Adolescents vary in their degree of progress toward developing a mature identity.
Teenagers who remain in identity foreclosure or identity confusion tend to have adjustment difficulties. Piaget's theory of moral development served as the inspiration for Kohlberg's expanded cognitive-developmental perspective. According to Kohlberg, from late childhood into adulthood, morality changes from concrete, externally controlled reasoning to more abstract, principled justifications for moral choices. A broad range of experiences, including personality, family, school, peer, and cultural factors, fosters moral development. As individuals advance through Kohlberg's stages, moral reasoning becomes better related to behavior.