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PubMed1992

The political and moral economy of aging: not such strange bedfellows.

The authors develop E.P. Thompson's concept of moral economy as a useful complement to contemporary political economic analysis in problem areas involving moral conflict. Defined as the shared assumptions underlying norms of reciprocity in which an economic system is grounded, moral economy is seen as holding particular relevance for the study of aging. The evolution of pension systems, the "senior revolt" against catastrophic coverage in the United States, and debates over the allocation of health resources between generations are used to illustrate the utility of a combined political and moral economy for enriching our understanding in these areas. Marx's concept of a "morality of emancipation" is described as holding particular promise for the development of a new moral economy of old age that would move beyond alienation by giving broad attention to quality of life issues at each stage of the life course.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Moral reasoning and consistency of belief and behavior: decisions about substance abuse.

In view of implications of Kohlberg's theory of moral development, two hypotheses were considered in two independent studies: a) individuals who consider the use of potentially harmful substances to be morally wrong will be less likely to use such substances than peers who view such activities as a personal choice; and b) compared to those who are less mature, more mature moral reasoners display more consistency between their expressed beliefs about the morality of drug use and their reports of actual drug use. Two samples of college students, 29 men and 59 women in Study 1 and 46 men and 100 women in Study 2, served as participants. All completed questionnaires about their use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs and their beliefs about the morality of using these substances. Participants in Study 2 also responded to the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to assess their level of moral thinking. Results from Study 1 supported hypothesis (a). Findings from Study 2 supported hypotheses (a) and (b).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Contact sports, moral functioning and planned behaviour theory.

The goal was to test the psychometric properties of the Moral Functioning Scale in a Greek athletic context, and to investigate any possible relation between moral functioning and planned behaviour. The sample comprised 384 athletes, 103 from the sport of football (soccer), 97 from basketball, and 184 from water polo. To measure moral functioning the researchers used a scale developed by Gibbons, Ebbeck, and Weiss. Planned Behaviour was assessed with a questionnaire based on Planned Behaviour Theory. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated strong association for Attitudes, Intention, Role Identity, and Perceived Behavioural Control with the four dilemmas of the moral functioning scale. The moral reasoning measure is a promising tool for measuring athletes' moral dilemmas in Greece.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Moral conflict as a component of ordinary worry.

This article contributes to the psychology of moral behavior by inquiring into the presence and extent of worrying about moral concerns in one's life relative to worrying about practical concerns. A 20-item questionnaire was developed, mixing eight moral worry questions with twelve ordinary worry items (finances, health) identified in previous research on worry. Factor analysis produced three domains of worrisome thinking: moral concerns, social desirability, and personal and family health. A single item inquiring into worry about not living up to God's expectations did not load onto any other factor and was dropped from further analysis. Internal consistency for the moral worry factor scale was .85. Mean scores for this scale (moral domain) were significantly lower than mean scores for the two practical worry domain factors. Limitations of the study and directions for further research are outlined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Some problems in use of the moral judgment test.

The Moral Judgment Test has been widely used in evaluation of moral development; however, it presents some problems related to the trait measured, reliability, and validity of its summary score (C-index). This index reflects consistency in moral judgment, but this construct is different from moral development as stated by Kohlberg. Therefore, users interested in the latter evaluation should refer to other indexes derived from the test. Some of the analyzed problems could be partially corrected with more theory and research on moral consistency as a component of moral competence.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

The moral judgment test: comments on Villegas de Posada's critique.

The Moral Judgment Test is an operationalization of Kohlberg's notion of moral judgment competence and Piaget's two-aspect model of behavior and thus differs from tests of preferred moral orientations and Kohlberg's own Stage measurement. As this best presents counter-arguments to be rated in regard to their moral quality, it is a difficult task for many, and the C score reflects the respondents' competence to cope with the task. Validation studies of 27 language versions and thirty years of use in research and evaluation studies have indicated the Moral Judgment Test is valid and useful for assessing affective and cognitive aspects of moral behavior for research and evaluation.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

Morality as a predictor of loneliness: a cross-cultural study.

Loneliness is currently regarded as one of the most common and prevalent problems experienced by adolescents, and it is also observed as a painful, unpleasant and negative experience. South African adolescents also have to face and cope with this predicament daily. The main objective of this study was to establish the perception of adolescents of different cultures regarding loneliness and morality and to investigate the relationship between them. It was also determined which of the independent variables, namely morality, gender, age, mother tongue and ethnicity, contributed significantly to the prediction of loneliness. A total of 714 adolescents from three different secondary schools in the greater Bloemfontein area between the ages of 13 and 17 were selected. Adolescents were used because they are increasingly being confronted with moral issues and because loneliness occurs more commonly during adolescence. The focus was on three ethnic groups, namely Coloured, black and white. Three different questionnaires, namely the Le Roux Loneliness Scale, the Morally Debatable Behaviours Scale and a biographical questionnaire were completed to obtain the necessary data. A significant inverse correlation between loneliness and morality was determined, while morality was identified as the best predictor of loneliness.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Work morale assessment and development for the clinical laboratory manager.

Work morale has been a longstanding issue for managers in general, but it is assuming critical proportions for clinical laboratory managers today. Four key variables that determine work morale have been isolated: the job itself, the work group, management practices, and economic rewards. Regular assessment and development of these key morale variables via time-tested, effective, and easy-to-use techniques will help clinical laboratory managers to attract and retain competent personnel, to enhance the prospects of organizational profitability, to sustain high-quality patient care, and to earn the respect and loyalty of other health-care employees. This article discusses the components of the four key areas of morale and offers "prescriptions" to improve morale in these important areas. A survey to assess morale is also provided.

Career Mobility↗
PubMed1975

Father absence, perceived, maternal behavior, and moral development in boys.

The rated and observed moral behavior, judgment, and affect of 120 preadolescent, predominantly lower-class boys from early-divorced (before the boys were 6), late-divorced (between 6 and 10), and parentally intact homes were investigated. In addition, the mothers' discipline (power assertive, inductive, and love withdrawal) and affection were examined by asking subjects about their mothers' methods of dealing with their transgressions. Moral behavior was assessed with resistance-to-temptation, self-criticism, altruism, reparation, and teacher-rating measures, while moral judgment was evaluated with 3 Kohlberg items and moral affect was investigated with 2 story-completion items maximizing guilt. The major findings were: (1) when relevant variables (IQ, SES, age, sibling status) were controlled, few differences were found between father-absent and father-present boys; (2) however, father-absent boys were reported by their teachers as less advanced in moral development than father-present boys; (3) the sons of the divorced women showed more "social deviation", according to their teachers, but were more advanced in level of moral judgment than were the sons of widows; (4) divorced women disciplined with more power assertion than widows, according to their sons' reports.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Moral questions, legal answers, and biotechnological advances.

Moral failing is usually construed as a personal flaw, but there is another construction: where morals fail people, where our moral precepts are silent. The author of this article argues that this happens nowadays where technological advances, such as genetic engineering in medicine, raise moral questions but get legal answers. By responding to the legal issues involved, the moral questions are pre-empted. This results in answers drawn from legal categories, often with commercial perspectives, but misses the larger moral dilemma.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Morale in general practice: crisis and solutions.

AIM: To place the causes and level of psychological stress among general practitioners (GPs) within the context of the overall morale in the profession and to describe solutions suggested or achieved in response. METHODS: Postal survey of a random sample of GPs in New Zealand. Levels of morale and psychological distress (GHQ-12) were assessed. Respondents scored categories of workload stress and generated solutions to perceived stressors. RESULTS: The response rate was 448/ 658 (68%). Potent causes of work stress were excessive paperwork, bureaucracy, multiple problem consultations, time pressures and combining work with family life. Overall mean 5 point Likert scale ratings for perceived stress and morale were 3.47 (SD 0.98) for morale, and 4.15 (SD 0.85) for stress. GHQ scores: of 448 respondents 143 (33%) scored 4-8, and 43 (10%) scored >8. The most commonly suggested solutions were simplifying paperwork, increasing the General Medical Subsidy, increasing locum provision and providing united professional representation. CONCLUSIONS: Potent sources of stress and low morale continue to affect New Zealand general practice, with significant numbers of GPs recording high levels of psychological distress. Morale was higher than in the UK, but lower than in Ireland. GPs have developed a range of potential solutions they would like implemented.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1992

Enhancing moral growth: is communication the key?

Traditional approaches in stimulating moral growth following Turiel's (1966) "+1" intervention strategy have been only marginally successful. This failure rate may be due to (a) the inconsistent control of both the cognitive and social perspective-taking prerequisites to moral growth, and (b) an overestimation of subjects' interpersonal communication skills. In this study, 17 college undergraduates (8 males, 9 females), possessing either basic or consolidated formal operations, received eight weeks of interpersonal skills training, along with pre- and posttraining assessments of social perspective-taking and moral reasoning. It was expected that gains in moral reasoning would be related to subjects' possessing the prerequisite cognitive and perspective-taking competencies necessary for moral growth. Results showed that posttraining changes in moral reasoning were in the predicted direction. In addition, gender differences in social perspective-taking were evident; males had significantly lower social perspective-taking scores at pretraining and showed significant gains in perspective-taking at posttesting. Females, however, scored relatively high in social perspective-taking at pretraining and showed no significant change in ability at posttesting. The results are interpreted as supportive of existing theoretical models regarding these domains of development.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The selfish karyotype. An analysis of the biological basis of morals.

An analysis is made of the kin-selection/group-selection debate on the issue of the biological basis of morals. The kin-selection view sees altruism, and morals in the case of humans, as resting solely on genetic factors; in fact, on this view, evolution itself is to take place only through genetic change -- a position which cannot be reconciled with our knowledge that species evolution involves karyotypic change. Morality is thought to stem from a particular gene which at one time was completely absent from the human population but which later entered and spread through it. On the generally accepted conception of kin selection, this 'altruistic' gene is to be responsible not only for apparently altruistic behaviour towards near relatives, but also for parental care. Thus this view, among other things, has the absurd consequence that there was a period directly after humans first came into existence during which we did not care for our young. In contrast, the group-selection view, as developed here, sees morality as stemming from the species' karyotype, and to be passed on karyotypically from species to species through evolution. As suggested by Darwin, morality is thus derived from our social instincts, and is fundamentally directed to members of one's tribe or community, not to members of one's family. In keeping with this perspective, it is suggested here that the biological basis of morals does not concern the continuation of each individual's gene line, but the continuing existence of the individual's community, and thus, indirectly, the survival of the human species, through supporting the continuing instantiation of its karyotype.

Altruism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Defining and addressing moral distress: tools for critical care nursing leaders.

Nurse clinicians may experience moral distress when they are unable to translate their moral choices into moral action. The costs of unrelieved moral distress are high; ultimately, as with all unresolved professional conflicts, the quality of patient care suffers. As a systematic process for change, this article offers the AACN's Model to Rise Above Moral Distress, describing four A's: ask, affirm, assess, and act. To help critical care nurses working to address moral distress, the article identifies 11 action steps they can take to develop an ethical practice environment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Understanding differences in moral judgments: the role of informational assumptions.

This study examined differences in moral judgments as they relate to informational assumptions. It was hypothesized that (1) differences in moral judgments are related to differences in informational assumptions, (2) moral judgments change if the information believed to be true changes, and (3) the relation between informational assumptions and moral judgments is not affected by age. 72 subjects (aged 11-9, 15-10, and 21-3) evaluated events concerning welfare, justice, and rights and reevaluated them in light of the opposite information. A significant relation was found between the evaluations and the informational assumptions, and 80% of the evaluations changed in response to informational changes. The relation between evaluations and informational assumptions was significant within each age group. These findings demonstrated that informational assumptions are a source of variation in moral judgments and underscored the need to distinguish between the 2 types of judgments when studying differences in moral reasoning.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Morale and perceived control in institutionalized elderly.

This study explored patterns of causal relationships among perception of situational control, health, socioeconomic status, functional dependency, length of stay, and morale in institutionalized elderly. Causal patterns in residents at two levels of care were contrasted. A total of 113 residents on intermediate and skilled care units chosen randomly from 4 urban proprietary nursing homes were studied. Variables were measured by means of an interview. Instruments included the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale, Chang's Situational Control of Daily Activities Scale, and the Resident's Questionnaire. Path analysis was used with a causal model to estimate direct and indirect effects of the independent variables on morale. Important differences in the way the independent variables affected morale for residents on the two levels of care were reported. Perception of situational control proved to be a key variable, significantly related to the morale of residents on both levels of care, although the strength of the association was stronger for residents on skilled care. Functional dependency, health, and socioeconomic status had significant direct effects on the morale of residents on intermediate care but not those on skilled care.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Moral reasoning and political conflict: the abortion controversy.

We argue that the abortion controversy has one major source--religion--and two less important ones--attitudes towards sexual permissiveness and women's employment. Traditional Christianity promotes opposition to abortion using three distinct modes of moral reasoning: through deductive moral reasoning, by the Christian world view's implication that abortion violates the sanctity of life and is a rebellion against God's design; through authoritative moral reasoning by appeal to Catholic dogma; and through consequentialist moral reasoning, as a means of control over sexuality and as a means of confining women's activities to the home. Even aside from Christian belief, adherence to traditional morality promotes opposition to abortion on these consequentialist grounds. We posit a model in which religious belief, anti-feminism, sexual permissiveness, and attitudes towards abortion are distinct concepts (a four-factor model) rather than all simply aspects of a single conservatism factor. We develop reliable, multiple item attitude scales; show that our four-factor model fits the data much better than the one-factor alternative; and test our hypotheses on new data from a large, representative national sample of Australia (N = 4540). Using maximum likelihood structural equation methods, we find that deductive reasoning from Christian belief is the most important source of opposition to abortion, with strong effects both direct and indirect. Exposure to the authority of the Catholic hierarchy is a real but weaker source of opposition. Consequentialist reasoning from traditional moral views on sex--partly buttressed by religion, partly independent of it--is also influential. But views on women's employment matter only a little, contrary to received wisdom.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMed2002

Morality in perioperative nurses.

This study examined nurses' moral motivation, character, and action using a Model of Morality for Perioperative Nurses. Influences on moral actions and selected outcomes for surgical patients and perioperative nurses were examined. Results indicate that motivation and character are related directly to the moral actions of perioperative nurses (R = .13 to .31, P < .001). Fourteen percent of the variance in action was explained by motivation, character, self-perceived level of practice, and ethics education. Results suggest that current models do not describe the moral behavior of perioperative nurses adequately. Future research should examine constructs that explain the moral actions of nurses in the perioperative setting.

Adult↗