NCJ Number
223586
Journal
Journal of Experimental Criminology Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2008 Pages: 41-60
Date Published
March 2008
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Moral Orientation Measure (MOM), using Dutch samples of delinquent and nondelinquent (pre)adolescents.
Abstract
Evidence for construct validity was established by means of confirmatory factor analysis, yielding two reliable factors representing punishment- and victim-based moral orientation. Evidence for construct validity was also found in moderate associations between moral orientation and both sociomoral reasoning and empathy, and only small associations between moral orientation and social desirability and verbal intelligence. The Moral Orientation Measure (MOM) thus appears to measure both moral cognition and moral affect and does not seem to be very sensitive to socially desirable answering and differences in language skills. The results indicate that the MOM is a reliable and valid instrument to assess moral development in adolescents at risk of behavioral maladjustment, showing that moral orientation is differently associated with morally relevant behavior in delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents. The MOM was designed as an easy-to-administer instrument to assess moral development in forensic clinical practice, aiming to integrate the moral cognitive component (moral judgment) and the moral affective component (empathy). This study examined the reliability and validity of the MOM which was administered to 75 juvenile delinquents and 579 nondelinquent adolescents from lower socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. Tables, references