Quantitative Analysis of the Influence of Poverty on Moral

Development
By
Solomon A. Fakinlede, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT
This quantitative study of the significance of poverty as a factor influencing moral development of individuals
was based on the evaluation of Kohlbergs theory of moral development, including the application of cultural
and situational influences that are country specific. This research was based on Nigerian case study. Despite all
efforts of the Nigerian government, corruption and money laundering continue to rise to a level yet unseen in
the history of the country. Nigeria is ranked one of the most corrupt nations in the world, after Bangladesh and
Haiti. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the correlation between poverty and the high level of
corruption, using data collected through random sampling of 100 of the 806 employees of Ifedore Local
Government in Nigeria. The researcher also explored how extended family structure of the Nigerian society has
created economic dependency, which has contributed to poverty. Variables of the study were measured using
composite scores from survey instrument developed by the researcher and the result indicated there was
significant correlation between poverty and moral judgment. Poverty items scored 4.56 on Likert scale of 1 to 5
while moral development items scored 1.32, indicating that more poverty resulted in less moral development.
Hence, the implications for positive social change will be the use of the outcome: (a) to strengthen poverty
alleviation programs of governmental and non-governmental agencies; (b) to promote awareness on the effect
of poverty on moral development; and (c) to lunch campaigns against corruption and money laundering inside
and outside of government establishments.
Keyword: Poverty, moral development, Leadership, organizational development
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
1.1 Introduction
There have been some studies on poverty in Africa, especially since most countries in this region suffer from
varying levels of economic depression (Amoako, 2005; Gans, 1995; Christiaensen, Demery, & Paternostro,
2002; The World Bank, 2002; White & Killick, 2001). White and Killick studies cited poor farming conditions,
poorly organized private sectors, and fluctuating oil prices as conditions that caused many African nations to
embark of economic reforms that called for streamlining governments spending. Subsistence farming,
extended family structure, poor economic development, and corruption have been cited as base roots of
poverty in Africa (Sardan, 1999; Shehu, 2004). In Sub-Saharan Africa, 291 million of the 580 million people
were living on one United States (U.S.) dollar per day income in 1995, while 205 million of this population had
no access to healthcare services at the same period (White & Killick, 2001). The causes of poverty in these
nations may be copious but the faces of poverty are identical all over the world (Amoako, 2005; Gans, 1995).
White and Kellicks studies further suggested that more than two million of the Sub-Saharan African children will
not reach their first birthday as a result of the various effects of poverty. Poverty has been on the increase in
Africa for 2 decades while infant mortality and other attending consequences of poverty have also been on the
increase (Gans, 1995; White & Killick, 2001). Unfortunately, life is worse for the poor, not only economically but
psychologically. Poor people are regarded as outcasts, vagabonds, and destitute according to Gans (1995),
while White and Killick argued that the poor could remain long-term outcasts because their poverty becomes a
contributing factor to their alienation, thereby keeping them from obtaining timely financial assistance. Gans
also asserted that the culture of poverty tends to entrench itself from generation to generation among the
chronically poor.
Children of the poor inadvertently inherit attributes of poverty, by being born into families that cannot fend for
themselves, Gans (1995) added. These children lack the needed education because they are directed to work
on their parents farmland, primarily to support the entire family. This way, the cycle of poverty is perpetuated
(Gans, 1995; White & Killick, 2005). Poverty is so pervasive that intervention by governments in Africa is
regarded as ineffective because of the magnitude of the problem (Amoako, 2005). Most farmers live a life of
subsistence, cultivating only food crops for self consumption. In addition, Amaoko studies added that these

farmers rely exclusively on rudimentary farming tools. The majority of the farmers possess only small areas of
land that would not produce commodities large enough for exportation or to generate income. They resort to
having many wives and several children who become their labor supply, until they die and this cycle continues
from generation to generation, thereby affecting their level of moral judgment in one form or another.
In conducting research on the influence of poverty on moral judgment, this researcher evaluated the Kohlbergs
(1984) theory of moral development as a base theory which appraises how moral judgment develops from
childhood to adulthood. Since Kohlbergs theory of moral development was dependent on the thinking of Piaget,
Dewey, and Baldwin (Kohlberg, 1984), it could be categorized as deeply rooted in psychology. As Kohlberg
argued, these earlier philosophers emphasized that human beings developed philosophically and
psychologically in a progressive fashion. Studies by Freud (1971) showed that children from Christian families
believe that rules are rigid and absolute as stipulated by adults and only God can change it.
2. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This study was necessitated, in part, because of the large attendant problems of the poverty and corruption
complex (Sardan, 1999), which has spread like wild fire in the site of the study, Nigeria. Transparency
International (2004) ranked Nigeria as the most corrupt nation in the World, after Haiti and Bangladesh.
Unfortunately, the cases of graft and corruption were so wide-spread, the Nigerian President Obasanjo
appealed to creditors to be patient with his country, arguing that the case of eradication of corruption had
become a war and could not be won overnight (Shehu, 2004). Despite the argument that the Transparency
Internationals index is not an index of corruption but of perceived corruption, it is clear that when a nation
scores consistently low on it, with a culture of embezzlement, police corruption, and lack of public
accountability, then the perceived index becomes the practical index.
3. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
In this study, this researcher evaluated Kohlbergs (1984) contemplation that virtues could be thought or
acquired. Kohlberg pondered whether morality comes from teaching or from natural feelings and instinct, and
argued that moral development went beyond unilateral compliance with mutual respect for parental and
governmental authorities. Subsequently, Kohlberg developed moral theory, which could be categorized into
three main segments and six stages: (a) punishment and obedience, (b) nave instrumental self-indulgence, (c)
good-boy morality, (d) authority maintaining morality, (e) morality of self-accepted moral principles, and (f)
morality of the principles of conscience. According to Kohlberg, the last stage is the internalized structure of
morality, where individual activities of morality are expected to be based on conscience and principles of
fairness to others and the society.
Moral development is a socialized reasoning that reflects the learning and assimilation of family norms and
societal culture as a child grows (Durojaiye, 1976). With this analysis, this researcher then investigated how the
large scale corruption in Nigeria could have continued to be entrenched in the society without a cultural
underpinning. The thinking of a person is a reflection of the society not actually his/her independent thinking. In
a deeper form, morality is defined as a social conception coupled with situational analysis that is influenced by
parental intervention or the incursion of the law (Kohlberg, 1984). Therefore, the research focused on whether
the long effects of poverty could have contributed to poor moral development of the people or the level of
corruption in Nigerian is situational and has no correlation with poverty.
In empirical situations, various actors operate with the internal beliefs of justification. For example, students who
organize demonstrations in colleges and universities view their behaviors as right, from relativist point of view
and from internalization of their rationalization. However, such actions are not internalized the same way by the
authority; hence it is viewed as immoral. In a similar way, Sardan (1999) concluded that those who perpetrated
financial crimes viewed their actions as routine and contended that only the people who were not benefiting
from it were complaining. Generally, actions are categorized as internalized, meaning decisions that are
affected by internal factors and conscience while situational factors refer to the undertaking of moral decisions,
solely based on external circumstances that are independent of ones conscience (Corby & Kohlberg, 1987).

3.1 Cultural Effects of Moral Development

Shehu (2004) argued that Nigeria has distinct cultural differences from the western countries and asserted that
the corruption in this country required deeper understanding. Since moral principles are developed from
childhood to adulthood (Kohlberg, 1984), the long history of poverty and poor social development in Nigeria was
capable of affecting the research population with long lasting effects. This study explored this understanding.
In the study of black and white adolescents in South Africa in reference to the cultural relativism of moral
theories, the question of whether moral judgment has a single form of application or varies according to cultural
background has been a central issue in academia (Fern & Thom, 2001). And under Kohlbergs (1984) theory a
cognitive approach to moral development and reasoning is cross-cultural and possesses universal value. The
Fern and Thom studies found that, the idea of cultural relativity is factually wrong, since reasoning concerning
problems about justice develops in a similar manner in Western and non-Western cultures (p. 38). However,
the study of cultural influences on moral development and the understanding of justice as conducted by Wilson
(as cited in Fern & Thom, 2001) in the Bahamas, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and Taiwan established that cognitive
moral development is influenced by culture. Subsequently, the effects of childhood orientation in different
cultures are profound on the development of what is seen as morally good, and it also defines justice. It is
reasonable therefore for adolescents to exhibit cultural relevance in the understanding of morals (Fern & Thom,
2001). Fern and Thom indicated that while certain rules of good behavior are undoubtedly universal, the ways
of achieving them may differ and in fact what is moral or not may differ according to individual cultural
background.
3.2 Examination of the effects of poverty on small scale businesses
Fakinlede and Banna (2006) concluded in their study of the effects of morality on organizational development
that small business operations in Nigeria face a higher uphill battle than the big corporations as a result of
pitiable infrastructure, police inefficiency, and poor ethical judgment of employees. The Fakinlede and Banna
study added that despite the large economic revenue of Nigeria, the countrys electricity generation, a vital
lifeline of businesses, was grossly inadequate and poorly distributed as a result of corrupt practices. These
situations were wrongly internalized by citizens, Fakinlede and Banna (2006) argued. Hence, employees who
committed financial crimes frequently attributed their actions to poor wages, poor social services, extended
family burden, and massive corruption in government.
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study focused on the use of quantitative research method of inquiry to test the hypothesis of the study. The
sample population was one of the 17 local government areas of Ondo State. See Table 1 below. Data for the
research was collected from the records of Ifedore local government and survey method was used to complete
the research. The Poverty and Moral Development Survey Instrument used in this study was developed by the
researcher using Likert scale with allocation of scores to each question. Both measures of poverty and moral
development were included in this survey. To administer the survey instrument, self-administered electronic
survey and hand distributed paper survey was used while adequate measures were taken to ensure reliability
and validity of the study.
Table 1. Ondo State Statistics
Description
Headquarter
Number of Households
Male Population
Female Population
Total Population
Area (square kilometers)
Population Density

Items
Igbara-Oke
21301
50777
51840
102617
295.2484 (113.9 Square Miles)
348 (per square mile)

Ifedore Local Government Area (The Nigerian Congress, 2004)

4.1 Sample Population

The sample population contained 341 males and 465 females. As a result of the large number of data from
where the samples were selected, a random sampling selection was used in this research. The population was
on wages of N7, 775 - N82, 631 ($60-$645) per month (Ifedore Local Government Data 2007; Ondo State
Harmonized Salary Structure, 2006) at exchange rate of N128 to U.S. $1 (The Nigerian Central Bank, 2007).
This researcher used random selection because the results from such studies are more likely to generalize to
other samples from the same population, thereby enhancing external validity (Creswell, 1998) of this study.
With random sampling, the researcher was confident that the responses given by the 100 employees would
reflect the opinion of all the sample population. If the researcher had used a convenience sample, he would
have been much less confident that the results would generalize and this could be a potential limitation to the
study. Hence, a mixed mode survey, which was a combination of the electronic survey and the hand distributed
self-administered survey, was used.
4.2 Triangulation Method
Subsequently, in the testing of the hypothesis, this researcher has developed a multiple measures of poverty
such as extended family dependency, low wages, and poor social services (P1, P2, and P3 respectively). Moral
judgment is the dependent variable that is being measured by these independent variables and the measures of
moral judgments are financial mismanagement (M1), Advance-fee-fraud, (failure to honor contracts after
collecting mobilization fees) (M2), and wire fraud (M3). Bias will be eliminated by measuring more variables
which are dissimilar but are measures of moral judgment. See Figure 1 below.
Figure 1. Variable Matrix for Triangulation Method
P
Poverty

P1
Extended
Family

P2
Low Wages

P3
Poor Social
Services

Direction of Influence
PM
Moral
Judgment

M1
Financial
Fraud

M2
Advance fee
fraud

M3
Wire fraud

5. DATA COLLECTION METHOD

In the case of this research, data was obtained from the office of the executive chairman of the Local
Government Council (County). This researcher therefore, applied the quantitative research tradition in collecting
data through the use of survey instrument, which was developed with questions that defined the independent
variables of poverty and the dependent variables of moral judgment. Upon the administration of the Poverty and
Moral Development Survey Instrument (PMDSI) to the research population, all data collected was processed.
5.1 Data Collection Instrument
The Poverty and Moral Development Survey Instrument was developed as a survey research instrument by this
researcher. See Table 2 below. Items one through seven were designed to measure participants opinions on
poverty while items eight through fifteen measured the level of moral development. Participants completed the
paper format (survey by hand) or electronic survey (on the internet). Participants were asked to select the
number that corresponded to their level of agreement. First, this researcher assigned a numeric weight to each
of the responses (1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, and 5=Strongly Agree) and then, the

scores were summed across moral development items and divide by the number of items. Allocating values to
the coding of the participants enabled the researcher to utilize composite scores from the coded responses.
Poverty items were measured using the corresponding poverty items from the survey (items 1-7) while moral
development items were measured in questions 8-15.
Table 2. Poverty and Moral Development Survey Instrument
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Most people have extended family members (large dependents- children, sisters, brothers, nephews, nieces,
uncles, and aunts) who sometimes or most of the times depend on them for financial support.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Extended family dependency in this society significantly increases poverty levels of an individual.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Large family dependency is a factor that increases inability of individuals to meet their financial obligations.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Poor wages is a major factor contributing to poverty in this society.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Lack of adequate medical care contributes significantly to poverty level in this society.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Large scale fraud and financial mismanagement in this society are contributing factors to poverty.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Poverty in this society is further aggravated by poor electricity supply, poor road conditions, and grossly
inadequate social services.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
In this society, people engage in fraud, embezzlement, and financial crimes because they do not know their
actions are wrong.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Honesty and truthfulness are moral qualities of people that do not depend on their poor financial or employment
conditions.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
When people are poor and under financial pressure, their levels of financial honesty are not negatively affected by
their poor economic situations.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
High level of indebtedness of an individual does not affect the level of financial honesty of that individual.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Lack of financial abilities to acquire the necessities of life is not a contributing factor to dishonesty or fraud.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
In this society, any one who deceived you once in the past because of his/her poor financial situations is not likely
to deceive you again even if his situation has not improved.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Entrusting huge financial responsibilities on a poor individual may not lead to risk of fraud or embezzlement by
that individual.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5
Considering your knowledge of this society, poverty does not affect the level of honesty of individuals in financial
contract or deals.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree
strongly agree
1
2
3
4
5

5.2 Forming Composites Based on Likert Data

Variables could be formed from the analysis of individual items from Likert chart in a survey and this method
was used to measure data collected on the Poverty and Moral Development Survey Instrument (PMDSI). The
researcher calculated the points from poverty items in the survey and averaged them to get a point between
one and five. The same was done for moral development subsets. This new variable (not the original items)

was used in the analysis since it was more reliable than the individual scores of the chart. This was an unweighted approach to forming a composite as no item counted more than any other (Statisticians, 2007).

6. DATA PROCESSING
The data collected was analyzed, each participant at a time. Raw scores from each questionnaires were
entered into excel template with each participant labeled as participant N1, N2, N3....N100, where N1 is the first
th
participant and N100 is the 100 participant. Table 3 below shows that data was grouped into 20 sets of five.
Each set was grouped as the data were entered. The composite variables of moral development were
designated as Y and the three variables of poverty were designated as X1, X2, and X3 as follows: (a) Extended
family dependency (X1), (b) poor wages (X2), and (c) poor social services (X3).
These results showed that participants disagreed or strongly disagreed that people engaged in fraud,
embezzlement, and financial crimes because they did not know that their actions were wrong. This was item
eight on the PMDSI and this item scored 1.44 among all participants, 1.7 among low income participants and
1.33 among higher income participants. In essence, the perpetrators of these crimes were aware their activities
were wrong but continued anyway. This item was a test of the understanding of morality of the sample
population. Kohlberg (1984) asserted that moral development progresses in stages, from youth to adulthood.
Hence, adults are supposed to know what is right from what is wrong, Kohlberg emphasized.
Both poverty and moral development items were embedded in the Poverty and Moral Development Survey
Instrument (PMDSI). The researcher analyzed the result of the study based on income levels. Comparing the
result by income categories, the researcher found that employees with higher income levels agreed poor social
services contributed to poverty with a composite score of 4.53. On the other hand, participants with lower
income levels were more assertive, with a composite score of 4.64. The researcher found that there were no
significant differences in the effect of poverty on moral development of both groups. However, the result of the
lower wage earners shows a negative correlation between poverty and moral development. This means, the
higher the level of poverty indexes, the lower the level of moral development indexes.
Table 3. Composite Scores by Income Level in Response to Poverty and Moral Development Items on PMDI
PMDI Items
Item 1

Participants
on salary scale 1-7
4.9

Participants
on salary scale 8-15
4.79

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

4.7
4.59
4.75
4.64
4.77
4.86
1.7
1.20
1.63
1.64

4.55
4.67
4.86
4.53
4.89
4.79
1.33
1.22
1.67
1.77

12
13
14
15

1.52
1.57
1.39
1.27

1.62
1.51
1.22
1.25

7. MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS

When the variable of interest (the dependent variable) is influenced by more than one independent variable, a
multiple regression analysis is often important to determine the extent of relationships between these variables.
The independent variable in this study was poverty and the variable of interest was moral development.

However, the control variables of poverty were extended family (EF), low wages (LW) and poor social services
(PS). Hence, the researcher regressed the dependent variable, moral development on the powers of
independent variables, EF, LW and PS. Subsequently, a 3-variable multiple regression equation, below, was
used to determine the regression relationship.
Y= + 1X + 2X+ 3X + .
Y is the dependent variable (moral development), is the intercept before any responses; 1, 2, and 3
represent intercepts for each of the independent variables being analyzed against moral development. X, X,
and X are the three variables of poverty, which are extended family dependency, poor wages, and poor social
services respectively.
According to the result, moral development before intercept of poverty variables () was 3.2309, a
development that was above average. However, at the intercept of extended family variable (1), it was 0.2859,
at the intercept of low wages (2), was -0.186, and at poor social services (3), it was -0.471. All three variables
showed that moral development was negatively influenced by poverty variables. Figure 2 below indicates all the
three variables of poverty, X1, X2, and X2 and the direction of influence on moral development (Y).
Figure 2. Variable Matrix

Poverty (X)

Extended
Family
(X1)

Low Income
(X2)

Poor Social
Services
(X3)

Moral
Development
(Y)

7.1 Correlation analysis

Statistical correlation between the dependent variable (Y) and independent variables (X1, X2, and X3) are
important in regression analysis since the variables are continuous rather than fixed and can be obtained by
adopting a symmetric approach (Aczel & Sounderpandian, 2006). The researcher measured the linear
relationship between poverty and moral development variables and found that both Y and X variables were well
correlated.
Using the correlation matrix to plot a correlation graph, the researcher found that the higher the composite
figures for the dependent variables (X1, X2, and X3), the lower the composite figures for the Y variables.
Subsequently the researcher found through data analysis that, the higher the level of poverty, the lower the
level of moral development as illustrated below. This correlation matrix confirms the negative influence earlier
predicted in the study between poverty and moral development. This means, the higher the rate of poverty, the
lower the level of moral development. See Figure 3 below. Moral Development composite was 1.32 while
Poverty items scored 4.56.

Figure 3. Correlation Graph between Poverty (X) and Moral Development (Y)

Moral
Development

5
Correlation
graph

4
3
2
1

X
0

Poverty

8. STUDY CONCLUSIONS
With over 70% of sub-Sahara Africans living on an income of one U.S. dollar per day, the study findings
supported other findings from literature review (Sardan, 1999; Shehu, 2004; White & Killick, 2001) that when
poverty is high, extended family dependence would increase. Hence, there are tendencies for the poor to
depend on the working members of their extended family, according to the result of this study.
The study also found that there is correlation between poverty and moral judgment of individuals in Nigeria. In
arriving at the above conclusion, the researcher used the composite scores from the Likert chart and separated
the scores for all variables of poverty from those of moral development. For poverty items, the overwhelming
result was a confirmation of high poverty among the study population with an overall composite score of 4.56 for
poverty items while 1.32 was the total composite score for moral development items. This means the higher the
poverty level, the lower the moral development of the study population. Extended family dependency, low
wages, and poor social services were also reasons for high poverty according to the study results.
8.1 Recommendation for Social Change
The culture of the people is paramount to their system of living and government may not be able to change this
inclination (Fakinlede, 2008). The researcher therefore, recommends that: (a) government wages be revised to
ensure an increase in employees salary since poor wages is a factor that will continue to entrench the cycle of
poverty among the citizen, (b) government should strengthen its support for the judicial system so that
perpetrators of fraud are caught and promptly prosecuted, and (c) entrepreneurship is promoted by the
government so that the citizens can benefit from improved economic activities.
Additionally, the researcher recommends that since the cycle of poverty is perpetuated involuntarily by victims
of poverty, international communities are encouraged to increase financial assistance to Ifedore Local
Government and to other parts of Nigeria in general. Prosperity will be promoted through increased financial
assistance while internalization of morality among the study population will begin to develop along the
Kohlbergs (1984) theory of moral development despite the existence of cultural influences on moral
development (Durojaiye, 1976; Fakinlede & Banna, 2006; Fern & Thorn, 2001; Shehu, 2004). These efforts will
lead to a generational change in moral judgment and this will curtain the level of corruption in Nigeria.

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Author Profile:
Dr. Solomon Fakinlede earned his Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences from Walden
University in February, 2008. He is a Professor of Strategic Management at Strayer University, White Marsh
Campus, Maryland (USA).