A comparison of the moral orientation of children reared in traditional families and those reared in matrifocal families
Date
2016-06-08
Authors
Bales, Gillian Margaret
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Abstract
The moc lvat ion for this study arose fro'm the need to
bring empirical evidence to.bear on the assumptions
underlying existing .social and legal pzact.Lces that
discriminate against lesbian mothers on the basis o£
their sexual orientation. rfhese prc\ctices appear to be
rooted in myths and prejudices rather than being based
upon factual data. In view of this need the present
study aimed to determine whether adolescents' moral
judgement was influenced by whether the mother had a
partner in the home and whether the gender of the
partner ( male versus female ) 5.mpacted upon such
development. To achieve this aim, the performance of
adolescents, matched as far as was possible in terms of
age, sex and socio-economic status I but from three
different family structures ( lesbian couple,
heterosexual single-mother and traditional heterosexual
married couples ), was assessed on a paper and pencil
test of moral judgement, and was then compared.
statistical analysis of the data, using an Analysis of
Variance procedure, revealed that the means of the three
groups did not differ significantly. While the results
did not. confirm the hypothesis that the presence of a
partner in the home would enhance the moral judgement of
adolescents t the data supported the contention that.
maternal lesbianism dOes not impact
negai~ively on moral judgement.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Arts, Un'rvers;ty of the \'litwatsrsr.and, Jc;~han'nesb~Jrth
; n p~:rti\:il .\fu;lfilment of 'thel requ.'i reme:,.\l'tis f~r
the Ol~gr'e~) (.)f Naster of J"Irts n?l irdca.l. Ps,ycholoSY).
June 1994