title: An adjusted version of Kohlberg's moral theory: discussion of its validity for research in nursing ethics.
abstract: Critics of Kohlberg's moral theory today focus on the content of his theory and more specifically on its justice-orientated moral concept. This has led to the well-known 'justice-care debate'. The purpose of this article is to critically examine the validity of Kohlberg's moral theory for research in nursing ethics from a caring perspective (referring to the content) as well as from a cognitive-structural perspective (referring to the basic assumptions of the model). The analysis points to the usefulness and value of the cognitive-structural model to empirically study nurses' ethical behaviour; the content of Kohlberg's model, however, needs to be adapted by adding a caring perspective as well as some personal and situational variables. An adjusted version of Kohlberg's model is proposed and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Services and Nursing Research, University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dierckx de Casterlé
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roelens
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gastmans
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition; D004645:Empathy; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D035863:Moral Development; D009014:Morals; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015399:Nursing Research; D009742:Nursing Theory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012935:Social Justice