L'influenza del contesto eco-bio-psico-socio-culturale sulla percezione del fenomeno mafioso in un gruppo di adolescenti siciliani

This study aims to investigate the relationship between Mafia perception, moral disengagement and valor orientation in a group of 1125 adolescents of which 521 males and 598 females aged 18-21 years (M=17.88; D.S.=0.79) recruited in different high schools in Sicilian territory. The objective was to analyse predictive variables to the degree and type of moral disengagement, assuming the presence of predictors such as socio-demographic characteristics and value orientation. A battery of self-report tests was administered: ad hoc questionnaire designed to measure Ma- fia perception; a scale to assess moral disengagement (SDM); scale to assess value orientation (PVQ). Analysis has shown that there are predictive factors for moral disengagment. These factors are conjugated to: female gender; belonging to a specific area of Sicily such as the western one; low scores in the dimensions of the self directionality; tradition and conformity and high scores in the dimensions of hedonism and stimulation, which turn out to be associated with a strong tendency to euphemistic labelling. In conclusion, the study shows that the presence of the Mafia, the proximity between legal and illegal symbolic codes and the sharing of equal social spaces influence the perception of the phenomenon in adolescents.