Moral-emotional responsiveness: a two-factor domain of conscience functioning.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the progression in development of moral-emotional responsiveness in children and adolescents and to examine the relationship of this progression with previously identified stages of conceptualization of conscience. METHOD: Using three semistructured questions from the Stilwell Conscience Interview, 132 normal volunteers between the ages of 5 and 17 years were assessed regarding comprehension of their emotional responses to moral stimuli. RESULTS: Rational analysis of the responses identified six items; each item was scaled for complexity into five stages. Factor analysis of the six items revealed two factors: moral-emotional responsiveness 1 contained items relating to external anxiety, internal anxiety, and mood; more-emotional responsiveness 2 contained items relating to the restoration of psychophysiological equilibrium through the processes of reparation and healing. Differences between conceptualization stages, with the moral-emotional responsiveness factors serving as dependent variables, were accounted for by stage differences in age and the positive correlations between the moral-emotional responsiveness factors and age. CONCLUSIONS: Moral-emotional responsiveness is a two-factor domain of the conscience. The findings provide additional developmental guidelines for assessing conscience development and functioning both in clinical practice and in research.

Author information

Author/s: Stilwell, B M (BM); Galvin, M (M); Kopta, S M (SM); Norton, J A (JA);

Affiliation: Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1994-Jan; vol 33 (issue 1) : pp 130-9

Dates: Created 1994/04/25; Completed 1994/04/25; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 8138510, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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