Moral Identity and Its Links to Ethical Ideology and Civic Engagement

The study explored the role of moral identity (internalization and symbolization) in the civic engagement (attitude and behaviour) of youth through ethical ideology (idealism). A total of 217 individuals (M = 22.5, SD = 3.4) comprising of 104 girls and 113 boys completed three scales, namely, moral identity scale, ethics position questionnaire (EPQ) and civic engagement scale. The results showed that moral identity internalization significantly predicted civic engagement attitude and moral identity symbolization significantly predicted civic engagement behaviour. Furthermore, idealism partially mediated the relationship between moral identity and civic engagement (attitude)