Adolescent Morality: Its Differentiated Structure And Relation To Delinquent Conduct

Cluster analysis of a moral values scale based on responses of 100 matched pairs of delinquent (D) and nondelinquent (ND) boys of high school age revealed 4 highly reliable dimensions: 1) Informing or "snitching", 2 )Masculine inadequacy, 3) Identity conflict, and 4) Aggression. On these matched as well as on replicated samples, the results showed that the D SS consider informing on others as more wrong than the ND Ss, while the ND Ss judged behaviors associated with identity conflict as more wrong than the D Ss. Non-significant relationships were found between the moral value dimensions and age, race, social status and verbal intelligence. The results were discussed in relation to previously postulated assumptions concerning the global nature of morality and the direct relation of verbalized moral values and moral behavior. The results were interpreted as being partially consistent with the notion that the delinquent is not necessarily ignorant of societal values but rather becomes committed to or adopts the values of the deviant subculture.