The consistency of stage structure in Rest's Defining Issues Test was examined in different samples. The responses of 124 Grade 10, 37 Grade 12, and 45 adult subjects were analysed. The Factor 1 loadings of the intermediate stages were the highest in only two of the six sample groups. In addition, the order of the Factor 2 loadings was also consistent in only two groups. Although the findings were not favorable in some subsamples, the over-all results which included a good factor pattern in the largest sample were regarded as providing some moderate support to the claim of an ordered sequence of Kohlberg's stages measured by the Defining Issues Test.
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