Erikson's lifespan theory of development divides an individual's social development into eight stages of how and what we should develop and when. At each stage we develop a slightly different foundation based on environmental factors. The absence of friends and peers will have a greater impact on people from middle childhood to early adolescence, compared to a middle-aged person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThese environmental impacts can influence how we develop our moral judgment and our perception of life in general. I will review numerous articles on moral judgment and standards of judgment that have analyzed people with different impacts in their social-emotional development backgrounds and the effect these differences have on judgment. There are many environmental differences that can impact a person's development, such as socioeconomic status, religion, and cultural differences. Unfortunately, negative environmental impacts are the most pertinent to the topic of this article. Maltreatment can affect anyone at any age, but what are the long-term effects of maltreatment on a still developing child? In a study conducted by Smetana in 1999, he examined non-maltreated children versus maltreated children based on their judgments of transgressions. A total of 55 children, both maltreated and nonmaltreated, were interviewed about hypothetical events involving transgressions against other children, described as provoked or unprovoked. Maltreated children were recruited from a center for low-income maltreated children who were referred to this center by the Department of Social Services. The 36 maltreated children were divided into two groups based on the form of maltreatment. These groups were determined based on specific coding that separated abused from neglected children to create subtypes of maltreatment that might produce different outcomes. The results of this study are interesting, all the children agreed when it came to making a moral judgment on provoked and unprovoked acts. All children understood that all transgressions are wrong and deserve punishment. However, regarding emotional responses, for example, non-maltreated children reported a higher degree of sadness for unprovoked attack offenders and neglected children reported a higher level of fear for unprovoked unfair distribution of resources . These findings confirm Smetana's words “moral judgments develop from children's experiences of the instinctive effect of actions on others, such as harm, injury, or perceived rights violation (Smetana 1999). The question of morality, when it comes to punishment, is very widespread. Many studies are conducted on children from different backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, or types of maltreatment to determine what may influence moral judgment in cases of transgressions, but this can't change? A scenario; A young girl growing up in an ordinary middle-class suburban home marries the boy next door who ends up beating her. As a child, her judgment about a similar type of transgression may have been different from her judgment now that she is the victim. Kolhberg's (1979) theory of moral development states “that moral reasoning changes over time in predictable stages from simple to complex stages and that these are more adaptive than simple stages. " In total it describes 6 phases, divided into three groups, the phasepreconventional phase in which most of the moral development of children but also the majority of criminals resides, then the conventional phase in which most of the moral judgment of adolescence and adults of society resides and finally, the postconventional phase phase in which individuals like Mother Teresa and Ghandi use moral reasoning. In a study conducted by Buttell, Carney and Miller this theory was used to explore the level of moral reasoning used by battered women when deciding whether or not to return home to their abusive partner. It is commonly believed that battered women who return home are “morally immature,” but is this a misconception or is it possible to actually regress in one's level of moral reasoning? A sample of 58 women who presented at a domestic violence shelter were tested using the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to assess their moral reasoning. The test consisted of multiple-choice questions that would then give the researchers an average P score (P = Moral Principle) of between 0 and 95. The results showed that the average P score for the given sample of battered women was 32 1. The average score for college students and adults is a P score of 40, indicating that female victims of domestic violence do, in fact, think at an average level of morality and are not morally immature. Through further evaluation it was also discovered that, when dealing with their own situation and the issue of leaving their intimate persecutor, these women use moral reasoning at a post-conventional level. That said, female victims of domestic violence use a superior form of moral judgment when making a decision because their thought process considers subjugating their own self-interest to protecting the well-being of others, primarily their children. The decision not to leave to protect your children from the abuser is a common decision, but is that really all you can do? As a parent it is your job to protect your child and ensure his well-being at any cost. Thus, a mother tormented by abuse from her child's father decides to stay so as not to direct her aggression and violence towards the child. In this way she protects her children from physical harm, but what is often overlooked is the impact of witnessing a loved one's abuse on their psychological development. Acting with a high standard of morality by sacrificing your own well-being to save someone else is honorable but in the case of domestic abuse, as explained above, I don't believe self-sacrifice is the solution to protecting your child. In a study conducted by Victoria Thornton, the effects of witnessing domestic abuse on a child's mental health were assessed through drawings and games. Many previous studies have concluded that children living in homes where domestic violence has occurred has a negative effect on the child's functioning. However, these results were found through questionnaires filled out by mothers and not children, assuming that mothers were attuned to how the child felt about the situation. Thornton felt this was not ideal and chose to interview 8 children from five different families, each paired with their mother but interviewed alone. This sample was recruited from a center working with survivors of domestic violence and all mothers had reported being separated from their abuser for no less than six months. The children were assessed through two forms of drawings, one is the Kinetic Family Drawing and the second is the Human Figure Drawing (Koppitz, 1968). The results revealed.