Externalizing problem behavior among adolescents is an important problem in the Dutch society. Earlier research showed that there is a relationship between externalizing problem behavior and moral...Show moreExternalizing problem behavior among adolescents is an important problem in the Dutch society. Earlier research showed that there is a relationship between externalizing problem behavior and moral reasoning, but it is not yet clear how this relationship can be explained. This study examines whether empathy mediates the relationship between moral reasoning and externalizing problem behavior, and whether this mediating effect differs for boys and girls and different ethnic groups. 484 high school students (50% boys) filled in a questionnaire which measured the amount of externalizing problem behavior, their level of moral reasoning and their dispositional empathy. The adolescents came from different ethnic groups and their average age was 14.97 years. T-tests, one-way ANOVA’s and regression analysis were used to answer the research question. Girls had a higher level of moral reasoning and scored higher on empathy. It turned out that empathy is a partial mediator between moral reasoning and externalizing problem behavior, for both boys and girls. This mediating effect was also found for the Turkish adolescents. When a distinction was made between different aspects of empathy, both Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking turned out to be partial mediators between moral reasoning and externalizing problem behavior. These findings can be used to design prevention- and intervention programs that focus on raising the levels of moral reasoning and empathy among adolescents. By doing this it is expected that youths will develop less externalizing problem behavior. These interventions can be carried out at high schools or juvenile detention centers, among others. More research needs to be done to examine the relationship between moral reasoning and externalizing problem behavior and to find out which variables influence this relationship.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
In deze studie naar de verklaringen en motivaties van daders van seksueel geweld in gewapend conflict, zullen verschillende theorieën worden besproken. Het seksueel geweld als onderdeel van de...Show moreIn deze studie naar de verklaringen en motivaties van daders van seksueel geweld in gewapend conflict, zullen verschillende theorieën worden besproken. Het seksueel geweld als onderdeel van de oorlog in voormalig Joegoslavië, en in het bijzonder in Bosnië-Herzegovina gedurende de jaren 1992 tot 1995, loopt als rode draad door deze scriptie heen. Deze theorieën vallen grofweg binnen twee disciplines: culturele antropologie en psychologie. De scriptie is opgedeeld in twee delen. Eerst is ingegaan op de gebruikte terminologie, het ontstaan van definities en een korte geschiedenis van het conflict in voormalig Joegoslavië. In deel twee van deze scriptie is het seksueel geweld als onderdeel van de oorlog geanalyseerd vanuit enerzijds cultureel antropologische perspectieven, waarin seksueel geweld als symbolische daad en als gesocialiseerd gedrag binnen een cultuur van oorlog wordt geanalyseerd, en anderzijds psychologische perspectieven, waarin seksuele lust als primair motief van seksueel geweld wordt gezien.Show less
