Moral Beliefs and Offending: Development and Validation of a Comprehensive Moral Beliefs Scale

• In Event: Scale Development, Validation, and Invariance Testing

Abstract

Hirschi’s theory of social control introduced four bonds (e.g., attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief) that are attributed to the explanation of why some individuals engage in crime while others refrain from similar behaviors. Increased levels of social control, then, prohibit an individual from engaging in crime. The basis behind the “belief” bond is that simply believing an act is morally wrong is a form of social control. Many studies have attempted to study Hirschi’s position of moral beliefs as social control. These studies have often asked respondents about their offending behaviors first, then asked them to report how wrong they believe these acts are. If a respondent acknowledges engagement in an illegal behavior, it is unlikely they would go on to state that they believe the act to be morally wrong. Due to this methodological approach, the link between offending and moral beliefs may be understated. Using a university-based sample, this study tests the development and validity of two moral beliefs scales to determine whether differences emerge when asking respondents about the morality of acts that differ from those being used to measure their offending levels.

Author

• Katelyn Wattanaporn, Arizona State University