General Procedure
A two-stage cluster sampling method was employed to select a sample of 567 students from high schools in Shiraz city. First, two educational districts (1 and 4) were randomly chosen from the city's four districts. All the high schools within these districts were then listed, and eight schools were randomly selected from this combined list. Within each chosen school, four classes were selected as the sample. Written questionnaires were distributed to the students in these classes. Thirty-three questionnaires were excluded due to incomplete or damaged data. After obtaining the necessary coordination with school principals, the researchers visited the selected schools. The students provided explanations about the study, provided informed consent, and distributed the questionnaires. Students were instructed to contact the researchers if they encountered any difficulties while completing the questionnaires. Finally, the completed questionnaires were collected.
Every research study, including this one, had specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria for this study included full consent from participants to complete the questionnaires, normal intelligence, and no history of delinquent behaviors, as indicated by academic records and counseling history. The exclusion criteria included unwillingness to complete the questionnaires, incomplete or damaged questionnaires, and being outside the target population (high school students).
Voluntary participation is crucial in any research study. Therefore, the purpose of the study was clearly explained to the participants, and they were assured that they were not required to disclose their personal information. Additionally, adhering to academic integrity and honesty and assuring school officials and administrators that the questionnaires solely assessed the topics covered in the questionnaires were other essential aspects of the current study. Finally, ethical approval for conducting this study was obtained from Yasouj University.
Measures
In this research, Ellis and Rothbart's (2001) Effortful Control Scale, Aquino and Reed's (2002) Moral Identity Questionnaire, the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (2009), and Burt & Donnellan's (2009) Antisocial Behaviors Questionnaire were used to assess the research variables. The questionnaires consist of two separate parts: The first part includes demographic variables such as gender and age, and the second part contains the main items of the questionnaires. The information related to each questionnaire is provided below.
1- Ellis and Rothbart's Effortful Control Scale (2001, ECS): This questionnaire was developed by Ellis and Retbart in 2001 to measure the effortful control dimension of teenagers. The NRS-2002 consists of 20 items and uses a five-point Likert scale for scoring: 5 for always, 4 for often, 3 for sometimes, 2 for rarely, and 1 for never. Additionally, items 1, 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, and 20 are reverse scored. The maximum score (100) indicates high effortful control, and the minimum score (20) indicates low effortful control. This scale has three components: attentional control (items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, and 20), activational control (items 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 18), and inhibitory control (items 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 17, and 19). In the present study, the Cronbach's alpha method was used for the whole scale and subscales to assess reliability. Cronbach's alpha values for attentional control, activational control, inhibitory control, and the total score were 0.74, 0.66, 0.71, and 0.85, respectively.
2- Aquino and Reed's Moral Identity Questionnaire (2002): In 2002, Aquino and Reed developed a moral identity questionnaire that consisted of 10 items. This questionnaire, which was created for students for the first time, has two dimensions: internalization (items 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10) and symbolization (items 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9). The questionnaire was scored as follows: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) slightly disagree, (4) indifferent, (5) slightly agree, (6) agree, or (7) strongly agree. Items 4 and 7 are reverse scored. In the present study, the Cronbach's alpha method was used for the whole scale and subscales to assess reliability. The Cronbach's alpha values for internalization, symbolization, and the total score were 0.74, 0.69, and 0.82, respectively.
3- Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (2009, TEQ): The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) was developed by Spreng et al. in 2009 to assess empathy. The 16-item, single-factor TEQ was designed to collect all relevant questionnaires aligned with empathy processes and address all shortcomings in the ability to evaluate these questionnaires. The questionnaire was scored as follows: (5) always, (4) often, (3) sometimes, (2) rarely, or (1) never. Items 2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15 are reverse scored. In the present study, Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the reliability of the entire scale. A Cronbach's alpha of .80 was obtained.
4- Burt & Donnellan's Antisocial Behavior Questionnaire (2009, STAB): This questionnaire was created by Burt & Donnellan in 2009 to measure antisocial behaviors and consists of 32 items that are graded on a five-point Likert scale ranging from never (1) to almost always (5). This scale has three dimensions: physical aggression (items 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, and 28); social aggression (items 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, and 32); and rule-breaking (items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, and 31). In the present study, the Cronbach's alpha method was used for the entire scale and subscales to assess reliability. The Cronbach's alpha values for physical aggression, social aggression, rule-breaking, and the total score were 0.89, 0.86, 0.90, and 0.94, respectively.