Psychosocial Development and Moral Development: An Exploratory Comparison of Adolescents in Japan and America

Building on previous cross-cultural research, this exploratory study examined the comparative psychosocial and sociomoral development of 46 adolescents — 22 Japanese in Japan, 10 Japanese in the United States, and 14 Euro-Americans in the United States. Euro-American participants obtained more positive scores than Japanese in the United States and Japanese in Japan on six psychosocial stages and the total psychosocial score as measured by the Measures of Psychosocial Development. Except in the Contract/Truth domain, all groups scored at a comparable level in sociomoral development as measured by the Sociomoral Reflection Measure–Short Form. Results are discussed in terms of cultural differences affecting adolescent development with implications for research and professional practice.