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. 2024 Apr 24:17:1745-1756.
doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S455057. eCollection 2024.

Do Adverse Childhood Experiences Make Us More Utilitarian in Moral Dilemmas?

Zhihui Wu  1   2   3 , Junyao Song  4 , Xiyou Chen  1 , Daoqun Ding  1   2   3   5 , Xiangyi Zhang  1   6
Affiliations

Do Adverse Childhood Experiences Make Us More Utilitarian in Moral Dilemmas?

Zhihui Wu et al. Psychol Res Behav Manag. .

Abstract

Purpose: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with various aspects of morality, but their precise impact on moral decision-making remains unclear. This study aims to explore how ACEs influence moral decision-making in sacrificial dilemmas.

Methods: Study 1 employed traditional dilemma analysis to quantify utilitarian responses and compare them among groups with no, low, and high ACEs. Study 2 utilized the CNI model to quantify three determinants of moral decision-making: sensitivity to consequences (C parameter), sensitivity to norms (N parameter), and general action tendencies (I parameter). Differences in these parameters among groups with no, low, and high ACEs were investigated.

Results: Both Study 1 and Study 2 revealed that the high-ACE and low-ACE groups showed significantly higher utilitarian responses compared to the no-ACE group. However, no notable differences emerged between the high-ACE and low-ACE groups. Study 2 found that the N parameter was significantly lower in the high-ACE group compared to the low and no-ACE groups. Similarly, the low-ACE group exhibited significantly lower scores in the N parameter compared to the no-ACE group. Additionally, no significant differences were observed in the C and I parameters among groups with no, low, and high ACEs.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that individuals with a high number of ACEs tend to exhibit more utilitarian responses, attributed to decreased affective response to the violation of moral rules, rather than increased deliberative cost-benefit reasoning or a general preference for action. Such insights deepen our understanding of the precise aspects of moral decision-making influenced by ACEs.

Keywords: CNI model; adverse childhood experiences; moral decision-making.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Parameter estimates of sensitivity to consequences (C), sensitivity to norms (N), and general preference for inaction versus action (I) among the no, low, and high-ACE groups. Error bars depict 95% confidence intervals. ***p < 0.001.
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