury severity status (i.e., probable vs. unlikely). <br><br>RESULTS: Probable morally injured women exhibited significantly higher relative reinforcing value (RRV) for smoking than unlikely morally injured women (F(1, 920) = 9.16, p = 0.003). Average cigarette consumption at $0 (i.e., Q(0)) was 48.56% higher (M = 22.24 vs. M = 13.55) in probable compared to unlikely morally injured women (p = 0.04, Hedge's g = 0.74). FTND scores were significantly correlated with P(max) (i.e., demand elasticity point) and O(max) (i.e., maximum expenditure) values in both populations (rs = 0.42-0.68, ps < 0.05). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: We provide preliminary evidence of the relatively high RRV of smoking in morally injured veteran women. Continued research is needed to refine the characterization of this relationship.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0091-7435",
doi="10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.108036",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.108036"
}