Moral and Cognitive Development in Delinquent and Nondelinquent Children and Adolescents

Moral and cognitive development of delinquents and nondelinquents were investigated--96 boys and girls at three ages: 10-11, 12-13, and 14-15-16 years. Moral judgment was assessed via the Defining Issues Test, and moral conduct by a resistance to temptation task. General cognitive development was ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of genetic psychology 1980-09, Vol.137 (1), p.21-35
Main Authors: Hains, Anthony A., Miller, Dolores J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Child
Child Development
Cognition
Female
Humans
Juvenile Delinquency - psychology
Male
Morals
Psychological Tests
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Summary:Moral and cognitive development of delinquents and nondelinquents were investigated--96 boys and girls at three ages: 10-11, 12-13, and 14-15-16 years. Moral judgment was assessed via the Defining Issues Test, and moral conduct by a resistance to temptation task. General cognitive development was explored with Piagetian-like tasks: two concrete operational tasks, two formal tasks, and a role-taking task. With the exception of role-taking, the delinquents were found generally to lag behind nondelinquents in terms of moral and cognitive development. With increasing age, disparate performances between the two groups were consistently shown, with delinquents always lower than nondelinquents. The delinquents were also less likely to resist temptation than the nondelinquents, though no age differences were noted.
ISSN:0022-1325
1940-0896
DOI:10.1080/00221325.1980.10532799