PARENTAL DIVORCE AND THE MORAL DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS

To explore the possible association of parental divorce and adolescent 's moral development, 103 college students aged 17 to 22 were tested f or stage of moral development and parental relations. Students' gender and prior closeness with parents were not significantly associated wi th variations in their current level of moral development. There was a significant association between parental status of divorce and adoles cents' stage of moral development. Subjects whose parents were divorce d during their adolescent years exhibited a significantly higher level of moral development than those adolescents whose parents were not di vorced. The findings support the understanding that increased perspect ive-taking, necessitated among children of divorce by witnessing diffe rences in opinions between their parents, is at the root of moral judg ment development.