Care-Based Moral Reasoning in Norwegian and Canadian Early Adolescents: A Cross-National Comparison

A sample of 79 Norwegians, 11 through 13 years of age, was assessed on a care-based morality measure, the Ethic of Care Interview (ECI). Content analyses of the adolescents’real-life moral dilemmas also were conducted. The Norwegian scores were compared with those of 46 Canadians of the same age. No...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of early adolescence 1999-05, Vol.19 (2), p.280-291
Main Authors: Skoe, Eva E. A., Hansen, Kristine L., Mørch, Willy-Tore, Bakke, Ingeborg, Hoffmann, Tone, Larsen, Beate, Aasheim, Merete
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Children & youth
Cognition & reasoning
Gender Differences
Individualized Instruction
Moral Development
Morality
Teenagers
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Summary:A sample of 79 Norwegians, 11 through 13 years of age, was assessed on a care-based morality measure, the Ethic of Care Interview (ECI). Content analyses of the adolescents’real-life moral dilemmas also were conducted. The Norwegian scores were compared with those of 46 Canadians of the same age. No gender differences on the ECI or in real-life moral conflict content were found in Norway. In contrast, in Canada, girls scored significantly higher on the ECI than did boys, and more girls than boys generated relational real-life dilemmas, whereas more boys than girls generated nonrelational dilemmas. Furthermore, more Canadian than Norwegian girls scored at ECI Level 2 (conventions of goodness, caring for others). Norway and Canada might differ in female gender role expectations, which probably is associated with girls’moral reasoning. The results indicated that North American findings should not be viewed necessarily as representative even of other similar Western societies.
ISSN:0272-4316
1552-5449
DOI:10.1177/0272431699019002007