The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Moral Judgment Development of Freshman and Sophomore College Students

Abstract

This research investigated the effects of parental divorce on the moral judgment development of freshman and sophomore college students (N = 377). Freshmen with divorced parents had lower scores of moral judgment development than freshmen with married parents, whereas sophomores with divorced parents had higher moral judgment development scores than sophomores with married parents. It was also found that an experience changing homes in childhood or adolescence was negatively associated with moral judgment development for freshmen but positively associated with moral judgment development for sophomores. It was concluded that the change of environment associated with a parental divorce could enhance moral judgment development growth in the early years of college.

Keywords:

• college students
• moral development
• parental divorce
• parents