title: Moral conflict as a component of ordinary worry.
abstract: This article contributes to the psychology of moral behavior by inquiring into the presence and extent of worrying about moral concerns in one's life relative to worrying about practical concerns. A 20-item questionnaire was developed, mixing eight moral worry questions with twelve ordinary worry items (finances, health) identified in previous research on worry. Factor analysis produced three domains of worrisome thinking: moral concerns, social desirability, and personal and family health. A single item inquiring into worry about not living up to God's expectations did not load onto any other factor and was dropped from further analysis. Internal consistency for the moral worry factor scale was .85. Mean scores for this scale (moral domain) were significantly lower than mean scores for the two practical worry domain factors. Limitations of the study and directions for further research are outlined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55454-1495, USA. kroll001@umn.edu
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kroll
authors.forename: Myles
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Erickson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009014:Morals; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires