Predicting Moral Behavior based on Psychological Health, Lifestyle and Prosocial Behaviors

Due to the prevalence of immoral behaviors, it is necessary to study ethical behaviors and identify its predictors with the aim of promoting ethical behaviors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to predict moral behavior based on psychological health, lifestyle and prosocial behaviors.

This was a descriptive-analytical correlational study. The study population of principals and deputies of the second year of high school in Tehran in the academic year 2009-2010 was 2973 people. The sample size based on Cochran's formula was estimated to be 340 people who were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The research instruments were the Ethical Behavior Inventory, the Psychological Health Scale, the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile, and the Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression tests simultaneously in SPSS software version 25.

The results showed a significant relationship between psychological health (r = -0.35), lifestyle (r = 0.27) and societal behaviors (r = 0.41) with moral behavior (P <0.01). Other results showed the effective role of mental health, lifestyle and prosocial behaviors in predicting moral behavior (R2 = 0.39, P <0.001).

According to the results of this study, planning to improve moral behavior based on psychological health, lifestyle and prosocial behaviors is essential.