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 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.