Parental attachment and Chinese adolescents' delinquency: The mediating role of moral disengagement

There is substantial literature documenting the negative association between secure parental attachment and lower adolescent delinquency, but little is known about the mediating mechanisms (i.e., how does parental attachment relate to delinquency?) underlying this relation. The present study examined whether secure parental attachment would be indirectly related to lower adolescent delinquency through lower adolescent moral disengagement. A total of 1766 adolescents (44% male; mean age = 14.25 years, SD = 1.54) living in an urban area of southern China completed anonymous questionnaires regarding parental attachment, moral disengagement and delinquency. After controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, and school variable, it was found that secure parental attachment was negatively associated with adolescent delinquency and this negative association was fully mediated by the extent of adolescent moral disengagement. These findings contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of adolescent delinquency and have important implications for intervention.

Universal Internet-based prevention for alcohol and cannabis use reduces truancy, psychological distress and moral disengagement: a cluster randomised controlled trial

AIMS

A universal Internet-based preventive intervention has been shown to reduce alcohol and cannabis use. The aim of this study was to examine if this program could also reduce risk-factors associated with substance use in adolescents.

METHOD

A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted in Sydney, Australia in 2007-2008 to assess the effectiveness of the Internet-based Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis course. The evidence-based course, aimed at reducing alcohol and cannabis use, consists of two sets of six lessons delivered approximately six months apart. A total of 764 students (mean 13.1years) from 10 secondary schools were randomly allocated to receive the preventive intervention (n=397, five schools), or their usual health classes (n=367, five schools) over the year. Participants were assessed at baseline, immediately post, and six and twelve months following the intervention on their levels of truancy, psychological distress and moral disengagement.

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, students in the intervention group showed significant reductions in truancy, psychological distress and moral disengagement up to twelve months following completion of the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

These intervention effects indicate that Internet-based preventive interventions designed to prevent alcohol and cannabis use can concurrently reduce risk-factors associated with substance use in adolescents.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

Australian Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN: 012607000312448.

Risky cognitions associated with adolescent alcohol misuse: moral disengagement, alcohol expectancies and perceived self-regulatory efficacy

AIM

To examine the longitudinal associations between moral disengagement, alcohol related expectancies, perceived self-regulatory efficacy and alcohol use amongst adolescents.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

A total of 367 students (mean age=13.1, SD=0.51; 65% male) from five schools across Sydney, Australia took part in this longitudinal study. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire at four time points across an 18 month period which assessed their alcohol use, levels of moral disengagement, alcohol related expectancies and perceived self-regulatory efficacy to resist peer pressure to engage in transgressive behaviours.

RESULTS

Over time, rates of binge drinking in the past three months significantly increased, but rates of drinking any alcohol in the past three months remained stable. As hypothesised, all three cognitions were independently and consistently associated with adolescent alcohol use and binge drinking over time, with the exception of perceived self-regulatory efficacy which was not associated with an increased risk of drinking any alcohol in the past three months when controlling for moral disengagement, alcohol expectancies, gender and age.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study is the first study to longitudinally map three distinct cognitive factors associated with adolescent alcohol use. Considering the alarming number of adolescents drinking at levels that place them at risk of significant harm, this study has provided important implications about cognitive factors that can be targeted to increase the accuracy of assessment and efficacy of prevention for alcohol misuse amongst adolescents.

Reliability and validity for the measurement of moral disengagement in pharmacists

BACKGROUND

Social cognitive theory describes a process in which behavior can be disengaged from moral self control through eight different mechanisms. These mechanisms were used for the development of a new scale for measuring moral disengagement (Moral Disengagement Inventory, or MDI) in pharmacists.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to assess the reliability and validation of a scale to measure pharmacists' moral disengagement toward patients who exhibit behaviors directly or indirectly leading to their disease condition, such as an asthmatic patient who smokes or a non-compliant asthmatic patient.

METHODS

A self-administered survey called the Moral Disengagement Instrument (MDI) was developed for this study. Once the MDI was designed, the items were evaluated for content validity, readability and face validity. The reliability of the developed measures was assessed. The convergent and discriminant validity of the moral disengagement constructs were tested using confirmatory factor analysis.

RESULTS

The reliability coefficient for the MDI for the asthmatic smoker was 0.814 and reliability coefficient for the MDI for the non-compliant asthmatic patient was 0.782. Evidence supporting validity of the MDI was provided in a confirmatory factor analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The Moral Disengagement Instrument (MDI), developed as a tool for measuring pharmacists' disengagement beliefs for a smoker asthmatic patient and a non-compliant asthmatic patient, was found to be reliable and valid.