The impact of self-directed, other-directed, and dual moral transgressions on emotional, cognitive, and clinical outcomes in emerging adults.

Stressful events can cause individuals to act contrary to their moral standards, resulting in moral transgressions. Two types of moral transgressions are commonly distinguished: actively committing moral transgressions or failing to prevent harm to others (self-directed transgressions) and being exposed to the moral transgressions of others (other-directed transgressions). Evidence suggests that self-directed and other-directed moral transgressions lead to different psychological outcomes. However, this evidence is inconclusive, primarily based on clinical populations, and lacks a developmental perspective, including a focus on emerging adults. In this study, young adults recalled a memory of a morally distressing event, encompassing self-directed, other-directed, or dual transgressions. We compared the three groups reporting these transgressions in terms of emotions (fear, shame, guilt, and anger), negative cognitions (about self-blame, the self, and the world), and clinical outcomes (posttraumatic stress [PTS] and depression). Additionally, we explored the variables fear, negative cognitions about self-blame, the self, and the world as potential mediators between exposure to self-directed, other-directed, or dual transgressions and PTS. It was shown that exposure to dual transgressions results in elevated emotional and cognitive burden compared to self- or other-directed transgressions alone. Mediation analyses revealed that, compared to self-directed and other-directed transgressions, participants reporting dual transgressions exhibited more negative self- and world cognitions, which were associated with increased PTS. This study concludes that it is useful-both in research and clinical care-to distinguish between self-directed, other-directed, and dual transgressions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).