Moral Development of an Adolescent

In his Stages of Moral Development, Lawrence Kohlberg states that human beings progress from a Preconventional Level of moral development (in which they refer to rules imposed by others) to a Postconventional Level of moral development (in which they refer to rules imposed from within themselves). Just as Kohlberg states, adolescents undergo moral growth in stages. They may be easily influenced by peers or by environmental cues, but most teens grow to assert impressive measures of responsibility in their moral growth.
Identification With Role Models that affets moral development of adolescents:
1. The first positive role model that any child should have is a parent. Nevertheless, many parents fail to realize the value of modeling positive behavior to their children. They may try to instill certain standards of behavior in their children, but children are more likely to imitate the behavior they observe in a parent than to listen to any regulations that a parent hopes to impose (see Reference 2). As a child grows into adolescence, his role models may be as diverse as musicians, friends or even politicians. While his choice of role models may appear to be reckless or misguided, he is likely to seek role models who demonstrate behavior that is consistent with the types of behavior modeled by his parents or caregivers.
Peer Pressure
2. Peer pressure is often considered to be a negative force in the life of a teen. Indeed, most teens will not choose to engage in negative behaviors such as smoking or premarital sex unless coaxed to do so by her peers. Still, peer pressure often exerts a positive influence on the life of a teen. Often, teens will provide support to one another in times of stress. For example, if a teen is considering committing suicide, her friends will usually be the first to tell her that life is worth living.
Impulsiveness
3. Teens may engage in a variety of destructive behaviors simply as a result of impulsiveness. Lacking a knowledge of consequences

Links: Factors Moral development in adolescents includes both a nurturing facet and a nature facet. Some of the moral development occurs as the adolescent watches others around him. However, a nurturing environment can still yield an adolescent who is lacking in moral development. This is because a child 's own autonomy plays a large role in moral development. Timeline According to work by Kohlberg, moral development in adolescents occurs on a certain time line that accounts for the child 's learning at home, in school and in society. Children younger than 10 tend to view rules and regulations as a fixed absolute. They follow rules closely to avoid being punished, and don 't break the rules intentionally. Children over the age of 12 or 14 begin to consider judgments based on intentions, rather than end results. This means that they will judge more harshly someone who was doing a bad thing and harmed no one when compared to a person doing a good thing and harming someone. Kohlberg found that between the ages of 12 and 14, adolescents are most likely to encounter this shift in moral development. Significance Parents might be especially interested in the moral development of their adolescents. Some parents feel that the development of the moral compass in their children is a reflection of themselves as parents. Unfortunately, not all moral development is completed through parenting. Outside influences like friends, media and experience will also play a part in the development. Parents, educators and advisers to adolescent can take into consideration moral development when establishing rewards and consequences for certain actions. Bottom Line Moral development in adolescents is not an exact science, and there is still much to learn about the development. While some experts differ in their opinion as to how the moral compass is developed, all agree that it is an important rite of passage as children grow, evolve and take their place as members of society. reference: http://www.livestrong.com/article/55792-moral-development-adolescents/#ixzz1BTREQkUa