We’re in this together: Associations between moral emotions and rule-breaking behaviour in adolescence

Publication date
2024
Document type
Forschungsartikel
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Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
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Part of the university bibliography
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Keyword
Moral emotions
Rule-breaking behaviour
Peer influence
Adolescence
Abstract
Moral emotions offer a promising approach for preventing rule-breaking behaviour, whereby the development of prevention programmes requires testing associations between moral emotions and rule-breaking differentiated. The present study examined whether the relationship between moral emotions and rule-breaking behaviour varies depending on how moral emotions are operationalised – either as cross-situational factors (guilt and shame proneness) or as situation-specific factors (self- and other-anticipated emotions in moral conflicts). Furthermore, the study investigated whether this relationship differs depending on whether adolescents report their individual rule-breaking behaviour or rule-breaking behaviour committed together with friends. In sum, N = 169 adolescents (54% female; M = 14.95 years) completed a questionnaire assessing self-report data on moral emotions and rule-breaking behaviour. Variance in individual rule-breaking behaviour was explained by guilt- and shame-proneness, as well as by emotions that adolescents anticipated in moral conflicts for themselves. Only shame-proneness contributed to the explanation of rule-breaking behaviour committed with friends. Interestingly, positive relations between shame-proneness and rule-breaking behaviour were found. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Cite as
Schön, S. M., & Daseking, M. (2025). We’re in this together: associations between moral emotions and rule-breaking behaviour in adolescence. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2025.2486898
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