Moral-psychological development related to the capacity of adolescents and elderly patients to consent

To evaluate moral development as an indicator of the capacity to consent among two groups of patients from the Hospital de Clínicas in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

Fifty-nine adolescents and 60 patients over 60 years of age participated in a cross-sectional study to assess moral development using Loevinger's model of ego stages.

Age and moral development showed no association, with most participants in the two groups being in the conscientious phase.

Age is probably not an adequate variable to measure decision-making capacity, because questions of medical consent relate to participants' own personal health. Decision-making capacity should be viewed as a continuous function. While the age of the person whose consent is needed should be considered, age alone, from a moral perspective, is not the main determinant of this capacity.