Examining the Relationship Between Marital (and Parental) Status and Moral Foundations

Abstract

Drawing from Moral Foundations Theory, in this article I hypothesize that higher scores on binding moral foundations are related to having children or being in a committed relationship. I support this assumption by presenting empirical evidence gathered from one meta-analytical analysis involving of nineteen studies about moral foundations and marital status (k = 27; N = 38,044), one meta-analytical analysis involving ten studies about moral foundations and parental status (k = 12; N = 24,521), and four independent samples t test, involving a subsample of eight studies (k = 8; N = 6,982). The results support my hypothesis for parental status, and partially support my hypothesis for marital status. Limitations regarding the scarcity of available data and others, are discussed.

Keywords

• Moral foundations
• Marital status
• Family
• Intimate relationships
• Birthrate
• Metanalysis