The cultural-developmental approach to morality suggests that the process of moral development cannot be accurately understood without examining both the developmental life period of the individual and the cultural context in which morality is socialized. This theoretical framework draws on the Three Ethics approach and suggests that individuals' moral reasoning may be influenced or shaped by one of three broad ethics that are indicative of one's moral worldview, two of which are considered in the present chapter, the Ethic of Autonomy and the Ethic of Divinity (Jensen, Reference Jensen2008, Reference Arnett and Jensen2011, Reference Jensen2012; Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997). The Ethic of Autonomy is characteristic of Western society and is primarily focused on justice and the rights of the individual (Jensen, Reference Jensen2008; Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997). Autonomy is based on equality, promotes the self-esteem and independence of individuals, and recognizes that individuals are free to pursue their desires and preferences as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others. The Ethic of Divinity is a focus on deity or a motivation born from spiritual or religious tenets, with goals of making oneself pure and worthy so as to strengthen connection with the divine. Being faithful and humble is valued, and learning and morality are often based on information from sacred texts or tenets held by Deity. There is a general attempt to avoid sin and spiritual impurity. The Ethic of Divinity may be seen as a gradual process wherein an individual becomes “increasingly connected” (Jensen, Reference Jensen and Jensen2011, p. 5) over time to the divine, which may be seen by some faiths as something one must strive for throughout one's life.
Examining these two ethics using a cultural-developmental template, the present chapter addresses how individuals negotiate their moral worldviews when they may hold strongly to two potentially competing ethics, one that is dominant as a function of their developmental period and another that is dominant in their culture. It is important to note that one's worldview has often been defined broadly as how one defines humanness and approaches broad questions of who and where he or she is as well as explanations of suffering and solutions to that suffering (Jensen, Reference Jensen1997; Walsh & Middleton, Reference Walsh and Middleton1984). In the present chapter the term moral worldview is used to place specific emphasis on the way one thinks about moral issues in particular (as opposed to broader notions of humanness), including cultural values and tenets that provide guidelines for moral reasoning and behavior (Snarey, Reference Snarey1985). Thus, one's moral worldview as presently conceptualized may be just one aspect of a broader worldview, and though the two would most likely be interrelated, our focus is on the moral aspect of one's worldview in particular. Taking this into consideration, the present chapter examines the developmental age of emerging adulthood (ages 18 years through the mid- to late twenties) and the culture of highly religiously conservative individuals (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Latter-day Saints; LDS; Mormons) in an attempt to examine how individuals negotiate these two ethics that may produce qualitatively different worldviews in regard to morality.
Developmentally, emerging adulthood in the United States (and other industrialized countries) is a time of fairly significant developmental change (Arnett, Reference Arnett2000), which makes this a key time period for examination and possible modification of one's approach to morality (Jensen, Reference Jensen and Jensen2011). Research has found that emerging adult college students with high socioeconomic status (SES) primarily report using an Ethic of Autonomy regardless of culture (Haidt, Koller, & Dias, Reference Haidt, Koller and Dias1993), or they use relatively comparable proportions of the Ethics of Autonomy and Community (Arnett, Ramos, & Jensen, Reference Arnett, Ramos and Jensen2001), and they rarely report using an Ethic of Divinity. Thus, given the nature of emerging adulthood in the United States, it would be expected that emerging adults would favor an Ethic of Autonomy when approaching moral issues. Culturally, an Ethic of Divinity has most commonly been observed in Hindu (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997) and other highly conservative religions (Jensen, Reference Jensen2008; see also Vainio, Chapter 3, this volume) and is rarely used by liberal Christians in the United States (Jensen, Reference Jensen1997, Reference Arnett and Jensen2011). However, it has been found that religiously conservative Christians tend to reason using an Ethic of Divinity and discourage somewhat an Ethic of Autonomy (Jensen, Reference Jensen1997, Reference Arnett and Jensen2011, and Chapter 8, this volume). Although research on conservative Christians is somewhat limited, we would expect that highly religiously conservative individuals would favor an Ethic of Divinity when approaching moral issues.
Taken together, these findings raise the question of the relative roles in one's moral decision making that are played by development and culture among highly religiously conservative emerging adults. Research suggests that for the average religiously conservative American, the Ethic of Autonomy is relatively stable over time, whereas the Ethic of Divinity may increase sharply in adolescence, primarily as a result of gains in the cognitive ability needed to understand abstract concepts of the divine. However, the cultural-developmental template allows for different degrees of each ethic as a function of culture (Jensen, Reference Jensen and Jensen2011), making it possible that, in a religious culture in which lessons of deity are taught to young children in a developmentally appropriate (i.e., nonabstract, tangible, recurrent) way, the template may look quite different from that of a nonreligious or even a religiously liberal culture (see Hickman & DiBianca Fasoli, Chapter 7, this volume).
Thus, given the specific religious culture examined in this chapter (Latter-day Saints), and the extensive teachings beginning at a very young age that suggest that moral reasoning and moral behavior are primarily issues of divinity or spirituality, it is possible that these highly religious individuals will have been negotiating these ethics for most of their formative years and, by emerging adulthood, may have clearly settled on one dominant ethic or will have found a meaningful way to balance the two. Indeed, given the complexity of one's moral actions, it might be necessary and even more effective to draw from multiple ethics depending on the moral issue, either relying on a single ethic as it is most appropriate or taking a multidimensional approach and drawing from several ethics in order to consider multiple solutions (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997). However, drawing in a nonsystematic manner from all ethics at once may create confusion and incoherence, especially if each worldview or multiple worldviews present conflicting messages regarding a moral behavior (Shweder & Sullivan, Reference Shweder and Sullivan1993). Thus, for Latter-day Saints culturally, the Ethic of Divinity may be taught and expected to increase from a very young age, while the Ethic of Autonomy may be expected to decrease somewhat over time (Jensen, Reference Jensen and Jensen2011) or to be “absorbed” into the Ethic of Divinity, wherein Autonomy would not be unimportant but would remain somewhat in the background of moral decision making (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997, p. 141). However, given the strong focus on identity and autonomy during the developmental period of emerging adulthood, we expect that the Ethic of Autonomy will also be high among Latter-day Saint college students, potentially resulting in conflict between these two ethics that are both highly valued.
Therefore, we first discuss the period of emerging adulthood and the unique developmental issues of this age that are relevant for the development of morality. Second, we discuss the Latter-day Saint religious culture, explicating the ways in which morality is taught in the culture and the emphasis that is placed on the role of the divine in one's sense of morality. We then discuss the results of data collected from a sample of 500 highly religious emerging adults using a new measure of the three ethics, the Ethical Values Assessment (EVA; Jensen & Padilla-Walker, Appendix C in this volume; see also Table 5.1). We conclude with a discussion of what we envision as fruitful avenues for future research in this area.
Table 5.1 Ethical Value Assessment (EVA)
| Autonomy items | |
|---|---|
| 1. | I should take responsibility for myself |
| 2. | I should take good care of my body |
| 3. | I should feel good about myself |
| 4. | I should try to achieve my personal goals |
| 5. | I should be fair to other individuals |
| 6. | I should respect other individuals' rights |
| 7. | I should keep myself out of trouble |
| Divinity items | |
|---|---|
| 1. | I should aim for spiritual salvation |
| 2. | I should take good care of my soul |
| 3. | I should have a spiritual compass |
| 4. | I should aim to live a holy life |
| 5. | I should follow God's law |
| 6. | I should strive for spiritual purity |
| 7. | I should respect my ancestors |
Development: emerging adulthood
Arnett (Reference Arnett2000, Reference Arnett2004) characterized emerging adulthood as including five important features. First, it is an age of feeling in-between, as most emerging adults do not see themselves as either an adolescent or an adult. Second, emerging adulthood is an age of possibilities, as most young people are extremely optimistic and have high hopes for the future. Third, this period of development is an age of instability because it tends to be marked by instability in work, relationships, education, and residential status. Next, emerging adulthood is characterized as an age of identity exploration because many emerging adults are free to explore identities in the areas of education, work, love, and worldviews. Finally, emerging adulthood is a self-focused age of life. This is not meant to suggest that emerging adults are necessarily self-centered but are rather free from social obligations and other responsibilities that allow for a productive focus on the self.
It should be noted from the outset that in calling emerging adulthood a period in the life stage, both Arnett (Reference Arnett2000) and we acknowledge that there is a historical and cultural component to these features. Indeed, the features of emerging adulthood tend to exist more among the economically advantaged within industrialized cultures and are heavily influenced by cultural beliefs and attitudes. In other contexts, the features of emerging adulthood may be condensed or take on different forms. As a result, there are many emerging adulthoods within and between countries and cultures (Arnett, Reference Arnett and Jensen2011). This, however, is not unique to emerging adulthood in that multiple paths through infancy, adolescence, and late adulthood also exist. In each of these stages, though, there are “common features across contexts that justify conceptualizing it as a life stage” (Arnett, Reference Arnett, Booth and Crouter2012, p. 242). It is from this perspective (i.e., that these features of emerging adulthood do in fact capture the life experiences of a large portion of emerging adults) that we approach emerging adulthood as the developmental lens for this chapter.
Indeed, the theoretical features mentioned above capture some of the actual behaviors of many emerging adults in the United States. As part of the exploration, instability, experimentation, and self-focus that are typical for this age, a number of trends are now prevalent during emerging adulthood. More and more young people are engaging in premarital intercourse (see Regnerus & Uecker, Reference Regnerus and Uecker2011), and cohabitation is preceding more than half of all marriages in the United States (Whitehead & Popenoe, Reference Whitehead and Popenoe2001). It is taking longer for emerging adults to finish their education (Arnett, Reference Arnett2000). Emerging adulthood is the peak period for risk behaviors such as binge drinking, experimentation with drugs, and unprotected sex (e.g., Bachman, Johnston, O'Malley, et al., Reference Bachman, Johnston, O'Malley, Schulenberg, Graber, Brooks-Gunn and Petersen1996; Leftkowitz & Gillen, Reference Lefkowitz and Gillen2006; Schulenberg & Maggs, Reference Schulenberg and Maggs2001). Finally, many emerging adults hold pessimistic views about marriage (Bachman, Johnston, & O'Malley, Reference Bachman, Johnston and O'Malley2009) and desire to postpone marriage until the late twenties or even thirties (e.g., Carroll, Willoughby, Badger, et al., Reference Carroll, Willoughby, Badger, Nelson, Barry and Madsen2007). In sum, these behaviors represent a belief by many emerging adults that they should behave as though they are only young once and therefore should engage in as many “now-or-never” (Ravert, Reference Ravert2009) behaviors as possible.
Indeed, the features, behaviors, and beliefs typical of emerging adulthood reflect a prevailing emphasis on the individual. This is not meant to suggest that this age of self-focus is one of complete negativity (e.g., narcissism), as many young people engage in endeavors that are beneficial to others (e.g., Peace Corps, Teach for America), but even these behaviors are done with the view of self-growth and self-improvement (e.g., Arnett, Reference Arnett2000) and that emerging adulthood is the time to do them or there will never be another opportunity (Ravert, Reference Ravert2009). This is why it has been hypothesized that this period of life would be characterized substantially by an Ethic of Autonomy (Jensen, Reference Jensen and Jensen2011). However, cultural beliefs for some emerging adults may compete with the developmental beliefs and values of the time period.
Culture: highly religious individuals
Although culture may be conceptualized by some as reference to a specific ethnicity or individuals from a specific country, the present chapter treats culture as a group of individuals who are members of a community and who share a set of core beliefs and behaviors (Jensen, Reference Jensen and Jensen2011). Thus, when referring to culture, we will consider one specific religious denomination, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (i.e., Latter-day Saints, LDS, Mormons).
Like many religiously conservative groups, Latter-day Saints are expected to engage in a number of religious practices, including personal and family prayer, reading of sacred texts, and regular attendance at religious services (see Articles of Faith, 1985). Furthermore, Latter-day Saints value the family and serving others, especially those less fortunate, emphasize the importance of obeying God's commandments, and revere life. Finally, like many groups who focus on the purity of the body, Latter-day Saints' reverence for the body is reflected in teachings regarding dress (e.g., clothing that is modest rather than revealing), grooming (e.g., no body piercings for men), substance prohibition (e.g., abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs), and behavior (e.g., no premarital or extramarital sexual intimacy, no pornography). Taken together, these core beliefs and behaviors make up a culture within which a set of worldviews may develop that are potentially at odds with the developmental period of emerging adulthood within the United States.
Indeed, in this brief description of Latter-day Saint culture, five tenets, or features, stand out as being in stark contrast to the views and behaviors typical of the developmental context of emerging adulthood, which may be why devout Latter-day Saint emerging adults have been shown to differ from their peers in the majority culture in the United States in a number of important areas (e.g. Barry & Nelson, Reference Barry and Nelson2005; Nelson, Reference Nelson2003). One of the first areas in which highly religious emerging adults such as Latter-day Saints may differ is a marked emphasis on service to and concern for others. In both of their sacred texts (The Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon), Latter-day Saints are taught that rendering service to others is how one worships God. For example, two passages of scripture known to nearly every devout Latter-day Saint are “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40) and “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). Unique from the experience of most emerging adults, young Latter-day Saints are given a variety of roles and responsibilities centered on service to others during the emerging adulthood years.
For example, missionary service is a 2-year commitment required of all physically capable men beginning at age 18 years and an optional 18-month commitment for women beginning at age 19 years. Although much of this time is spent in proselytizing, which might not be seen as service by those outside the culture, those within the culture see it as time spent focused on others rather than the self. Furthermore, missionaries are expected to spend four hours a week engaged in community service that should come from a sincere desire to help others rather than as a means of proselyting or gaining publicity for the Church (Florence, Reference Florence1991). Similarly, before and after missionary service (and for those who do not serve missions) Latter-day Saint emerging adults receive assignments to attend to the spiritual and temporal needs of two to four specific members of their wards (i.e., congregations). Thus, the specific emphasis on service to others in both teaching and practice within Latter-day Saint culture may not align with the self-focused values and practices of the developmental period of emerging adulthood.
Another aspect of the developmental period of emerging adulthood that may be at odds with that of Mormon culture is identity development, especially in regard to religiousness.
Emerging adulthood is a period for exploration of one's beliefs (Arnett, Reference Arnett2004). Indeed, studies have shown that between adolescence and emerging adulthood, nearly half of emerging adults change their religious affiliation (Smith, Reference Smith and Snell2009), suggesting a rather large amount of exploration and change. In that same study, however, Smith found that far fewer Latter-day Saints in his sample of American emerging adults changed their religious affiliation. Furthermore, other studies have reported that Latter-day Saint emerging adults report higher levels of religious faith than both their nonreligious and religious peers (Barry & Nelson, Reference Barry and Nelson2005). The lack of exploration of and change in beliefs for Latter-day Saints during emerging adulthood may be the result of the fact that in Mormon culture young people are encouraged to settle on their religious convictions well before emerging adulthood. Indeed, a common message conveyed to young people, starting at very young ages, is that they cannot live on “borrowed light” (Whitney, Reference Whitney1967, p. 450) from their parents or anybody else. Because of the emphasis placed on settling on one's own religious faith before emerging adulthood, that period of life for many Latter-day Saints, unlike the majority of their peers, is no longer a period of exploration in regard to religiousness.
Next, individual happiness and well-being are aspects of Mormon culture that are heavily emphasized. In general, religiosity and spirituality have been related to numerous positive life outcomes for emerging adults, such as personal-emotional adjustment, healthy attitudes and behaviors, as well as high self-esteem (e.g., Gilliam, Barry, & Bacchus, Reference Gilliam, Barry and Bacchus2008; Knox, Langehough, & Walters, Reference Knox, Langehough and Walters1998; Rew & Wong, Reference Rew and Wong2006; although see also Trommsdorff, Reference Trommsdorff and Jensen2015). The important distinction to be made, however, is that Mormon culture does not just view positive adjustment as stemming from being religious, but Mormons believe it is a spiritual imperative to be happy, positive, and, in general, well adjusted. Mormon scripture reads “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). Therefore, there is reason to expect that one's worldviews stemming from cultural beliefs and values would be associated with personal well-being.
Another set of features that stand out as being in contrast to the views and behaviors typical of the developmental context of emerging adulthood revolves around self-regulation. For example, as mentioned previously, emerging adulthood is the peak period in the life span for risk behaviors such as heavy drinking, alcohol-related problems, drug use, and risky sexual behaviors and a period in which behaviors such as alcohol and pornography use are considered normative (e.g., Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, et al., Reference Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, Olsen, Barry and Madsen2008). In contrast, Mormon culture counsels against all of these behaviors. For example, to adolescents and young adults, the cultural expectation is “Never do anything that could lead to sexual transgression…Before marriage, do not participate in passionate kissing, lie on top of another person, or touch the private, sacred parts of another person's body, with or without clothing. Do not do anything else that arouses sexual feelings. Do not arouse those emotions in your own body” (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2001, p. 36). Hence, Latter-day Saint proscriptions against drug and alcohol use, premarital intercourse, and other sexual behaviors (e.g., pornography use, masturbation) seem to run counter to the views of typical emerging adults.
Finally, there is a marked difference between Mormon culture and development during emerging adulthood regarding views about family. Although approximately 92 percent of emerging adults report that they are both planning for and expecting to marry in the future (Thornton & Young-DeMarco, Reference Thornton and Young-DeMarco2001; Whitehead & Popenoe, Reference Whitehead and Popenoe2001), emerging adulthood is not the time, on average, during which that actually happens (median age of marriage in the United States is 28 years for males and 26 years for females; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Likewise, rises in nonmarital cohabitation, delays in fertility, and the pursuit of greater independence from parents all point toward emerging adulthood being a time of individual centeredness rather than family centeredness.
Mormon culture, on the other hand, places heavy emphasis on the role of the family, and the effects of that can be seen in the demographic differences showing that the median ages of marriage and first childbirth are as much as 4 years earlier among Mormons than among the American population as a whole (McClendon & Chadwick, Reference McClendon, Chadwick, Hart, Newell, Walton and Dollahite2005). Oft-repeated teachings to Latter-day Saints are “no success can compensate for failure in the home” (McKay, Reference McKay1935) and “the most important of the Lord's work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes” (Lee, Reference Lee1974, p. 225). These teaching are not just directed toward adults; rather, the emphasis on marrying and having children is directed toward emerging adults in particular. Church leaders have taught that “the most important decision of life is the decision concerning your companion” (Hinckley, Reference Hinckley1999) and young people need to “pay careful attention to finding your [spouse]” (Ballard, Reference Ballard2012, p. 100) and have as many children as they can reasonably care for (Oaks, Reference Oaks1993). Hence, emerging adults in the Mormon culture are still taught to put family responsibilities first, even during a time that may be a developmental period focused on the individual.
In sum, there are numerous tenets, or teachings, within the Latter-day Saint culture that may compete with what is characteristic of the developmental period of emerging adulthood, thus requiring a process of negotiation between development and culture. Five of the most obvious include Latter-day Saints' emphasis on service to others, commitment (rather than exploration) of religious beliefs, the connection between spirituality and well-being, self-regulation, and family centeredness.
Present study
In order to more carefully examine how religiously conservative emerging adults negotiate the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity, we obtained a sample of 500 Latter-day Saint emerging adults from Brigham Young University using an online questionnaire. The mean age of those participating in the study was approximately 20 years, 70 percent of the participants were female, and 91 percent of them were Caucasian. Nearly 80 percent of participants reported being conservative or highly conservative, with only 1 percent reporting being liberal. The ethics were assessed using a new instrument developed to measure the degree each ethic is endorsed by the individual (EVA; Jensen & Padilla-Walker, Appendix C in this volume; see Table 5.1). For these analyses only the Autonomy and Divinity subscales were used, each of which consisted of 7 items tapping an Autonomy worldview (e.g., “I should take responsibility for myself,” “I should feel good about myself”) and 7 items tapping a Divinity worldview (e.g., “I should follow God's law,” “I should take good care of my soul”). We conducted exploratory factor analysis on the 14 items, and these analyses revealed two factors, with all Autonomy items loading on one factor and all Divinity items on another, with no items cross-loading above acceptable levels (specific factor loadings available upon request). Internal reliability estimates were also above acceptable standards (Autonomy, α = 0.82; Divinity, α = 0.86).
To examine the five tenets of the LDS faith discussed above that tend to stand in contrast to the developmental features of emerging adulthood, we used nine measures, including measures of service (prosocial behavior and empathic concern), religiosity, well-being (depression and self-worth), self-regulation (sexual and emotional impulsivity), and family centeredness (cohabitation and family centeredness). More specifically, we measured service using a 5-item measure of prosocial behavior toward strangers (e.g., “I volunteer in programs to help others in need”; Peterson & Seligman, Reference Peterson and Seligman2004; α = 0.75) and a 5-item measure of empathic concern (e.g., “I often have tender, concerned feelings for those less fortunate than I am”; Davis, Reference Davis1983; α = 0.82). We measured religiosity using a 4-item measure of religious faith (e.g., “My relationship with God is extremely important to me”; Lewis, Shevlin, McGuckin, et al., Reference Lewis, Shevlin, McGuckin and Navrtil2001; α =0 .93). We measured well-being using a 7-item measure of depression (e.g., “I felt everything was an effort”; CES-D, Radloff, Reference Radloff1977; α = 0.75) and a 5-item measure of self-worth (e.g., “I like the kind of person I am”; Neeman & Harter, Reference Neeman and Harter1986; α = 0.86). We measured self-regulation by combining two items assessing sexual behavior that are relevant measures of sexual impulsivity for this sample (“Masturbate/stimulate yourself sexually” and “View pornography”; α = 0.78) and by using a 5-item measure of emotional impulsivity (e.g., “I get so frustrated I am ready to explode”; Novak & Clayton, Reference Novak and Clayton2001; α = 0.79). Finally, we measured family centeredness using a 7-item measure of attitudes in favor of cohabitation (e.g., “It is all right for a couple to live together without planning to get married”; α = 0.91) and a 4-item measure of attitudes regarding family centeredness (e.g., “Having children is a very important goal for me”; α = 0.86).
In the following analyses we sought to answer two main questions. First, how do highly religious emerging adults negotiate developmental and cultural worldviews? We addressed this question by first examining to what degree participants valued the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity, the strength and direction of the correlation between the ethics, and participants' ratings of the most important items from the list of ethics. We then conducted a number of regression analyses to determine how both ethics were associated with outcomes that are salient to individuals of the LDS faith. The second question addressed in these analyses was whether additional values held by highly religious emerging adults were not covered in the new quantitative measure. To address this question we examined qualitative responses from a subset of participants, which also provided additional information into the types of each ethic that were used by this sample.
Analyses with the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity
First we examined preliminary descriptive statistics and found that the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity were strongly positively correlated (r = 0.69), but the Ethic of Divinity was rated as significantly more important for this group of emerging adults than was the Ethic of Autonomy (Divinity: M = 4.62, SD = 0.44; Autonomy: M = 4.52, SD = 0.43; F[1, 499] = 43.14, p < 0.001; partial eta2 = 0.08). Emerging adults were also asked to choose the three most important values from the list they were given. Nearly 70 percent chose an Ethic of Divinity item (“I should aim for spiritual salvation” was most common) compared with only 24 percent who chose an Ethic of Autonomy item (“I should take responsibility for myself” was most common) as their most important item. Given research suggesting a negative correlation between multiple highly endorsed ethics (Arnett, Ramos, & Jensen, Reference Arnett, Ramos and Jensen2001), it is notable that there was a strong, positive correlation between the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity in this sample, which suggests that LDS emerging adults do not see the two ethics as incompatible despite the mixed messages they may send. These analyses also suggest that although highly religious emerging adults believe both ethics are important, the Ethic of Divinity was identified as more important when making moral decisions.
To further examine how highly religiously conservative emerging adults negotiate the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity, we conducted nine hierarchical regression analyses on five broad outcomes, including service (prosocial behaviors and empathy), religious faith, well-being (depression and self-worth), self-regulation (sexual impulsivity and emotional impulsivity), and family centeredness (cohabitation and family centeredness). Statistical details are available upon request. For each regression, gender was entered at step 1, followed by the Ethic of Autonomy and Ethic of Divinity subscales at step 2, and the two-way interactions between gender and each of the two ethics at step 3 (mean centered). Three-way interactions between gender and the two ethics were not statistically significant in any of the analyses, so were not explored further. See Table 5.2 for all regression analyses.
Table 5.2 Regression analyses of Autonomy and Divinity predicting emerging adult outcomes
| Prosocial | Empathy | Religious faith | Self-worth | Depression | Emotional impulsivity | Sexual impulsivity | Cohabitation | Family centeredness | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Gender (A) | 0.08 | 0.30*** | 0.10* | 0.02 | 0.14*** | 0.12* | ‒0.33*** | ‒0.04 | 0.02 |
| 2. Autonomy (B) | 0.17** | 0.24*** | ‒0.13** | 0.15* | ‒0.19*** | ‒0.14* | 0.18** | ‒0.03 | 0.09 |
| Divinity (C) | 0.23*** | 0.15** | 0.68*** | 0.13* | ‒0.01 | ‒0.01 | ‒0.35*** | ‒0.49*** | 0.44*** |
| 3. A × B | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.20* | 0.14 | ‒0.01 | 0.01 | ‒0.30*** | ‒0.02 | 0.03 |
| A × C | 0.03 | 0.02 | ‒0.24*** | 0.06 | ‒0.11 | ‒0.08 | 0.32*** | ‒0.01 | ‒0.08 |
| B × C | ‒0.07 | ‒0.04 | ‒0.14** | ‒0.04 | 0.02 | 0.01 | ‒0.01 | 0.08 | ‒0.20*** |
| R2 | 0.15*** | 0.22*** | 0.40*** | 0.08*** | 0.07*** | 0.04** | 0.20*** | 0.26*** | 0.29*** |
Note. Values represent standardized beta coefficients.
* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
Congruent ethics.
The analyses dealing with service and well-being revealed that both the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity were related to prosocial behavior, empathy, and self-worth at roughly comparable levels. The similarities in the findings for both ethics present a picture of congruence in that both culture and development appear to play a similar role in the display of a behavior. Indeed, these findings suggest that despite a reported preference of their cultural moral worldview, this group of highly religious emerging adults is drawing from both ethics when it comes to behaviors that emphasize helping others and feelings of self-worth. Indeed, although emerging adulthood has been characterized as a self-focused time of life (Arnett, Reference Arnett2000), research has found that prosocial behavior and values tend to be reported at consistently high levels among emerging adults, perhaps partly as a reflection of helping behavior being socially desirable in nature (Bardi & Shwartz, Reference Bardi and Schwartz2003) but also because the freedom of emerging adulthood is used by some as a means of reaching out and helping others (Padilla-Walker, Barry, Carroll, et al., Reference Padilla-Walker, Barry, Carroll, Madsen and Nelson2008). In addition, individualistic cultures such as the United States place premium value on self-esteem, especially during emerging adulthood (Arnett, Reference Arnett2000). Prosocial behavior and self-worth are also pursuits that are highly valued in the LDS culture, as stated above, which would allow individuals to approach prosocial behavior and self-esteem from either worldview and find congruence between values and behavior.
In sum, an important contribution of these results is the identification of areas in which reconciliation of two potentially competing worldviews is apparent. However, it is unclear whether these specific moral behaviors would be approached using congruent ethics at any developmental age period or whether this is unique to emerging adulthood because heightened levels of autonomy require reconciliation rather than the reduction of an Autonomy ethic. This will be an important avenue of future research. It will also be important to examine additional moral outcomes that may be motivated by congruent ethics, such as outcomes related to taking care of one's body, being just and fair, and taking responsibility for one's choices, which may be seen as important from both an Autonomy and a Divinity worldview.
Dominant ethic.
A second pattern emerged in which one ethic played a more dominant role than the other in areas that included depression, emotional impulsivity, and family outcomes. In the case of emotional impulsivity and depression, the Ethic of Autonomy (but not Divinity) was negatively associated with both of these outcomes. In turn, the Ethic of Divinity (but not Autonomy) was negatively associated with attitudes in favor of cohabitation and was positively associated with attitudes of family centeredness. Taken together with the above analyses, it seems that there are moral behaviors for which highly religious emerging adults clearly favor a cultural or developmental ethic rather than drawing from both. It is possible that during this time period some issues are more salient developmentally to emerging adults, while others are cultural issues that have seemingly been part of the individual's worldview since childhood and will likely continue to be important given the strong and consistent teachings of the LDS culture.
Findings suggested that emotional impulsivity and depression were negatively associated with an Ethic of Autonomy. It was not surprising that the Ethic of Autonomy, with a focus on taking care of oneself and achieving personal goals, was somewhat protective against depression. However, the lack of significant association between Divinity and depression was somewhat perplexing because a central tenet of the LDS culture is that one of the purposes of life is to find joy. One possibility is that depression is more salient to emerging adults at this particular developmental time point given the focus on fun and enjoyment coupled with the challenges they may be facing, and it may therefore feel like an issue influenced primarily by oneself and one's situation rather than one's cultural values.
It was also somewhat perplexing that only an Ethic of Autonomy (and not Divinity) was associated with lower levels of emotional impulsivity (e.g., “I get so frustrated I am ready to explode”), as one of the central tenets of most religions is self-regulation and research has found religiosity to be linked to the promotion of self-control and self-regulatory behaviors (McCullough & Willoughby, Reference McCullough and Willoughby2009). Similar to the argument above, it is possible that Latter-day Saints approach emotional impulsivity from an autonomous worldview because they see emotional regulation as a salient developmental issue (e.g., taking responsibility for oneself and one's actions) during emerging adulthood, and this may overshadow any cultural teachings regarding this behavior. Indeed, many emerging adults are away from home for the first time and are trying to learn to balance their autonomy with their continued need for guidance from parents, which often calls for heavy regulatory demands, both emotionally and cognitively. Furthermore, although the LDS faith clearly teaches the importance of emotional regulation (“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty”; Proverbs 16:32), much more cultural emphasis is placed on behavioral regulation (e.g., prohibition against use of alcohol and premarital sexual behaviors), especially during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Thus, it is possible that in this case the developmental ethic presents a stronger value message than does the cultural ethic regarding emotional regulation. In sum, it appears that as long as there is not a strong and consistent cultural (i.e., spiritual) message regarding a behavior, highly religious young people may focus on the developmental importance of a value or behavior.
However, results also suggest that, if there is a clear cultural message, then the Ethic of Divinity is the dominant basis for moral behavior. Indeed, there is extensive emphasis placed on the centrality of the family within Mormon culture, which would explain why the Ethic of Divinity was the dominant ethic associated with family-related issues. Because family formation values are clearly taught culturally but are not emphasized (or clearly discouraged) developmentally, there is likely little contradiction between the two ethics, allowing one's dominant cultural ethic to shape one's moral worldview on this outcome.
Taken together, results suggest that there are some areas in which highly religious emerging adults rely predominantly on one moral ethic. Specifically, it appears that if there is a clear cultural message with no competing developmental value, then the Ethic of Divinity is the dominant worldview, but in the absence of a clear cultural message, the Ethic of Autonomy may become more significant. Although negotiation resulting in the use of a dominant ethic exists for emerging adults on some issues, it is possible that a similar pattern could be found at any developmental age and that this pattern may be seen even more frequently in adults. Indeed, as other research suggests (Jensen, Reference Jensen2008; Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997), it is possible that the moral worldview of highly religious individuals becomes more and more saturated by the Ethic of Divinity over time as the exploration of emerging adulthood decreases, roles change, and one becomes increasingly connected to the divine.
Conflicting ethics.
Finally, a third pattern emerged in how highly religious emerging adults negotiate worldviews, suggesting there are some areas in which one's developmental and cultural worldviews are in conflict. For example, an Ethic of Autonomy was negatively related to religious faith (for young men), while an Ethic of Divinity was positively related to religious faith. A similar pattern was seen in relation to sexual impulsivity in that an Ethic of Autonomy was positively related to sexual behavior (for young men), while an Ethic of Divinity was negatively associated with sexual behavior. In addition, when individuals (both males and females) noted high levels of both the Ethic of Divinity and the Ethic of Autonomy, religious faith was lower.
These findings suggest that in terms of behaviors that have very different meanings when approached from one's dominant cultural ethic and the ethic that is central to one's developmental time period, highly religious emerging adults (especially men) may struggle to make sense of these conflicting messages, and this struggle may be reflected in behavior that is inconsistent with one's dominant cultural values. For example, the average emerging adult may be interested in exploring spirituality but has less interest in religious practices in the traditional sense (Arnett & Jensen, Reference Arnett and Jensen2002), while an individual who holds to the Ethic of Divinity values religious faith (beliefs and behaviors) as an issue of primary importance. Similarly, sexual behaviors are seen as quite normative to the average emerging adult college student (especially males; Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, et al., Reference Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, Olsen, Barry and Madsen2008) and are not seen as moral violations according to an Ethic of Autonomy. However, Latter-day Saint emerging adults report using pornography considerably less than do non-LDS emerging adults (86 percent of non-LDS males report use vs. 35 percent of LDS males) and place great value on sexual purity, perceiving acts of masturbation and pornography use as violations of this purity (Nelson, Padilla-Walker, & Carroll, Reference Nelson, Padilla-Walker and Carroll2010). This is also true of religiously conservative cultures in general, as research has found that religiousness is associated with later age of sexual debut among adolescents (Hardy & Raffaelli, Reference Hardy and Raffaelli2003) and with abstinence, lower number of lifetime partners, and more conservative attitudes regarding sexuality among emerging adults (Lefkowitz, Gillen, Shearer, et al., Reference Lefkowitz, Gillen, Shearer and Boone2004).
Taken together, the analyses regarding religious faith and sexual outcomes suggest that for an individual whose culture teaches a strong moral value on a given behavior, but who has entered a period of life that is dominated by a strong moral value that is conflicting, the individual may struggle to negotiate both worldviews, and this moral dilemma may be reflected in behavior. Because the issue of conflicting ethics seems particularly relevant to developmental periods in which there is a great deal of developmental change (e.g., adolescence and emerging adulthood), this may be a pattern that is somewhat unique to this time period and may be particularly relevant from a cultural-developmental standpoint. Thus, we discuss conflicting ethics in more detail below as we propose fruitful ideas for future research.
Additional moral values
In addition to assessing the degree to which each ethic was valued using the questionnaire items, we also asked participants an open-ended question to try and tap any moral values we might have missed. More specifically, we asked, “In your own words, indicate if there are moral values that you consider completely important to pass on to the next generation which are not mentioned on the list above.” Of the 500 participants, 329 (66 percent) added an open-ended response to this question, and these responses were coded for the type of ethic they referenced. The analysis for this qualitative item was conducted using NVivo, and all answers were coded (by two independent coders; kappa = 0.805, standard error = 0.027, p < 0.001) using “focused coding” that involved breaking down the comments into conceptually distinct categories. Analyses revealed that of those who responded, 34 percent responded with a moral value that could be coded as an Autonomy ethic and 25 percent responded with a moral value that could be coded as a Divinity ethic. A number of emerging adults endorsed the Ethic of Autonomy in reference to the importance of valuing education (e.g., 19-year-old female said that it was important to value an “Active approach to education and finding my place in the world”), being financially independent (e.g., a 19-year-old female said, “I believe it is completely important for me to maintain a financial budget at this time in my life and be cognizant of how I am spending my money”), always trying to be one's very best and continually improving (e.g., a 23-year-old male said, “I should strive to do better with each new moment than I did in my past”), and standing up for their individual beliefs (e.g., a 21-year-old male said, “Standing up for what you believe in is completely important”).
In terms of responses that could be coded as Divinity, emerging adults made references to the importance of chastity both before and after marriage (e.g., a 21-year-old male said, “Complete fidelity in marriage”), the importance of spiritual progression (e.g., a 21-year-old female said, “Strive to reach your divine potential in all things”), the importance of keeping the commandments (e.g., a 22-year-old male said, “How much I adhere to the rules of God is of critical importance because it determines my eternal salvation”), and the importance of valuing religious practices (e.g., a 19-year-old female said, “At this time of my life I believe that attending the temple regularly, reading my scriptures, writing in my journal, and saying my daily prayers are completely important”).
Taken together, it is interesting to note that several of the most common values added by emerging adults that were classified as an Ethic of Autonomy may not be considered moral issues in a traditional religious sense. More specifically, these issues do not deal with harm to others or one's purity and are therefore not taught as moral issues by the LDS culture, although they are clearly important issues that are developmentally salient during this time period (e.g., education and financial independence). In turn, in cases in which clear cultural values surround an issue (e.g., prohibitions against certain sexual behaviors) and the issue is clearly framed as a moral issue, there was a resounding use of the Ethic of Divinity. It could be that it is more difficult for highly religious young people to frame moral issues from an autonomous worldview because they have been socialized to think about most moral issues from a Divinity perspective. Indeed, the free responses that were categorized as representing an Ethic of Divinity were values that could all be considered moral values, suggesting that perhaps highly religious emerging adults strongly identify with an Ethic of Autonomy and may hold to this worldview when considering nonmoral issues or issues for which there is not a strong cultural value, but they still consistently draw from an Ethic of Divinity when moral dilemmas arise. This is purely speculative and will be an interesting avenue for future research.
Conceptual issues and future directions
The present analyses raise a number of important conceptual issues for the cultural-developmental template and provide fruitful avenues for future research in this area. First, we discuss the process of negotiating multiple moral worldviews and speculate about possible explanations for the various patterns found in our analyses as well as the implications for cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Second, we discuss gender differences, specifically during the developmental period of emerging adulthood, and the importance of considering moral development as a function of gender. Finally, we discuss the methodological issues raised by the present analyses and the need for future research to examine not only the degree of each ethic but also the type or quality of each ethical value statement.
Negotiating the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity
The cognitive developmental template allows for individuals to endorse a central dominant worldview at certain developmental periods (e.g., Autonomy may dominate in childhood) or in certain cultures (e.g., Divinity may dominate in religiously conservative cultures; Jensen, Reference Jensen2008, Reference Arnett and Jensen2011); the template also allows for the use of multiple different ethics at any given developmental time period. Indeed, all three ethics are seen as promoting moral behaviors and often work together for the greater good of individuals and in the promotion of human dignity (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997). However, the present chapter adds to existing research by suggesting that when culture and development are considered together, worldviews may not always be in agreement with one another, especially during developmental periods that are characterized by heightened exploration and change.
The emerging adults in the present sample clearly placed greater importance on a cultural worldview (Ethic of Divinity), but further analyses revealed a more complicated process. Indeed, we found three patterns of negotiation that varied largely as a function of the clarity and consistency of the cultural emphasis placed on the particular behavior. Namely, when both culture and development presented a similar moral value regarding the behavior (e.g., service, self-worth), the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity were both associated with the behavior (congruent ethics), but when one's culture presented a strong value regarding a behavior or when development presented a strong value and the cultural value was weak or nebulous, the ethic that presented the clearest message was most strongly related to the behavior (dominant ethic).
A final pattern, and perhaps the most unique to this developmental time period, was when both cultural and developmental worldviews presented a strong, clear ethic regarding a behavior, but in conflicting directions. Although cultural and cognitive research suggests that the “moral dilemmas” created by two worldviews presenting competing value messages may actually encourage deeper refection and lead to moral and spiritual growth (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997; Walker, Hennig, & Krettanauer, Reference Walker, Hennig and Krettanauer2000), it appears from the present analyses that this may, at least temporarily, be associated with behavior that is not consistent with one's self-reported dominant cultural ethic. This may result in ethical dissonance, which is the discomfort that comes from the disconnect between one's moral values and one's behaviors (Barkan, Ayal, Gino, et al., Reference Barkan, Ayal, Gino and Ariely2012), and has been associated with other negative outcomes among highly religious emerging adults such as low self-worth and higher rates of depression (Nelson, Padilla-Walker, & Carroll, Reference Nelson, Padilla-Walker and Carroll2010).
However, a developmental approach would suggest that this pattern of conflicting ethics being reflected in behavior is a largely developmental issue made more salient by the period of emerging adulthood, when one's identity formation and search for ideology are at a peak (Arnett, Reference Arnett2000). Some qualitative research on religiously conservative cultures highlights the use of a dominant ethic in one's moral decision making (Jensen, Reference Jensen2008) and suggests that some moral issues may be “saturated” by an Ethic of Divinity (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997, p. 138). However, studies have also found that both college students (Arnett, Ramos, & Jensen, Reference Arnett, Ramos and Jensen2001) and highly religious individuals (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997) are able to find a way to balance or reconcile two or more ethics (e.g., Divinity and Community). Indeed, for highly religiously conservative emerging adults it is possible that, over time, as individuals settle into a more consistent sense of self and beliefs, they may gradually form a worldview that consists of multiple ethics that are compatible with one another when considering moral issues (congruent ethics). Alternatively, it is possible that for highly religious individuals, an Ethic of Autonomy peaks during emerging adulthood, and once adult roles are adopted and the focus on self and independence that is central to emerging adulthood is lessened, the Ethic of Autonomy may no longer be as salient and the Ethic of Divinity would dominate moral decision making (dominant ethic). Taken together, this approach would suggest that highly religious emerging adults will “grow out of” the occasional conflict that may occur between developmental and cultural worldviews. These findings highlight important avenues for future research in the area of culture and development as they relate to morality, especially longitudinal work that follows the developmental process of negotiating moral worldviews to determine whether congruent, dominant, and competing ethics exist at all ages or only during adolescence and emerging adulthood.
The importance of gender
Gender is a salient cultural issue as well as an important developmental variable to consider in all developmental periods but seems to be particularly important to consider during emerging adulthood. Although gender intensification begins in adolescence (Hill & Lynch, Reference Hill, Lynch, Brooks-Gunn and Petersen1983), it seems to continue into the third decade of life as well, with some research suggesting there are arguably two different emerging adulthoods, one for males and one for females. In a recent paper examining patterns of behavior for emerging adults, Nelson and Padilla-Walker (Reference Nelson and Padilla-Walker2013) found that there was a large group of emerging adults who were flourishing in many ways (low levels of risk behaviors, high levels of positive behaviors) and two groups of emerging adults who seemed to be floundering (high levels of both externalizing and internalizing outcomes). It was interesting to note that the flourishing group (64 percent of all participants) consisted largely of young women (80 percent) and both floundering groups consisted almost entirely of young men (83 percent and 77 percent). This adds to a growing literature that suggests consistent gender differences on multiple behaviors during emerging adulthood. More specifically, during emerging adulthood young women report higher levels of prosocial behavior and internalized values (Padilla-Walker, Barry, Carroll, et al., Reference Padilla-Walker, Barry, Carroll, Madsen and Nelson2008), higher levels of disclosure and companionship with mothers (Barry, Padilla-Walker, Madsen, et al., Reference Barry, Padilla-Walker, Madsen and Nelson2008), and higher levels of religious faith (Nelson & Padilla-Walker, Reference Nelson and Padilla-Walker2013) than do young men. In turn, young men report higher levels of drinking (Peralta, Steele, Nofziger, et al., Reference Peralta, Steele, Nofziger and Rickles2010), drug use (McCabe, Morales, Cranford, et al., Reference McCabe, Morales, Cranford, Delva, McPherson and Boyd2007), delinquency (Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Arata, Bowers, et al., Reference Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Arata, Bowers, O'Brien and Morgan2004), pornography use (Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, et al., Reference Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, Olsen, Barry and Madsen2008), and violent video game use (Padilla-Walker, Nelson, Carroll, et al., Reference Padilla-Walker, Nelson, Carroll and Jensen2010) than do young women.
Our findings contribute to this growing literature by suggesting that perhaps balancing cultural and developmental worldviews is also an issue that is more difficult for males, even those who are highly religious and therefore may not be engaging in the risk behaviors that are indicative of floundering during emerging adulthood (Nelson & Walker, Reference Nelson and Padilla-Walker2013). In terms of the present findings, Mormon culture emphasizes to young men that the most important roles they will have in the future will be to provide for and protect their families. The combination of emphasizing the role of provider with the directives to not delay marriage and parenthood, as well as expectations to serve a 2-year mission, leads many Latter-day Saint young men to feeling a sense of urgency to decide on a career and finish their education in order to be prepared to provide for their families. Indeed, for Latter-day Saint young men, viewing emerging adulthood as a time to engage in now-or-never behaviors (Ravert, Reference Ravert2009) seems to be in direct conflict with the cultural messages and expectations conveyed to them, which may account for their heightened struggle with conflicting moral worldviews.
That being said, high levels of Autonomy and Divinity were associated with lower levels of religious faith for both males and females, suggesting Latter-day Saint females were not immune to this dissonance. In regard to sexual impulsivity, these findings may have been more salient for males merely because females are much less likely to engage in such behaviors (Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, et al., Reference Carroll, Padilla-Walker, Nelson, Olsen, Barry and Madsen2008). Indeed, future research should examine a wider variety of moral behaviors that are more relevant for females (e.g., modesty, taking care of one's body). Although we are only speculating about the processes behind the present findings, these are all important questions for future research as we seek to determine how highly religiously conservative males and females may approach morality differently during emerging adulthood, especially when developmental and cultural worldviews conflict.
Measurement considerations
Finally, the present analyses raise a number of issues regarding the measurement of moral worldviews. More specifically, when examining how moral worldviews differ developmentally, Jensen (Reference Jensen2008) points out that one must consider the degree or frequency with which each ethic is used and the different types or kinds of moral justifications individuals use at different developmental periods (e.g., do emerging adults reason using different kinds of Divinity statements than those of adults?). A quantitative approach tells us relatively little about the type or quality of ethical justification highly religiously conservative emerging adults may use and how this is impacted by the intersection of culture and development. Indeed, qualitative research may more clearly identify a dominant ethic, while quantitative statements requesting participants to report whether or not they “value” a certain behavior may lead to a tendency for somewhat of a ceiling effect on multiple ethics. This suggests utility in using a mixed-method approach when examining moral worldviews (see Jensen, Chapter 8, this volume).
Further, it will be valuable to use a mixed-method approach to examine how the type of ethic used might differ for the three different patterns of negotiation found in our analyses (congruent, dominant, conflicting). When individuals endorse high levels of both the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity, but have found a way to reconcile the two, perhaps the specific type of ethic used is more sophisticated or represents a higher level of moral reasoning than the type used by those who are still grappling to reconcile the two ethics or who have adopted a dominant ethic without considering multiple moral worldviews. For Latter-day Saint emerging adults, who clearly reported favoring an Ethic of Divinity but who also strongly valued an Ethic of Autonomy, it may be necessary to think more carefully and deeply about issues of morality, and this may lead to a more internalized understanding of one's values and more principled reasoning about moral issues. The present findings provide no evidence to support this idea, but given research suggesting that the challenging of one's moral beliefs may actually result in deeper contemplation of those beliefs and subsequently higher levels of moral reasoning (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, et al., Reference Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, Park, Brandt and Rozin1997; Walker, Hennig, & Krettanauer, Reference Walker, Hennig and Krettanauer2000), this question is certainly worthy of future attention.
Limitations and conclusions
The present study was not without limitations. Indeed, it will be important for future research to examine these questions longitudinally, with multimethod designs, and with more socioeconomically diverse samples. It will also be important to examine additional periods of development as well as a wider variety of cultures in order to determine whether the three patterns of negotiation found in the present study are generalizable. However, the present chapter is an important contribution to the growing literature using a cultural-developmental template and raises a number of avenues for future research. It is clear that how one formulates a moral worldview is a complex process, especially when considering development and culture simultaneously. These findings have implications for others who study highly religious cultures but also highlight broader issues regarding the potential interplay between development and culture that should continue to be considered. Namely, it will be fascinating to see whether the three patterns of negotiation found in the current study hold for other cultures and at other ages or if additional patterns can be identified. In short, the present chapter highlights the complex process of moral development, with particular emphasis placed on how individuals negotiate their moral worldview. Future research should continue to examine how this process of negotiation is associated with moral behavior during emerging adulthood and throughout the life course, as findings may have important implications for a variety of healthy outcomes.
