THE DEVELOPMENT OF RISK ACCEPTANCE AND MORAL VALUATION

The relationship between acceptability of risks and moral valuation of risky activities was investigated in children, 10-16 years old. It wa s found that all age groups exhibited a strong correlation between the two dimensions of risky activities. Older children were more tolerant of risk taking than younger children. Individual actions were judged in a more lenient manner than collective actions. Girls tended to be m ore morally condemning towards risk taking, but the youngest girls wer e not less prone to accept risks than boys. General measures of moral development according to Piaget and Kohlberg were not associated with perceived acceptability of risk or the judged morality of risky activi ties but relations were found between risk taking and assertiveness an d perceived freedom, which were the most important factors in accounti ng for risk and morality attitudes.