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European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-024-09598-6
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Role ofMorality inCorruption, Theft, andViolence
inaUkrainian Context
NeemaTrivedi‑Bateman1 · AnnaMarkovska2 · OleksiiSerdiuk3 ·
RomanBogdanov3
Accepted: 23 July 2024
© The Author(s) 2024
Abstract
Many anti-crime efforts are found to be costly and unsuccessful in reducing crime, and
new fresh approaches are needed. Morality has long been neglected in our understanding
of crime prevention. This paper uses a theoretical and empirical approach to explore the
relationship between individual morality, associated moral emotions, and crime in a sam-
ple of 11,671 respondents in Ukraine. To date, few studies have explored morality using
large samples in a Ukrainian context. Existing morality studies have been largely limited to
nonadult and Global North samples. In the current study, existing standardised scales are
applied for the first time in a new context. Morality is measured with how right or wrong
respondents feel that various acts of delinquent and criminal behaviour are, and logistic
regression is used to analyse its association with self-reported corruption, theft, and vio-
lence. Findings show that weak individual morality is associated with higher corruption,
theft, and violence. This paper empirically evidences this association, already evidenced
in The Global North, in an Eastern-European context. The implications of this are poten-
tially wide-reaching and can inform crime prevention measures in Ukraine and beyond.
Individual morality, which develops from early childhood and throughout adolescence, is
associated with crime involvement in numerous studies and samples. To reduce crime, sug-
gestions are made to deliver and evaluate morality intervention programmes (such as The
Compass Project) in schools (to youth) and in the workplace (to influential employees of
organisations and institutions). This is likely to contribute to a societal shift in countries
like Ukraine which are presented with politically historic complexities in relation to mor-
ally acceptable actions.
Keywords Morality· Moral emotion· Empathy· Crime· Situational Action Theory
(SAT)· Ukraine
* Neema Trivedi-Bateman
n.trivedi-bateman@lboro.ac.uk
1 School ofSocial Sciences andHumanities, Loughborough University, Epinal Way,
LoughboroughLE113TU, UK
2 Department ofCriminology andPolicing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
3 Kharkiv National University forInternal Affairs, Kharkiv, Ukraine
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
Introduction
In Ukraine, corruption, theft, and violence have existed historically. In 2021, the year in
which this study was conducted, there were 3,143 registered cases of corruption, 113,517
registered cases of theft, and 27,653 registered cases of violence (General Prosecutors
Office, 2021). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime data (UNODC, 2020) indicates
that the rate of corruption per 100,000 population is 4.14, the rate of theft per 100,000 pop-
ulation is 274.43, and the rate of serious assault per 100,000 population is 2.83 in Ukraine.
Such crime will continue to exist unless evidence -based interventions, that directly tackle
the proximal causes of crime, are introduced. Crime prevention efforts have been exten-
sive and numerous but traditionally fail to achieve their goals; hundreds of anti-crime cam-
paigns are reported to be operation in Ukraine (Peiffer & Marquette, 2015). For many years
corruption has been identified as one of the most difficult crimes to tackle in Ukrainian
society, and critics believe that this is fuelled by the existence of a reductionistic mentality
of shortcuts or easy solutions (Grødeland, 2010). Reproducing prevention initiatives that
have shown some success in The Global North, also referred to as ‘legal transplants’, are
bound to fail because individuals do not necessarily behave in the same way as in previ-
ously tested environments and sociocultural contexts (Grødeland, 2010). Such reproduction
efforts have been criticised for being insensitive to the cultural context and at the time of
writing in 2023 during the full-scale Russian invasion, this is perhaps more important than
ever before. This paper responds to calls for research to address the root causes of corrup-
tion and other crimes as opposed to leaning on reactive, ill-informed, and underdeveloped
crime prevention strategies.
This study uses a theoretical and empirical approach to test whether those who view
crime to be a morally acceptable action, and do not experience negative moral feelings
in contemplation of such behaviour (shame, guilt, empathy), are statistically significantly
more likely to commit crime. There is a building body of evidence to support the notion
that individual morality, in which people do not feel it is wrong to commit various acts
of rule-breaking and crime, is associated with a higher involvement in antisocial and
criminal behaviour (Pauwels etal., 2018; Tittle etal., 2010; Trivedi-Bateman, 2021; Wik-
ström etal., 2012). The notion that morality plays a central role in crime is noted by many
prominent researchers (Bottoms, 2002; Messner, 2015). In the last decade particularly,
researchers have called for criminological theories to be tested in non-Western contexts and
populations, with specific reference to Situational Action Theory, hereafter referred to as
SAT (Antonaccio & Tittle, 2008; Messner, 2015). This paper addresses this deficiency by
adopting a ‘less ethnocentric’ approach to crime (as encouraged by Antonaccio & Botch-
kovar, 2015, p.489). Whilst existing morality and crime studies have been largely limited
to nonadult and Global North samples, some studies have started to address these research
gaps (Antonaccio etal., 2011; Antonaccio etal., 2017) and will be discussed in this paper.
In this study, morality is measured with how right or wrong respondents feel that various
acts of delinquent and criminal behaviour are, and morality is defined as it aligns with the
law, whereby strong morality refers to law-following attitudes, and weak morality refers to
law-breaking attitudes (Wikstrom etal., 2024). In this way, value judgements about which
behaviours are good or bad are avoided. According to SAT, the moral emotions that are
relevant for an explanation of crime decision-making are shame and guilt because these
moral emotions are widely recognized to be relevant to moral behaviour (Eisenberg, 2000;
Tangney etal., 2007; Tangney & Fischer, 1995). Guilt is defined as a negative feeling,
often experienced as a result of an action, which is felt inwardly toward oneself (Wikström
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The Role ofMorality inCorruption, Theft, andViolence ina…
etal., 2012). Guilt can be anticipated on contemplation of an action and is measured along
a spectrum; strong guilt indicates that one cares very much about the potential breaking
of a moral rule, whereas weak guilt indicates that one does not care very much about the
potential breaking of a moral rule. Anticipated shame is defined as a negative feeling, not
necessarily experienced as a result of an action, which is felt in the presence or considera-
tion of others (Wikström etal., 2012). Anticipated shame can also be measured along a
spectrum; strong shame indicates a perception that others care very much about the poten-
tial breaking of a moral rule, whereas weak shame indicates a perception that others do
not care very much about the potential breaking of a moral rule. The current study defines
the ability to exercise empathy as an emotional process and trait (as opposed to a state or
emotion). A strong ability to exercise empathy is hypothesised to increase the potential to
feel shame and guilt during the crime decision-making process. Inversely, if an individual
has a weak ability to exercise empathy, this is hypothesised to reduce the possibility to feel
shame and guilt during the crime decision-making process (see Trivedi-Bateman, 2021 for
more detail about this theoretical stance).
The current study builds on the few pioneering existing studies discussed in later sec-
tions of this paper by introducing morality, shame, guilt, and empathy as key components
of the theoretical model of SAT and collecting data from a larger (albeit predominantly
female) sample than has been carried out in these existing studies. Theoretical explana-
tions (applying SAT) of the processes by which moral justifications may occur, specifically
as they relate to the societal context in Ukraine, are identified. Except for Antonaccio and
colleagues’ studies, SAT has been little studied in relation to crime (Kammigan & Lins-
sen, 2012) in an eastern European context. The contributions of this work are to add to
the few existing studies that explore morality in Ukraine. This is achieved by empirical
testing with a large sample and with the rare inclusion of moral emotions as well as moral
rules as supported by Hardie and Rose (forthcoming). In line with the theoretical proposi-
tions described in this paper, we hypothesise that the stronger the moral rules, shame, guilt,
and empathy, the less likely individuals are to engage in corruption, theft, and violence.
The research question is: Are morality and moral emotions associated with self-reported
corruption, theft, and violent offending in a large Ukrainian sample? Results indicate that
weak individual morality is associated with higher self-reported crime, measured with cor-
ruption, theft, and violence items. The study concludes that theoretical explanations of
the relationship between morality and crime (corruption, theft, and violence) provided by
SAT can be extended from The Global North to the Global South (to an Eastern-European
context).
Findings from this study can be used to inform crime prevention measures in Ukraine
and beyond. Many anti-crime efforts are found to be costly yet unsuccessful in reducing
crime, and new fresh approaches are needed (Mungiu-Pippidi, 2023; Peiffer & Marque-
tte, 2015; Rothstein, 2018; Rothstein & Tannenberg, 2015). For example, the Ukrainian
anti-corruption framework and its implementation has been the subject of much criticism
(Markovskaya etal., 2003) and has been described as lacking political will (Grødeland,
2010; Markovska etal., 2019). This study contributes evidence from the Global South in
support of the growing view that there is a need for future crime prevention measures to
focus on strengthening morality to reduce crime (Kennedy, 2023). It is recognised that in
Ukraine, since decades have been spent in an environment rooted in corrupt practices, it
may be particularly challenging to change long-standing habitual patterns of behaviour.
Despite the building evidence that links individual morality to criminal behaviour, initia-
tives that attempt to strengthen morality by way of intervention programmes are scarce
(one example is The Compass project intervention programme, Trivedi-Bateman & Gadd,
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
2024). It is suggested that targeting youth during formative years of adolescence might
facilitate a societal shift by increasing morality and reducing crime, characterised by law-
aligned moral norms that dictate that crime is not an acceptable action (Trivedi-Bateman,
2021).
However, moral education in post-soviet space is a rather contentious issue. Rothstein
(2018) discusses free universal education as an example of a successful indirect approach
for governance and corruption control. Here we extend this approach further and argue
that once this free access to education is established (such as in Ukraine) it is important to
develop, tailor, evaluate, and refine its content. Moral education in Soviet times was domi-
nated by patriotic education driven by communist ideology, which was highly declarative
and collapsed altogether with the break of the Soviet Union and the associated political
agendas. In the wake of changes in politics and ideology, the subject of how such a society
in transition can educate their young generation remains unclear. Sanina (2017) employs
Bourdieu’s sociology of habitus to consider the revival of Soviet patriotic propaganda-style
education by schools in modern Russia. Sanina notes that the patriotism dictated by the
Kremlin is operationalised by struggling and underpaid teachers on the ground. Post-2014,
Russia used propaganda-based patriotic school education in occupied territories to culti-
vate hate towards Ukraine and make false accusations “about how Ukraine allegedly fosters
“Nazis” from its children” (Vorobyova, 2023). In stark contrast to such a patriotic educa-
tion style, impartial moral education is epitomised by ideas of compassion and cohesion.
Post-Soviet countries struggle to separate moral and patriotic education and are found to be
more perceptive to the idea of patriotic education than Europeans (Karimova Huseynaga,
2024). Whilst moral education is believed to represent timeless and politically neutral ide-
ology that shapes ‘a good citizen’, it is a concept that is criticised by those who believe this
individual-centred approach makes inaccurate assumptions that individual characteristics
explain rule-breaking conduct. This is a limited and short-sighted view of moral educa-
tion because the role of individual morality has been found to be associated with crime in
many studies (Pauwels etal., 2018; Tittle etal., 2010; Trivedi-Bateman, 2021; Wikström
etal., 2012). Further to this point, since changes in morality are found to statistically corre-
spond to significant changes in crime at the individual level (Wikström etal., 2018), there
is a convincing body of evidence to pursue this line of inquiry. We view moral education
through a human rights perspective, as a precondition to the development of sustainable
policies and institutional practices. Both universal and offender-targeted morality strength-
ening campaigns are recommended, in addition to consideration of the contexts that indi-
viduals operate in (as is currently being trialled in UK schools, see Hardie & Drew, 2024).
For example, targeting influential employees in targeted organisations and institutions has
potential to reform institutions and ultimately to reduce corruption.
The Importance ofMorality, Shame, Guilt, andEmpathy (and Theoretical
Explanations) inCrime
Morality has been defined in different ways, and one perspective includes shame, guilt, and
empathy as important components of moral outlook (Trivedi-Bateman, 2021; Wikström &
Treiber, 2009). Beyond SAT, there are three existing criminological theories that partially
incorporate the role of emotion or moral emotion in their explanations of crime; strain the-
ory, Agnew (2014); reintegrative shaming theory, Braithwaite (1989); and subcultural the-
ory, Cohen (1955). Strain theory (Agnew, 2014) argues that crime is a more likely response
to strain when negative affect is experienced, such as anger and frustration. It is unclear by
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The Role ofMorality inCorruption, Theft, andViolence ina…
which mechanism this takes place, how to account for individual differences in response to
the same strains, the focus is primarily on non-moral emotions, and an explanation of how
empathy is linked to crime is not developed. Second, reintegrative shaming theory (Braith-
waite, 1989) posits that encouraging offenders to identify emotions, specifically support-
ive shame, will deter them from reoffending. Although Braithwaite and Braithwaite (2001)
acknowledge the importance of guilt in crime, they do not elaborate on mechanisms, and
neglect the role of empathy. In addition, the theory peripherally begins to incorporate the
existence of a relationship between shame and morality, but this is underdeveloped, and the
approach is largely focused on post-offending rather than pre-offending decision-making.
The third theory that attempts to incorporate the role of emotion into its framework is the
subcultural theory of crime (Cohen, 1955) which posits that most violent crimes are emo-
tionally charged events carried out by subculture groups, as opposed to actions that are car-
ried out with reason and rational thought. However, Cohen focuses on the offender group
dynamic, i.e. the subculture, rather than focusing on individuals and their moral emotion in
relation to moral acts, as is achieved in the current study.
SAT is a preferred framework because it seeks to explain how and why weak moral-
ity plays a role in rule-breaking behaviour (see Trivedi-Bateman, 2015 for more detail).
SAT identifies morality to be one of the primary explanatory factors in the occurrence of
crime (Wikström, 2019). It states that individuals who do not think it is wrong to break the
law, and do not feel shame and guilt in anticipation of such law-breaking, are statistically
significantly more likely to be involved in crime, especially when they find themselves in
crime-conductive settings or environments (such as with friends or colleagues that engage
in crime). Whilst other factors, such as setting-level factors (see Wikstrom etal., 2024;
Wikström etal., 2012) and self-control are also found to be important predictors of crime
under specific conditions (Wikström & Treiber, 2007), they are not explored in the cur-
rent study. It is proposed that a decision-making process that involves a ‘moral filter’ ulti-
mately assists an individual to perceive the action options that are available to them and
to select one. Whether the action of crime is first perceived, and then selected as an action
choice is dependent on the inputs of moral rules, i.e., to what extent the act in question is
perceived to be wrong, and moral emotions, i.e., the extent to which one cares about the
moral rule (Wikström & Treiber, 2009). Emotions appear to have a supplementary role by
contributing to overall moral outlook. For example, empathy, which was added to the SAT
perspective in recent years (Trivedi-Bateman, 2015), is hypothesised to precede and facili-
tate feelings of shame and guilt. Low functioning empathy is found to be associated with
subsequent low-functioning shame and guilt, which play a primary role in crime decision-
making (see Trivedi-Bateman, 2021). The proposed mechanism is that to feel bad about
oneself (guilt) or in the presence of consideration of others (shame), one first requires the
ability to consider how others (including victims of crime) may feel or be impacted by the
law-breaking action, otherwise referred to as empathy (Trivedi-Bateman, 2021).
Existing data supports the claims of SAT (see Pauwels etal., 2018). Questionnaire data
from a UK sample reveal that individuals with low-functioning empathy, shame, and guilt
are unequivocally more likely to commit acts of crime (Trivedi-Bateman, 2021; Wikström
etal., 2012). Qualitative in-depth interviews with a UK sample indicate that a striking
majority of violent offenders do not think it is wrong to commit violence, and do not care
about it, i.e., they lack shame and guilt, demonstrate a distinct lack of empathy, and report
that violence comes as a morally acceptable and natural action alternative (Trivedi-Bate-
man, 2015). These qualitative study findings give insight into the real world, situational
application of empathy, shame, and guilt, and provide strong support for the role of indi-
vidual morality in crime decision-making. Existing literature that evidences associations
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
between morality, emotion, and crime using a variety of theoretical approaches, qualita-
tive and quantitative methodologies, and diverse study samples, is not included in this
paper but has been reviewed elsewhere (Trivedi-Bateman, 2015, 2021; Trivedi-Bateman &
Crook, 2022).
Existing Morality andCrime Research inEastern‑European andother Contexts
To date, criminological theory suppositions have rarely been tested in Ukraine, with a few
notable exceptions. Antonaccio and colleagues provide a theoretical and empirical analysis
of SAT and morality research in Eastern-Europe. In Ukraine (Lviv), compared to Greece
which is a country more typical of the rest of Europe, respondents are found to be more
likely to be involved in crime and show less endorsement of moral beliefs as social norms
(Antonaccio etal., 2011). Cross-country comparisons of this kind are highly informative,
contribute to the shared goal of researchers to avoid ethnocentric research, and fill a gap in
knowledge. For example, Myyry etal.’s (2021) research on moral behaviour in Bulgaria,
Estonia, Finland and Portugal identifies possible cultural variations in guilt and shame.
Antonaccio and Tittle’s (2008) study of morality and self-control using random household
survey data from Ukraine finds that morality is a strong independent predictor of crime.
Further studies of the neighbourhood context in two cities in Russia and Ukraine find evi-
dence in support of an interaction between individual morality and neighbourhood con-
text (Antonaccio etal., 2017). Timmer, Antonaccio, etal. (2022) find negative associations
between moral beliefs and interpersonal violence in a random sample of Kharkiv (Ukraine)
respondents. Timmer etal. (2023) find further evidence to support the association between
strong moral beliefs in adolescent Ukrainian respondents by measuring thoughtful and
reflective decision-making in relation to crime and delinquency. Global South research
that seeks to identify the key factors that drive corruption offences in Malaysia also identi-
fies moral values to be closely associated with crime (Othman etal., 2014). This inter-
disciplinary work draws on relevant literature from multiple disciplines, including moral
sentiments in professional and business ethics in the context of post-Soviet countries. For
example, Rees and Miazhevich (2009) study morality and business ethics in Belarus and
Estonia, while Sanghera etal. (2006) emphasise the importance of moral sentiments in
professional standards in post-Soviet Kyrgystan. Whilst the current study focuses on gen-
eral crime as opposed to crimes committed during conflict, studies of moral injury have
begun to gain prominence from post-2014 up to the beginning of the Russian war against
Ukraine and may also provide some relevant insights in future.
The Role ofMorality inCrime inUkraine
The historical and political background in Ukraine make it a very interesting country to
explore in relation to personal morality and law-abiding and law-breaking behaviour. The
Independent Ukraine is the second biggest country in Europe and has suffered decades
of poor governance and a lack of political and economic reform, resulting in low levels
of trust in state institutions (Bekeshkina, 2015; Markovska & Serdiuk, 2013; UNIAN,
2020). The soviet regime is often described as “a paradoxical co-existence of state laws,
morality and crime” (Markovska & Zabyelina, 2019, p. 107). Morris and Polese (2015)
describe social practices of living ‘in spite of’ and ‘beyond’ the state. Living ‘in spite of’
a state is understood as practices that do not generally comply with the instructions of the
state, whereas ‘beyond the state’ are practices that attempt to regulate those spheres either
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The Role ofMorality inCorruption, Theft, andViolence ina…
avoided or not sufficiently regulated by the state. Understanding these informal practices
is an important part of understanding the past and present of Ukrainian society, and the
context in which (im)moral behaviours have taken and continue to take place. For exam-
ple, although the Communist Party heavily regulated all forms of ownership and criminal-
ised private enterprise, Simis (1982) notes that the ban on private property was not always
enforced and was often challenged by Soviet citizens. Many illicit private enterprises oper-
ated alongside state factories. The illicit private enterprises mostly produced licit goods
that were otherwise in short supply and received gratefully, thus making the illegal activi-
ties less morally questionable as they served the needs of public. We can argue that living
‘in spite of’ the state touched all and influenced the ways people rationalised their illegal
actions as serving a survival purpose. The dramatic increase in property crimes in the years
preceding the collapse of Soviet Union has been partially attributed to the widespread use
of the black market and a significant deterioration of ideology (Solomon and Foglesong,
2000). Post 1991, in the first few years of independence, theft and economic crimes were
on the increase and almost doubled compared with the 1970s. Solomon and Foglesong
(2000) argue that a combination of a weak state and an emerging class of risk-driven entre-
preneurs (later imitated by the younger generation) produced a fertile ground for crimi-
nal activities. Whilst the data analysed in this paper concerns the outcomes of corruption,
theft, and violence, the literature selected and reviewed focuses on corruption as it is a
particularly under-researched, concealed crime type, and particularly relevant in the cho-
sen study context of Ukraine. Further, official statistics reveal that corruption is reported
the least of all crime types (General Prosecutors Office, 2021), although this contrasts to
self-reports collected in the current study, in which corruption was the most reported crime
type as compared to theft and violence. Understanding corruption is of paramount impor-
tance because it oft co-occurs with other crime types, and as outlined in the earlier sections
of this paper, individual morality is theorised to be a key driver for all crime types.
The Ukrainian context and historical relevance of corruption in society is particularly
unique, and as De Waal (De Waal, 2016, p.1) states, “the problem is not that a well-func-
tioning state has been corrupted by certain illegal practices; rather, those corrupt practices
have constituted the rules by which the state has been run”. In 2014, 36% of respondents
believed that the level of corruption in the city of Kharkiv had increased, and one in five
respondents believed corruption to be a long-standing tradition that could be justified (Ser-
diuk etal., 2023). Further to this, 45% of respondents believed that in exceptional circum-
stances corruption could be justified (Serdiuk, 2016). Kiev International Institute of Sociol-
ogy data shows that 85.5% of Ukrainian adults consider corruption to be a significant issue
for the country (KIIS, 2015). Further, up to 90% of Ukrainian and Russian managers report
that it is commonplace for bribes to be paid to government officials (Johnson etal., 1999).
Despite the anti-corruption slogans that dominated the political agenda in 2014, personal
encounters with corruption have increased (in comparison to 2013) (Ibid). Persson, Roth-
stein and Teorell (Persson etal., 2013a, 2013b, p.455) state that ‘what is considered a bribe
in the Western context is simply considered a gift in countries with widespread corruption’.
In essence, the illegal activities of the individual are not necessarily perceived to be mor-
ally wrong despite being against the law. There is an indisputable ease of accessibility to
engage in corruption. Corruption is becoming more democratic and a tool for many to use
as required. What is defined as illegal is routinely perceived as moral, and furthermore can
often be actioned through unofficial means (Wedel etal., 2005). In Independent Ukraine,
as well as in Soviet times, the rule makers were often not successful in establishing certain
rules, and often were the first to disrespect their own rules (for example, by engaging in
illegal enterprising in Soviet times or in bribery corruption while legislating against it).
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
The practice of considering ‘the state’ on one side and ‘the people’ on another side has
not only shaped the soviet era politicians but the Ukrainian public as well. This modelling
behaviour, from public figures and business owners to the public, sent the message that it
was morally permissible to commit acts of crime against the law, in line with the princi-
ples of social learning theory (Akers & Jennings, 2015). The importance of social learning
theory in explaining crime in Ukraine as well as other countries is compelling (Tittle etal.,
2012). When asked why corruption is such a difficult problem to tackle, members of the
public routinely point towards an absence of example setting by senior politicians (Grøde-
land, 2010). In summary, acts that are deemed to be moral and appropriate behaviours may
not align with the law because of the low levels of trust for the state. This corresponds
with the explanations of crime provided by SAT, which state that crime occurs primarily
because of law-breaking morality, i.e., a view that breaking the law is not wrong.
Method
Procedure
The data were collected as part of the annual monitoring survey "Safety and Trust", which
has been conducted on a regular basis since 2013 by Kharkiv National University of Inter-
nal Affairs (KhNUIA) together with the Sociological Association of Ukraine and the
Main Directorate of the National Police in Kharkiv Region within the framework of the
Program for Public Safety and Order and Combatting Crime (Serdiuk etal., 2023). The
study was funded by the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs (50%) and the
Kharkiv Regional Administration (50%). All participants gave informed consent to par-
ticipate, and the study was approved by the Anglia Ruskin University Ethics Committee.
The survey was administered using convenience sampling with an online anonymous (no
personal identifiers) questionnaire completed during March-May 2021. The questionnaire
itself resided on a LimeSurvey platform installed on a KhNUIA secure server. The link was
distributed by placing advertisements and banners on the official websites of and physical
buildings of local authorities, district administrations, higher educational institutions, and
schools in Kharkiv. In parallel we provided information about the study in the local media.
The limitations of the use of convenience sampling, primarily that those who volunteer
their time may not be representative of the population and introduce bias, are acknowl-
edged. With the use of multiple modes to circulate the advertisement it was hoped that
a diverse participant pool would be reached. Confidentiality and anonymity of data was
reiterated to participants, and although they did not include any personal identifying infor-
mation in the survey, and respondents had the option to opt-out of the crime questions, we
expect that some respondents may not have been entirely truthful in reporting their com-
mitted crimes. Nonetheless, self-reported prevalence rates do not appear to be uncharacter-
istically low when compared to official statistics (General Prosecutors Office, 2021).
Measures
The web-based questionnaire contains 167 individual items aggregated within 9 basic
groups of indicators, with groups 7 and 8 used in the current study (Serdiuk etal., 2023): 1)
Safety, 2) Trust, 3) Performance, 4) Interaction, 5) Victimology, 6) Legitimacy, 7) Moral-
ity, and 8) Crime. Participants answered a demographics questionnaire measuring gender,
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The Role ofMorality inCorruption, Theft, andViolence ina…
age, educational level, financial situation, and type of settlement. The control variables
used in this study were collected as follows: Gender (Male/Female), Age (16-29, 30-39,
40-49, 50+), and Level of Education (School/BA/MA/PhD).
Group 7 of the survey constituted shortened versions of the Moral rules, Shame, and
Guilt, and Empathy scales (see Appendix Table6, 7, 8, 9), the first three of which were
developed within the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study
(PADS+) by Wikström (See Wikström etal., 2012). Morality was assessed with an adapted
version of the Moral rules scale (previously tested for validity and reliability), with fifteen
moral rules items, for example, ‘How right or wrong do you think it is to bribe officials for
personal gain?’. The response options were coded from 1 to 4 (1 = not wrong at all, 2 =
a little wrong, 3 = wrong, 4 = very wrong), ranging from weak morality to strong moral-
ity. The total score ranges from 15 (low morality) to 60 (high morality). The Shame scale
includes 2 single items ‘If you were caught damaging others property and someone you
know found out about it, would you feel ashamed?’ and ‘If you were caught breaking into
a car and someone you know found out about it, would you feel ashamed?’. The response
options were coded from 1 to 3 (1 = no, not at all, 2 = yes, a little, 3 = yes, very much).
The total score ranges from 2 (low shame) to 6 (high shame). The Guilt scale includes 2
single items ‘Would you feel guilty if you cheated on a test?’ and ‘Would you feel guilty
if you teased a friend/colleague so he or she started to cry?’. The response options were
coded from 1 to 3 (1 = no, not at all, 2 = yes, a little, 3 = yes, very much). The total
score ranges from 2 (low guilt) to 6 (high guilt). Four empathy items were selected from
the empathy scale developed by Trivedi-Bateman (Trivedi-Bateman, 2015): ‘Other peo-
ples problems are theirs, not mine’, ‘It is easy for me to understand others viewpoints’
(reverse coded), ‘When I see someone badly treated in a film I often feel upset’ (reverse
coded), and ‘I find it easy to feel others pain when they are hurt’ (reverse coded). The
response options were coded from 1 to 4 (1 = strongly agree, 2 = mostly agree, 3 = mostly
disagree, 4 = strongly disagree). The total score ranges from 4 (low empathy) to 16 (high
empathy). The Self-reported crime scale (marked as non-obligatory) includes 3 items: ‘In
the past 12 months, have you been involved in corruption?’, ‘In the past 12 months, have
you stolen something?’, and ‘In the past 12 months, have you committed acts of violence?’
(see Appendix Table10). The response options were ‘No’, ‘Yes, once’, ‘Yes, several times’
and ‘Yes, regularly’. In the Ukrainian criminal code (set of laws), these formulations cor-
respond to the following articles by law: a) Corruption - accepting a bribe (art. 368) and
offering a bribe (art. 369); b) Theft (art. 185); c) Violence – Intentional: light (art. 121),
medium (art. 122), severe (art. 125), bodily harm, beatings (art. 126), and domestic vio-
lence (art. 126-1).
Participants
A total of 27,820 surveys were collected from the residents of Kharkiv region (East-
ern Ukraine), of which 11,671 were fully completed (completion rate = 42%). Whilst
the reasons for 58% of the surveys not being completed will remain unknown, possible
reasons may include technical issues and being deterred by the nature of the questions
or the length of the survey, some of which may be associated with socio-economic fac-
tors. Most participants were female (91%). One explanation for the over-representation
of females in our sample is the participant enrolment method, for example, recruitment at
school parent meetings which are mostly attended by women. Antonaccio etal. (2011) also
had an over-representation of females in their Ukraine sample. Correction of the sample
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
representativeness was carried out using weight coefficients by gender in accordance with
the structure of the existing population of Kharkiv region (46% male, 53% female; United
Nations, 2019). Additionally, we used a gender balanced subsample (2,200 participants,
50% female) to confirm our findings without using weights.
The sample composition is outlined in Table1. 13% of participants ranged from 16 to
29 years, 50% ranged from 30 to 39 years; 29% ranged from 40 to 49 years; and 8% were
50 years or older. 55% of participants have a BA/MA/PhD qualification. 45% reported their
income to be below average, 38% average and 17% above the average. 71% of participants
live in urban areas. A limitation of this study is that the study sample is not typical of the
national population for these indicators, and the findings from this study are intended to
apply to a sample from Kharkiv region. Further work is required to capture a nationally
representative sample.
In our sample data, we have 569 self-reports of corruption, 306 self-reports of theft, and
491 self-reports of violence. Officially registered cases of crime for the Kharkov region in
2021 are 185 cases of corruption, 8750 cases of theft and 1721 cases of violence (General
Prosecutors Office, 2021). According to crime statistics, the largest proportion of crime
both in Ukraine and in the Kharkiv region is occupied by property crimes (including theft),
and the smallest by corruption. In our sample, on the contrary, respondents reported most
about participation in corruption and least about participation in theft. This can be attrib-
uted both to the limitations of the survey method, including the self-report method we
used, and to limitations associated with the peculiarity of the official system of registration
and investigation of crimes (for example, the high latency of corruption).
Results
The data analytic plan is as follows. Upon presenting the bivariate correlations between the
continuous independent variables, we examine differences by gender. Next, we carry out
t-tests to examine whether there are statistically significant differences in average moral
rules, shame, guilt, and empathy scores for those who have carried out corruption, stealing,
and violent activities and those who have not, followed by multivariable analyses (binary
logistic regression) to explore the extent to which the factors of interest are statistically
significantly associated with corruption, stealing, and violence, controlling for gender, age,
and level of education. With regards to the causal order of variables, the use of past crime
as the outcome is not seen as problematic. This approach has been taken in a multitude
of other studies using morality as predictors of crime and testing SAT (see Hardie, 2017;
Wikström etal., 2018). In these studies, morality is consistently found to be stable over
time using different samples (and is especially expected to be stable in adult samples) and
results do not change when variables are lagged vs not lagged.
The Association betweenMoral Rules, Shame, Guilt, Empathy, andGender
Table2. lists the descriptives and correlations among the (continuous) study variables. We
observe normal distributions for empathy, and some left skew for moral rules, shame, and
guilt. Normally distributed outcomes are summarised using means and standard deviations
and skewed variables are summarised with medians and inter-quartile ranges. There are
statistically significant positive correlations between shame, guilt, empathy, and morality,
i.e., the stronger the shame, guilt, and empathy, the stronger the moral rules. This includes
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Table 1 Sample composition by age, highest educational level, financial situation, and location type
Age 16-29 30-39 40-49 50+
13% 50% 29% 8%
Highest Educational level School qualifications College qualifications BA qualifications MA qualifications PhD qualifications
17% 28% 9% 44% 2%
Financial situation “There is not enough
money even for the nec-
essary products”
“spend all the money on
food and the purchase of
the necessary inexpen-
sive things”
“There is mostly enough
money, but it is difficult
to buy durable goods”
“live well, but are not
yet able to make some
purchases (apartment,
car, etc.)”
“can afford almost every-
thin”
7% 38% 38% 15% 2%
Location type Urban Rural
71% 29%
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
an association between empathy and morality (.25, p<0.01), an association between shame
and morality (.25, p<0.01), and an association between guilt and morality (.28, p<0.01).
This aligns with the theoretical perspective adopted in this study which hypothesises that
empathy is associated with shame and guilt, and higher shame and guilt is associated with
higher moral rules.
Table 3. shows the association between moral rules, shame, guilt, and empathy by
gender. In line with other literature, females demonstrate statistically significantly higher
moral rules, shame, guilt, and empathy compared to males (p<0.001). It should be noted
that whilst a statistically significant difference was found, the median difference between
males and females is negligible.
The Association betweenMorality, Shame, Guilt, Empathy andCorruption, Theft,
andViolence
The moral rules variable is an aggregated sum variable comprised of 15 scale items and
the offending indicators are “dummy variables” recoded for values: “1” – “yes”, offence
committed “0” – “no”, offence not committed. The 241 participants who reported having
committed corruption (Median moral rules = 49, IQR =10) compared to the 8,941 partici-
pants who reported that they had not committed corruption (Median moral rules = 52, IQR
=9) demonstrated statistically significantly lower morality (p<0.001, see Table4). Looking
at stealing offending activities, the 77 participants who reported stealing (Median moral
rules = 45, IQR =16.5) compared to the 9,391 participants who reported that they had
Table 2 Descriptives, Ranges, and Intercorrelations Among Study Variables (N = 11,671)
**p<0.01
Median/Mean* IQR/SD* Range 1 2 3 4
1. Moral rules 51 9 15-60 --
2. Shame 6 0 2-6 .25**
(CI .23-.27) --
3. Guilt 5 1 2-6 .28**
(CI .26-.30) .41
**
(CI .39-.42)
--
4.Empathy* 11.6 2.0 4-16 .25**
(CI .23-.26) .17**
(CI .16-.19) .26**
(CI .24-.27) --
Table 3 Comparison (t-test) of Moral rules, Shame, Guilt and Empathy by Gender (weighted) among
females (N=10575) and males (N=1096)
Female Male p
Median/Mean* IQR/SD* Median/Mean* IQR/SD*
Moral rules (scored from 15 to 60) 51 8 50 8 <0.001
Shame (scored from 2 to 6) 6 0 6 0 <0.001
Guilt (scored from 2 to 6) 5 1 5 2 <0.001
Empathy* (scored from 4 to 16) 11.70 1.96 10.96 2.0 <0.001
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The Role ofMorality inCorruption, Theft, andViolence ina…
not committed stealing (Median moral rules = 52, IQR =8) demonstrated statistically sig-
nificantly lower morality (p<0.001). Turning to violent offending, the 171 participants who
reported committing violence (Median moral rules = 47, IQR =9) compared to the 9,243
participants who reported that they had not committed violence (Median moral rules = 52,
IQR =8) also demonstrated statistically significantly lower morality (p<0.001).
For shame, guilt, and empathy, those who report having committed corruption, theft,
and violence report statistically significantly lower scores than the rest of the sample
(p<0.001, see Table4.). Despite these statistically significant results in the expected direc-
tion, it should be noted that the effect sizes (which measure how large the difference is
between the means for the two samples) are low (see Cohen’s d in Table4), highlighting
the importance of other factors not explored in this study, such as self-control, and setting-
level factors. More research is needed in this field to provide solid practical applications of
this work.
Binary logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of moral rules, shame,
guilt, and empathy on the odds of committing corruption, on the odds of committing theft,
and on the odds of committing violence (see Table5), controlling for weighted gender,
Table 4 Comparison of Moral rules, Shame, Guilt and Empathy (t-test) by Corruption, Theft, and Violence
** sig. 2-tailed at the level p<0.001
offence committed offence not committed Cohen’s d
Median moral rules IQR Median moral rules IQR
Corruption 49
(N=241) 10 52
(N=8,941) 9 0.69
Theft 45
(N=77) 16.5 52
(N=9,391) 8 1.37
Violence 47
(N=171) 9 52
(N=9,243) 8 0.85
Median shame IQR Median shame IQR
Corruption 6
(N=241) 1 6
(N=8,941) 0 1.07
Theft 5
(N=241) 2 6
(N=8,941) 0 2.36
Violence 6
(N=241) 1 6
(N=8,941) 0 1.25
Median guilt IQR Median guilt IQR
Corruption 5
(N=241 1 5
(N=8,941) 1 0.65
Theft 4
(N=241 2 5
(N=8,941) 1 1.10
Violence 4
(N=241) 1 5
(N=8,941) 1 0.81
Mean empathy SD Mean empathy SD
Corruption 11.32
(N=241) 1.89 11.77
(N=8,941) 1.95 0.23
Theft 10.69
(N=241) 2.14 11.76
(N=8,941) 1.94 0.55
Violence 11.09
(N=241) 2.05 11.77
(N=8,941) 1.94 0.35
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
age, and level of education. The model correctly classified 97.4% of cases. For the three
models of corruption, theft, and violence, for all predictors, except for empathy, the Odds
Ratio is less than 1 which indicates that as the predictor variable increases, the odds of
committing corruption decrease (p<.001), after adjusting for the other factors of gender,
age, and education. The variance inflation factors (VIFs) for all predictors variables are
below 1.3, indicating that there is no collinearity in the data. The receiver operating char-
acteristic (ROC) analysis identifies the percentage of data under the curve to indicate the
order in which the models better predict the crime outcome; theft (79%), followed by vio-
lence (75%), followed by corruption (70%). Influential observations were explored using
a variety of measures (such as DF Betas) and it was not deemed necessary to remove any
observations (some influential observations were detected, but they were associated with
very small changes in the results).
The logistic regression model predicting corruption (chi-square) was statistically sig-
nificant, p = <0.001. The model correctly classified 97.4% of cases, after adjusting for
the other factors for gender, age, and education. The odds of committing corruption for
individuals that report higher moral rules scores are 7% lower (OR=0.93, 95%CI [0.91,
0.95]). For shame, a higher score is associated with a one-third reduction (36%) in the
odds of committing corruption (OR=0.64, 95%CI [0.55, 0.74]). For guilt, a higher score is
associated with a quarter reduction (24%) in the odds of committing corruption (OR=0.76,
95%CI [0.65, 0.88]). However, in this model empathy is not statistically significantly asso-
ciated with self-reported corruption (p=.49, OR= 1.03, CI .95-1.10).
The logistic regression model predicting theft (chi-square) was statistically significant,
p = <0.001). The model correctly classified 99.2% of cases, after adjusting for the other
factors for gender, age, and education. The model predicts that with every unit increase
in moral rules (p<.001), shame (p<.001), and guilt (p=.05, borderline significance and
inconclusive), the odds of committing theft will decrease. The odds of committing theft for
individuals that report higher moral rules scores are 10% lower (OR=0.90, 95%CI [0.87,
Table 5 Logistic regression
predicting Self-reported
Corruption, Theft, and
Violence by Moral rules, Shame,
Guilt and Empathy
N = 11671. 95% CI confidence interval for Exp (B). Adjusted for gen-
der, age, and education
Corruption p95% CI
Odd’s ratio LL UL
Moral rules <0.001 0.93 0.91 0.95
Shame <0.001 0.64 0.55 0.74
Guilt <0.001 0.76 0.65 0.88
Empathy 0.488 1.03 0.95 1.10
Theft
Moral rules <0.001 0.90 0.87 0.93
Shame <0.001 0.53 0.43 0.67
Guilt 0.050 0.77 0.59 1.00
Empathy 0.630 0.97 0.86 1.10
Violence
Moral rules <0.001 0.93 0.90 0.95
Shame <0.001 0.70 0.58 0.83
Guilt <0.001 0.68 0.57 0.82
Empathy 0.776 1.01 0.93 1.10
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The Role ofMorality inCorruption, Theft, andViolence ina…
0.93]). For shame, a higher score is associated with a half reduction (47%) in the odds of
committing theft (OR=0.53, 95%CI [0.43, 0.67]). For guilt, a higher score is associated
with a quarter reduction (23%) in the odds of committing theft (OR=0.77, 95%CI [0.59,
1.00]). As with corruption, in this model empathy is not statistically significantly associ-
ated with self-reported theft (p=.63, OR= 0.97, CI .86-1.10).
The logistic regression model predicting violence (chi-square) was statistically signifi-
cant, p = <0.001. The model correctly classified 98.2% of cases. (p<.001), after adjusting
for the other factors for gender, age, and education. The odds of committing violence for
individuals that report higher moral rules scores are 7% lower (OR=0.93, 95%CI [0.90,
0.95]). For shame, a higher score is associated with a one-third reduction (30%) in the
odds of committing violence (OR=0.70, 95%CI [0.58, 0.83]). For guilt, a higher score is
associated with a one-third reduction (32%) in the odds of committing violence (OR=0.68,
95%CI [0.57, 0.82]). As with corruption and theft, in this model empathy is not statistically
significantly associated with self-reported violence (p=.78, OR= 1.01, CI .93-1.10).
Discussion
In conclusion, for the first time in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, we have employed three
groups of predictors of criminality: moral values (moral rules), anticipated emotional
response (shame and guilt), and emotional competence (empathy). Results indicate that
higher scores in moral rules, shame, and guilt (but not empathy) can be used to predict
the likelihood of crime. The results of our study are in line with the study hypotheses; the
stronger the moral rules, shame, and guilt are, the less likely the person is to engage in
corruption, theft, and violence. Higher moral rules, shame and guilt are associated with
a decreased probability of involvement in crime. SAT has little been tested in Eastern
Europe, and this study provides an application of the theory suppositions in a less studied
geographical location (Kharkiv), with rarely incorporated moral emotions, and for the first
time with a large sample. Except for the few studies reviewed in this paper, it is unusual to
find evidence of the application of SAT in non-Western contexts. We contribute to a grow-
ing area of scholarship that is interested in morality and criminal behaviour in areas of
conflict, see for example Timmer, Johnson, etal. (2022). In line with current literature, in
the study sample we find females score higher on moral rules, shame, guilt, and empathy.
It is suggested that this is in part a result of different primary socialisation by gender, as
has been evidenced repeatedly in the psychological literature (O’Neill, 2020). However,
one unexpected finding is that whilst emotional competence (empathy) is statistically sig-
nificantly different between crime and no crime participants, logistic regression analyses
reveal that empathy is not associated with involvement in crime. Indeed, in the SAT model
of crime incorporated in this study, it is proposed that empathy plays a more distal role in
its relationship to crime (see path analysis in Trivedi-Bateman, 2015) in comparison to the
more proximal roles of moral rules, shame, and guilt.
However, as with all research studies, this work is not without limitations. The use of con-
venience sampling may have biased the sample composition, and data was only collected in
the region of Kharkiv. The sample is predominantly female and is not representative of the
population in Ukraine, although sensitivity analyses using gender-weighted samples reveal
the same results. Future research should use an alternative sampling method to endeavour
to capture a more representative sample, as has been achieved in other studies in Ukraine
(Antonaccio etal., 2011). Further studies are required in this under-researched topic area and
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
geographical area to investigate this relationship further. For example, whilst the analysis
employed in this paper explores the individual contributions of empathy, shame, and guilt to
crime, future research can analyse guilt and shame as mediators of the empathy-crime rela-
tionship (as demonstrated in the path analysis in Trivedi-Bateman, 2015). In future studies,
ability to exercise self-control measures could be collected to complement the morality data
in line with explanations of crime provided by SAT (as carried out by Antonaccio & Tittle,
2008). In future research, it is pertinent to capture the characteristics of the environments in
which offences take place. For example, Antonaccio etal. (2017) demonstrate, in a Ukrainian
sample, that neighbourhood moral rules directly influence criminal involvement.
This evidence supports the need for future crime prevention measures to focus on
strengthening morality to reduce corruption, theft, and violence, and according to SAT,
this is likely to apply to other crime types (Wikström, 2019). Where morality is under-
developed or insufficient, morality programmes can bridge the gap (see Trivedi-Bateman
& Gadd, 2024). Both universal and offender-targeted morality strengthening campaigns
are recommended. The views of the Ukrainian public that certain acts against the law do
not necessarily break moral barriers has been referred to as legal cynicism (Zimmerman
etal., 2015). It follows that Ukrainian parents may be less likely to instil moral values in
their children because their own disillusionment permeates their parenting style and mod-
elling of behaviours. Despite the evidence linking morality to crime, research initiatives
that attempt to strengthen morality by way of intervention programmes, through training
and strategies for moral skills development, are scarce. Rotberg (2017) argues that to eradi-
cate corruption, amongst other steps, country citizens should be educated about the ills of
(political) corruption. Such goals can be achieved through moral education programmes.
Whilst it is recognised that it may be particularly challenging to change long-standing
habitual patterns of behaviour in Ukraine, targeting youth may, over time, create a societal
shift in law-relevant morality, referred to elsewhere as national consciousness (Grødeland,
2010, p.254). Such educational initiatives have shown some success elsewhere (De Waal,
2016), such as The Compass Project (TCP) morality intervention programme (Trivedi-
Bateman & Gadd, 2024). The Ukrainian public report that educational programs that target
new generations would be highly popular (Grødeland, 2010).
Anti-corruptions laws have been discussed by experts for some time. Our work extends
the approaches offered by Mungiu-Pippidi and Dadašov (2017) and Rothstein (2018) that
identify institutional reform to be most effective in reducing corruption. We believe that it
is the collective of individuals that are affiliated with a particular institution that are respon-
sible for creating institutional conditions for corruption. Our work focuses on the decision-
making mechanisms for engaging in crime, that complements explanations that focus on
institutional culture and reform, as ultimately the way that individuals feel and think cannot
be ignored when attempting to determine whether and why acts of crime take place. We can
draw parallels between Rothstein’s suggested method to convince the majority of corrupt
agents that most other agents are willing to change and the moral education programmes
suggested in this paper. Indeed research case studies indicate that we have achieved a lot by
changing the institutional context, but unless we target people reform, the people remain the
same (perhaps leading to displacement of corruption as opposed to authentic corruption pre-
vention). Undoubtedly, better institutional design and enforcement of crime, characterised
under SAT as a feature of the moral context (Wikström etal., 2012), complemented with
moral education that focuses on the individual, will be a winning combination. Crucially,
any crime reduction work should be carried out in combination with a better understanding
of how individual morality can align with moral norms of society, communities, and the
state, paying particular attention to unique contexts such as Ukraine.
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Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Table 6 Moral rules items
1. Steal paper from work for use at home [How right or wrong do you think it is to…]
2. Pretend to be too unwell to attend work [How right or wrong do you think it is to…]
3. Cross the road when there is a red light or in the wrong place [How right or wrong do you think it is
to…]
4. Hit another person who makes a rude comment [How right or wrong do you think it is to…]
5. Argue with or talk back to others using rude or aggressive language Using enormous lexicon [How
right or wrong do you think it is to…]
6. Tease a friend/work colleague because of his appearance, what he look like [How right or wrong do
you think it is to…]
7. Smash a street light, Paint graffiti on a house wall (damaging property) [How right or wrong do you
think it is to…]
8. Buy alcohol or cigarettes in unlicensed premises [How right or wrong do you think it is to…]
9. Steal an item from a shop [How right or wrong do you think it is to…]
10. To bribe officials for personal gain [How right or wrong do you think it is to…]
11. To use known associates (without bribery) for personal gain [How right or wrong do you think it is
to…]
12. Take any illegal drugs [How right or wrong do you think it is to…]
13. Break into or try to break into a building to steal something [How right or wrong do you think it is
to…]
14. Use weapon or force to get money or things from another person [How right or wrong do you think it
is to…]
15. To kill other people by blowing yourself up as part of a political or religious protest [How right or
wrong do you think it is to…]
Table 7 Shame items
1. If you were caught shoplifting and someone you know found out about it, would you feel ashamed?
2. If you were caught damaging others property and someone you know found out about it, would you
feel ashamed?
Table 8 Guilt items
1. Would you feel guilty if you cheated on a test?
2. Would you feel guilty if you teased a friend/colleague so he or she started to cry?
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N.Trivedi-Bateman et al.
Appendix D
Appendix E
Author Contribution All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Oversight of material
preparation and data collection was performed by Serdiuk. The first draft of the manuscript was written
by Trivedi-Bateman, and Markovska and Serdiuk commented on previous versions of the manuscript. The
analysis was carried out by Trivedi-Bateman and Serdiuk. Bogdanov was responsible for data collection and
providing study resources. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Declarations
All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any
financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
All procedures were approved by the Anglia Ruskin University Ethics Committee. All study participants gave
informed consent to participate.
The study was funded by the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs (50%) and the Kharkiv Regional
Administration (50%) within the framework of the comprehensive regional Program for Public Safety and
Order and Combating Crime in the Kharkiv Region for 2020-2022.
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding
author on reasonable request.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License,
which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Com-
mons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article
are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the
material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly
from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Table 9 Empathy items
1. Other people’s problems are theirs, not mine [To what extent doyou agree with following statements]
2. It is easy for me to understand others viewpoints [Towhat extent doyou agree with following statements]
3. When I see someone badly treated in a film I often feel upset [To what extent doyou agree with follow-
ing statements]
4. I find it easy to feel others pain when they are hurt [To what extent doyou agree with following statements]
Table 10 Crime items
1. You have been involved in corruption (and not reported this to the police) [In the last 12 months has the
following happened?] THIS IS NOT OBLIGATORY QUESTION
2. You steal or thieve something [In the last 12 months has the following happened?] THIS IS NOT
OBLIGATORY QUESTION
3. You committed acts of violence (hit, kick or cut anyone intentionally while trying to injure him/her) [In
the last 12 months has the following happened?] THIS IS NOT OBLIGATORY QUESTION
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