Morality in Moderation: Profiles of Moral Self and Behavioral Problems Among Children.

Middle childhood marks an important phase for moral and social-emotional development, yet little research has focused on a combined focus within this age range. A person-centered research approach could capture the complex co-development of the moral self and behavior problems. We thus sought to determine exploratively what emergent subgroups/profiles exist when examining combinations of moral self, emotional, conduct and peer problems in middle childhood. For the study, we recruited 369 children aged five to eleven (Mage = 8.19, SDage = 1.30) in Germany. Children completed a questionnaire to assess their moral self (i.e. ascribed importance of moral characteristics), and their parents/caregivers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Using cluster analytic strategies, three profiles were identified. Profile 1 (high moral/high problems) comprised children exhibiting high moral self, emotional problems, peer problems, and average conduct problems (24.12%). Profile 2 (low moral/high problems) included children with low moral self and high emotional, peer, and conduct problems (14.91%). Profile 3 (moderate moral/low problems) encompassed children with average moral self and lower emotional, peer, and conduct problems (60.98%). We discuss the findings and note that future research should strive for a comprehensive understanding of children's social-emotional and moral development, considering the intricate interplay between moral self and behavior problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]