The results highlight a number of "vulnerabilities" for the moral compasses in these children, Wainryb and Roberto Posada, a native of Colombia and doctoral student at U., write in the journal paper. Concerns with survival might compromise children's ability to view themselves and others as moral agents, while contexts underscoring revenge might give rise to cycles of violence, they write.

According to the study, all participants said it is wrong to steal or hurt others because of considerations of justice and welfare, and most said it is wrong to steal or hurt others even when such actions can help ensure one's survival. When the question of revenge arose, however, the youths' judgments were mixed, with a sizable number endorsing stealing and hurting for that reason.

A majority of the participants also said they expected that people would steal and hurt others in most situations — a view that is strongest among teens.

The interviews have implications for children's behavior in the 50 countries that, according to United Nations' figures, are currently in sustained armed conflicts that have displaced about 22 million children worldwide just in the past 10 years. A civil war has been under way in Colombia for 50 years. Posada said that almost half the children in his homeland had seen a dead body and a third witnessed someone being shot or shot at.

Other research cited by the authors indicates that all children everywhere violate expected moral behavior. Kids exposed to so much violence and who perpetrate it themselves, however, have no chance to discuss or learn from those violations unlike children living in law-abiding regions of the world.

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