Traditionally, research on moral identity has been preoccupied with identifying individual-level factors, such as traits or motives, associated with moral outcomes. In our current work we expand the field by examining how the construction of a moral identity is affected by broad social factors, particularly as they relate to urban poverty. We were interested in asking: What characteristics of adolescents and the worlds in which they live allow for the pursuit of moral projects? And, how can we – as parents, members of institutions, and citizens – foster the development of these characteristics in our youth and their social contexts? In addressing these questions, we first suggest that moral identity is formed in poor neighborhoods just as in any other neighborhoods, but that the conditions characteristic of urban poverty make such constructions more difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, it is possible for youth to develop a moral identity, and we provide tentative suggestions to help foster such development for adolescents living in poor urban neighborhoods.

A MODEL OF MORAL IDENTITY

Moral identity can be described as a commitment consistent with one's sense of self to lines of action that promote or protect the welfare of others. Our use of moral identity brings to the fore three qualities of moral life. First, moral life involves some awareness of, and reflection upon, obligations, virtues, and lines of action. This kind of consideration is captured well in Erikson's (1968) notion of identity.