Care reasoning development and family socialisation patterns in later adolescence: A longitudinal analysis

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, care reasoning has been increasingly recognised as an important aspect of moral development. Skoe has developed an interview measure of levels of care reasoning about the needs of self and other in relationships, the Ethic of Care Interview or ECI. In the present longitudinal research, we investigated developmental changes and family correlates of reasoning about care issues in a family study of 32 adolescents (aged 16 and then 20 years). There were no gender differences on the ECI for these adolescents, but there was a significant increase in scores over time. Care reasoning levels at age 20 were significant concurrent predictors of self-reported community involvement. Several parenting factors when children were age 16 (parents’ emphasis on caring as a goal in family stories, child reports of a more authoritative family parenting style, and parents’ use of more autonomy-encouraging practices) were associated with higher levels of care reasoning in adolescents at age 20, consistent with theoretical expectations.