Moral truncation in Northern Ireland: myth or reality?

Abstract

This thesis examines environmental influences on morality using a cognitive developmental framework. Working from a Kohlbergian (Kohl berg, 1984) and Neo-Kohlbergian approach (Gibbs, Basinger & Fuller, 1992) the research explores the impact that a community's 'moral atmosphere' may have on individual moral judgement. In particular the possibility was examined that living in a moral atmosphere characterised by sustained political conflict, can either delay or advance an individual's moral reasoning, (Kohlberg, 1984; Garbarino & Bronfenbrenner, 1976) in comparison with individuals resident in societies free from sustained campaigns of political violence.

To explore this question, Northern Ireland was chosen as test location. Northern Ireland has endured over 25 years of political and sectarian conflict, and provides a unique 'test-bed' for this project. Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, provided comparison cultures due to their geographical, historical and cultural closeness with Northern Ireland.
The studies in chapter three evaluate the psychometric properties of the Sociomoral Reflection Measure- Short Form (SRM-SF; Gibbs, Basinger & Fuller, 1992). This analysis builds on the earlier psychometric evaluation of the SRM-SF employing North American samples (Basinger, Gibbs & Fuller, 1991; Basinger, Gibbs & Fuller, 1995; Snamey & Keljo, 1994) and Italian samples (Gielen, Communian & Antononi, 1994).

In chapter 4 the moral reasoning oflrish and Scottish adolescents (n=613) were assessed employing the SRM-SF and a stratified proportional sampling design. Results of this cross-national study indicated that despite the fears of earlier researchers (Fields, 1973, 1976; Fraser, 1972, 1974) adolescents resident in Northern Ireland presented levels of moral maturity similar to their counterparts from Scotland and the Republic oflreland, indicting that they appear to be developing normally. These results were explained in relation to the outward appearance of conflict in Northern Irish society and the actual nature of the conflict, in comparison with the conflict free locations.

Finally in chapter 5 a study (n= 421) was undertaken to explore the specific effects of residence in a Northern Irish high violence area, in comparison with areas of low violence, similar in levels of urbanisation. The results indicated that children and adolescents resident in areas characterised as violent, based on the number of politically motivated violent fatal incidents per 1000 of population (Poole, 1981) obtained lower scores on the SRM-SF compared to children from low violence areas.

The findings of these studies are discussed in terms of the effects social segregation and the constant threat of out-group violence, has on the structure of the moral atmosphere of the community and as a result, the individual.

The thesis concludes with an analysis of the contribution of various social factors to the individual's moral development, a review of the Northern Irish political situation during the sampling period and an outline of potential areas for future research.

Date of Award	1998
Original language	English