Moral reasoning in adolescent offenders: a meta-analytic review

Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos del Principado de Asturias 2018

Moral reasoning and its association with various types of behavior have been the subject of many studies in Psychology. Specifi cally, moral reasoning has been widely related to juvenile delinquency in the research about the subject. Objectives: this review integrates more than 70 years of scientifi c research into the differences in moral reasoning between adolescent offenders and non-offenders with a view to elucidating the relationship between moral reasoning and juvenile delinquency with provision for the potential moderating effect of demographic and methodological variables. Method: We conducted a meta-analytic review whose target population was young offenders between 11 and 20 years old. Results: A search for literature on the target topic retrieved a total of 72 studies with a moderated effect size (r = -.336). The most salient fi nding was that effect sizes were signifi cant for all subgroups of moderating variables. Conclusions: This result suggests a powerful relationship between moral reasoning and offi cially recorded juvenile delinquency that cannot be exclusively ascribed to sociodemographic or methodological variables. There remain some unsolved challenges in this fi eld, however, which are briefl y commented on
El estudio de la asociación entre razonamiento moral y diversos comportamientos ha ocupado numerosos estudios en Psicología. Específi camente, el razonamiento moral ha sido ampliamente relacionado con la delincuencia juvenil a lo largo de dichas investigaciones. Objetivos: este estudio pretende integrar más de 70 años de producción científi ca acerca de la búsqueda de sus iguales no infractores en razonamiento moral entre menores infractores y teniendo en cuenta el posible poder moderador tanto de variables demográfi cas como metodológicas. Método: se lleva a cabo una revisión meta-analítica cuya población objetivo fue menores infractores entre 11 y 20 años. Resultados: se obtuvo una muestra de 72 estudios, obteniendo un tamaño de efecto moderado de r= -.336. Se observa que los tamaños de efecto para los subgrupos que conforman las variables moderadoras son signifi cativos. Conclusión: este resultado sugiere que la relación entre razonamiento moral y delincuencia juvenil es potente y no solo atribuible a características metodológicas o sociodemográfi cas de la muestra. Se fi naliza con una refl exión sobre algunos retos pendientes en este campo

Moral reasoning; Juvenile delinquency; Meta-analysis; Quantitative review; Razonamiento moral; Delincuencia juvenil; Meta-análisis; Revisión cuantitativa; journal article

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English

ESUSC oai:minerva.usc.es:10347/27348
Férriz Romeral, L., Sobral Fernández, J., & Gómez Fraguela, J.A. (2018). Moral reasoning in adolescent offenders: A meta-analytic review. Psicothema, 30 3, 289-294
0214-9915
10.7334/psicothema2017.378
1886-144X
1400995184

UNIVERSIDADE DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
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