The role of morality in corruption, theft, and violence in a Ukrainian context

Many anti-crime efforts are found to be costly and unsuccessful in reducing crime, and new fresh approaches are needed. Morality has long been neglected in our understanding of crime prevention. This paper uses a theoretical and empirical approach to explore the relationship between individual morality, associated moral emotions, and crime in a sample of 11,671 respondents in Ukraine. To date, few studies have explored morality using large samples in a Ukrainian context. Existing morality studies have been largely limited to nonadult and Global North samples. In the current study, existing standardised scales are applied for the first time in a new context. Morality is measured with how right or wrong respondents feel that various acts of delinquent and criminal behaviour are, and logistic regression is used to analyse its association with self-reported corruption, theft, and violence. Findings show that weak individual morality is associated with higher corruption, theft, and violence. This paper empirically evidences this association, already evidenced in The Global North, in an Eastern-European context. The implications of this are potentially wide-reaching and can inform crime prevention measures in Ukraine and beyond. Individual morality, which develops from early childhood and throughout adolescence, is associated with crime involvement in numerous studies and samples. To reduce crime, suggestions are made to deliver and evaluate morality intervention programmes (such as The Compass Project) in schools (to youth) and in the workplace (to influential employees of organisations and institutions). This is likely to contribute to a societal shift in countries like Ukraine which are presented with politically historic complexities in relation to morally acceptable actions.