Moral Reasoning and Consistency of Belief and Behavior: Decisions about Substance Abuse

• Published in: Journal of drug education 2001-01, Vol.31 (4), p.367-384
• Main Authors: Abide, Marcia M., Richards, Herbert C., Ramsay, Shula G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcohol use; Attitude Measures; Beliefs; Biological and medical sciences; Cannabis; College Students; Consistency; Decision Making; Drug abuse; Drug prevention; Drug use; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Hypotheses; Independent study; Individual Differences; Kohlberg Moral Dilemmas; Kohlberg's theory; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Midwestern United States - epidemiology; Miscellaneous; Moral Development; Moral judgment; Moral reasoning; Moral Values; Morality; Morals; Peer Group; Personality Traits; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Questionnaires; Smoking - epidemiology; Smoking - psychology; Social Cognition; Street Drugs - supply & distribution; Students; Students - psychology; Substance Abuse; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tobacco; Universities; USA; Values; World Views
• ISSN: 0047-2379; 1541-4159
• DOI: 10.2190/U798-F3UH-M1X5-73NB

In view of implications of Kohlberg's theory of moral development, two hypotheses were considered in two independent studies: a) individuals who consider the use of potentially harmful substances to be morally wrong will be less likely to use such substances than peers who view such activities as a personal choice; and b) compared to those who are less mature, more mature moral reasoners display more consistency between their expressed beliefs about the morality of drug use and their reports of actual drug use. Two samples of college students, 29 men and 59 women in Study 1 and 46 men and 100 women in Study 2, served as participants. All completed questionnaires about their use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs and their beliefs about the morality of using these substances. Participants in Study 2 also responded to the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to assess their level of moral thinking. Results from Study 1 supported hypothesis (a). Findings from Study 2 supported hypotheses (a) and (b).