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The measurement of principled morality by the Kohlberg Moral Dilemma Questionnaire.

The four stages preceding the postconventional level in the Kohlberg (1958, 1971, 1976) system of moral development are described as involving moral judgments that conform to external conditions of punishment, reward, social expectation, and conformity to the law. No special level of self-control seems necessary to behave in keeping with these conditions of external reinforcement. In contrast, the two stages of postconventional (principled) mortality involve defiance of majority opinion and defiance of the law--actions that would seem to require greater self-control. This study was concerned with whether postconventional moral reasoning, as measured by the Kohlberg Moral Dilemma Questionnaire (MDQ), can be associated with higher self-control. If so, prediction of principled moral behavior from the MDQ would be based not only on postconventional moral reasoning but bolstered by the necessary level of self-control as well. College students who came the closest to postconventional moral reasoning showed better self-control than college students who were more conventional or preconventional in their moral judgments. These results support the validity of the MDQ for predicting principled moral behavior.

Adolescent

Moral therapy and the problem of morale.

The author reviews the history of moral therapy and the lessons and warnings it holds for modern psychiatry. Custodial management replaced moral therapy in this country in the late 1800s because of inadequate manpower and fiscal resources, a lack of charismatic leaders, the increasing lack of control over admissions and discharge, and other factors. One "solution" to the unacceptable conditions of custodial care was an increased faith in science and technology; humanistic medical science became scientism, and patients suffered. Morale is essential to the provision of moral therapy, and the increasing emphasis on somatic therapies has strained the union of morale and moral treatment. The author believes that the profession can reaffirm its identity and distinguish itself through the appropriate provision of humane, psychosocial care--the essence of moral therapy.

Attitude of Health Personnel

Moral balance: the effect of prior behaviour on decision in moral conflict.

Two studies examined predictions from the 'moral balance' model, according to which moral decisions are affected by evaluation of the actor's moral status based on his/her recent moral history. It was found that people are more willing to allow a deviation to, and believe that this should generate less guilt in, a person who generally behaves morally than in one who generally behaves immorally. It was also found that an unworthy act by a person (self or other) who has recently behaved morally is evaluated less severely than the same act performed by one who has recently behaved immorally. This trend for normative judgements is contrary to that found for descriptive judgements: a person who has recently behaved immorally is perceived as more likely to choose to act improperly and to feel less guilty. This discrepancy between normative and descriptive judgements is analysed in terms of the distinction between attributions to trait as opposed to effort, to trait as opposed to situation, and between those made from the perspective of actors as opposed to observers.

Adolescent

Moral judgement and moral conduct in the psychopath.

The relationship between moral conduct and moral judgment was investigated by comparing moral reasoning of a psychopathic sample from a maximum security hospital for the criminal offender with a similar inmate, nonpsychopathic sample, and a group of "normals". Psychopaths obtained significantly higher scores on the Kohlberg scale of moral judgment than either of the other groups, for whom no differences were found. Results suggest the hypothesis that lack of guilt feelings in psychopaths facilitate the achievement of higher levels of moral judgment.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

The Moral of the Story-Perception of Leadership With Moral Distress in Registered Nurses: A Qualitative Systematic Review.

AIM: To understand how Registered Nurses perceive the impact of nursing leadership on managing moral distress and mitigating burnout. BACKGROUND: Moral distress and burnout are pervasive issues in nursing, compromising well-being, patient safety and workforce sustainability. Leadership is a critical factor in shaping workplace culture and mitigating these challenges, yet evidence remains limited. DESIGN: Qualitative systematic review. METHODS: A qualitative systematic review was conducted following JBI methodology and PRISMA guidelines. Comprehensive searches across MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL and Scopus identified 5927 articles, with two studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Data were appraised using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist and synthesised via meta-aggregation. Confidence in findings was assessed using the ConQual approach. RESULTS: Four major themes emerged: (1) Behind the barriers, (2) Breaking point, (3) Weathering the storm and (4) Leadership for lasting change. Leadership influenced nurses' psychological safety, ethical decision-making and resilience. Inadequate support amplified moral distress, and effective strategies included authentic communication, team solidarity and systemic interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Leadership plays a pivotal role in mitigating moral distress and burnout. Evidence highlights the need for structural changes and support to sustain registered nurses' well-being and retention. RELATIVE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Findings offer direction for leadership strategies that promote ethical workplaces, shared decision-making and mental health supports to enhance resilience and patient care. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Strengthening leadership capability is vital for workforce sustainability, care quality and nurse retention. REPORTING METHOD: Authors have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This study did not involve patients or the public in its design, conduct or reporting.

Leadership

Moral outrage and moral discourse in nurse-physician collaboration.

True collaboration between clinical nurses and physicians in acute care settings can be difficult to achieve. The author describes a patient care unit dedicated to the study and development of such collaborative relationships. She reports an unexpected favorable outcome of such collaboration: the decline in incidents of moral outrage among nurses faced with moral dilemmas. This decline is attributed to such factors as mutual trust and respect between nurses and physicians, an appreciation that the two practice areas are interdependent, and the development of a synergistic alliance between the two that enhances patient care.

Aged

Describing and testing a moderator of the moral judgment and action relationship.

The relationship between moral judgment development and action for Ss who differ in the degree to which justice-based moral judgments influence moral decision making was investigated. First, a method for quantifying Ss' use of justice-based moral judgments in moral decision making (the utilizer variable) is described. Second, 5 moral judgment and action studies are reanalyzed to assess the moderating effect of the utilizer variable information. Results indicate that the relationship between moral judgment scores and action intensifies as utilization increases. Moreover, the utilizer effect appears uniform across different age and educational levels and behavioral domains. These findings support the validity of the utilizer variable and are consistent with recent multiprocess models of moral action that suggest that moral judgements are a necessary, but insufficient, factor in the production of moral action.

Decision Making

Children's obligatory and discretionary moral judgments.

This study examined children's obligatory moral judgments (which reflect a moral requirement) and discretionary moral judgments (which reflect moral worthiness, but not a requirement). 72 children participated across grades 2, 5, and 8 (mean ages, 8-3, 11-0, and 13-11). Children were interviewed in response to stimulus stories that controlled for the degree of agent's cost (low and high) for performing positive moral acts (giving money for food to an impoverished, hungry person) and negative moral acts (not stealing money for food). Results showed that negative moral acts were more often conceived as obligatory than positive moral acts. In addition, the results support the proposition that children's concepts of obligation underlie judgments to codify law, that justice reasoning builds on concepts of welfare, and that with increasing age discretionary moral reasoning incorporates such character traits as benevolence, sacrifice, and supererogation. Discussion includes consideration of how the study's conceptualization and analysis can provide guidance to a moral-developmental research program.

Adolescent

A re-examination of widowhood and morale.

Previous research has suggested widowed status to be associated with lower morale or life satisfaction. The effects of marital status on morale relative to five covariates (health, income, age, family interaction, and employment status) were examined with 232 widowed and 363 married women aged 45-74, drawn in a multistage stratified area probability sample of Los Angeles County. Analysis of covariance was utilized with a six-item, factor analyzed measure of morale. Parallel analyses were performed for each of three ethnic groups (blacks, Mexican-American, and white) to examine specific ethnic patterns. In the total sample, poor health was associated with significantly lower morale among widowed than among married women. The analysis with age showed the widowed group catching up and surpassing their married peers on morale at higher ages. Controlling for income and employment status eliminated differences between the marital status groups on morale scores. Higher family interaction was positively associated with morale in both groups, but married women were consistently higher on morale regardless of level of interaction. Most ethnic differences were not significant, but family interaction appeared to be crucial among Mexican-American widows. The findings suggest that lower morale scores found among the widowed may be partly attributable to other factors commonly associated with this status and not due to the role of widowhood per se.

Age Factors