Young people’s judgments about respecting and violating human rights

Abstract

The research examined with in depth clinical interviews (N = 48), how adolescents aged 13–17, and young adults aged 18–25 reasoned about human rights. Participants were presented with general questions about human rights and four contextualized situations in which violations of human rights occur. Results showed that adolescents and young adults judged and reasoned similarly about human rights in response to general questions, but there was more variation in judgments and justifications about specific situations involving violations of human rights. Within specific contexts individuals consider different aspects of situations and balance or coordinate them in coming to decisions. However, all ages approached the general issue of human rights, and their violations, primarily from a moral perspective and to a lesser extent from the perspectives of societal organization and cultural practices. Less agreement, and less moral reasoning, was found in reference to punishment of human rights violations.