The Mediating Role of Effortful Control in the Relationship between Moral Identity and Antisocial Behaviors in Adolescents

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 MSc in educational psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran

10.48308/apsy.2025.237809.1735

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of effortful control in the relationship between moral identity and antisocial behaviors in adolescents.
 
Method: The statistical population included all high school students in Shiraz City during the 2022–2023 academic year. A sample of 567 students was selected using a multi-stage random cluster method. Questionnaires on moral identity (Aquino & Reed, 2002), effortful control (Ellis & Rothbart, 2001), and antisocial behaviors (Burt & Donnellan, 2009) were distributed among them. All analyses were performed using SPSS 24 and AMOS 24 software. The proposed model was evaluated using path analysis.
 
Results: The findings indicated that the proposed model fits the data well. The path coefficients from moral identity to effortful control (p = 0.000, β = -0.50), from effortful control to antisocial behaviors (p = 0.000, β = -1.13), and from moral identity to antisocial behaviors (p = 0.009, β = -0.30) were significant at the 0.01 level. Additionally, other findings showed that effortful control mediates the relationship between moral identity and antisocial behaviors (p = 0.000, β = -0.25) at the 0.01 level.
 
Conclusion: Strengthening moral identity along with effortful control can lead to a reduction in antisocial behaviors. Therefore, it is recommended to pay special attention to the concepts of effortful control and moral identity to reduce antisocial behaviors.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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