The Impact of Perceived Social Support and Family Life Changes on Critical Thinking with the Mediating Role of Moral Foundations

Abstract

Background and Objective: Objectives: Critical thinking, as an art of analyzing and evaluating thought, leads to the improvement and enhancement of individual thinking through assessment. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of perceived social support and life changes on critical thinking with the mediating role of moral foundations.
 
Methods and Materials: In a predictive correlational design, 404 young individuals (both male and female) about to get married were selected through convenience sampling and using Klein's sample size formula (formula 1 to 20). The research instruments included standard questionnaires of Perceived Social Support - Family Scale (PSS-FA), Young Adults Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes (YA-FILES), Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI), and Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ-30). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS19 and Smart-PLS software.
 
Findings: Results indicated that 19.4% of the variations in critical thinking were explained by the variables of social support and life changes (P < 0.001). Additionally, results related to the mediating role of moral foundations showed that social support and life changes, through moral foundations, have no indirect effect on critical thinking, with values of 0.005 (0.661) and -0.008 (0.676) respectively (P > 0.05).
 
Conclusion: Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that perceived social support and family life changes affect moral foundations and critical thinking. Therefore, paying attention to these mechanisms can be useful in developing effective preventive and therapeutic interventions for adolescents about to get married.