Consumer Ethics of Adolescents

American youth are spending in record numbers, often being characterized as the most materialistic generation in history. Young people are also responsible for a significant portion of retail fraud and theft in America. As yet, research has not examined the link between these trends. This research proposes a theoretical framework for examining adolescent ethical judgment and tests hypotheses with a national sample of 250 parent-child pairs. Results indicate that as adolescents mature, ethical judgment improves. In addition, materialism and love of money negatively affect adolescent ethical judgment. Finally, significant deterrents to unethical behavior are family parenting style and parent's religiosity.