Moral identity goal characteristics: Age-related trends from early adolescence to old age.

The study investigated age-related trends in moral identity goal characteristics, as proposed in previous research (Krettenauer, 2022a), by modifying the Self-Importance of Moral Identity Questionnaire (Aquino & Reed, 2002). Internally and externally motivated moral identity was assessed on varying levels of abstractness for promotion orientation as well as prevention orientation in Canadian participants from three different age groups: early adolescence (13-14 years, = 248, 119 female), late adolescence to early adulthood (17-20 years, = 251, 160 female), and mid to old age (50-76 years, = 129, 76 female). Findings demonstrate that the self-importance of abstract moral identity characteristics increased with age relative to concrete identity characteristics, while the relationship between the two characteristics weakened.