Low Self-control Research Articles

Problematic smartphone use: The role of reward processing, depressive symptoms and self-control

The widespread adoption of smartphones has been associated with the emergence of problematic smartphone use. Problematic smartphone use is consistently associated with increased levels of depression and lower self-control, and pathological technology use more generally may be associated with reduced activity in the reward system, an effect that is also observed in depression and with poor self-control. The current study sought to examine the association between problematic smartphone use and event-related potentials (ERPs) related to reward processing, and to determine whether reward processing, depressive symptoms and self-control have shared or unique influences on problematic smartphone use. The sample was drawn from a university student population (N = 94, age M = 19.34, SD = 1.23 years, 67 female, 25 male, 1 gender non-conforming, 1 unidentified). Participants performed a gambling task while EEG was recorded and completed measures of smartphone pathology, depressive symptoms and self-control. The ERP data revealed that increasing problematic smartphone use was associated with reduced ERP amplitude for gains and losses when individuals were the agent of choice, but not when the computer chose. This may reflect a selective association between problematic smartphone use and neural prediction errors. Regression analyses revealed that reward processing, depressive symptoms and self-control were predictors of problematic smartphone use, possibly revealing multiple pathways to problematic smartphone use.

Feeling proud today may lead people to coast tomorrow: Daily intraindividual associations between emotion and effort in academic goal striving.

Research examining the associations between emotions and goal-directed behaviors has mainly relied on between-subjects designs even though much of the advice based on these findings focus on within-individual changes. The purpose of this study was to better understand intraindividual daily associations between emotions and effort in the context of college students' academic goal striving. In Study 1 (2,531 daily reports from 194 college students at a competitive university), daily positive emotions related to goal pursuit were associated with reduced time spent on the goal the next day (i.e., coasting). In contrast, daily negative emotions were associated with increased time spent on the goal the next day (i.e., pushing), particularly for students with high self-control. In Study 2 (338 daily reports from 80 college students in diverse universities), feeling pride was linked to coasting on the next day. Feeling shame was unrelated to changes in next-day effort among students with high self-control, but predicted decreased next-day effort among students with low self-control. Taken together, the findings suggest that goal pursuers may be less likely to expend effort after the day they feel certain positive emotions (e.g., pride) about their goal progress. Furthermore, the association between negative emotions and pushing may be heterogeneous depending on individual characteristics such as self-control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

STUDI KORELATIF: KONTROL DIRI REMAJA DENGAN KECANDUAN MENGGUNAKAN INTERNET

Correlative Study: Self-Control of Teenagers with Addictions to Use the Internet Background : Currently internet users in the world and in Indonesia are increasing. Many teenagers are addicted to using the internet. Self control is thought to influence a person to become addicted or not to use the internet. Objective : to determine the relationship between self-control and the level of internet addiction in adolescents. Methods : The type of research was descriptive correlative using cross-sectional design. Total sampling technique was used in this study with a total of 88 teenagers in SMK Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta. The instrument used was a questionnaire. Data analysis using the Kendall test. Results : The majority of respondents had very low self control, as many as 44 respondents (50.0%). The majority of respondents were addicted to using the internet in the high category of 42 respondents (47.7%). Adolescents who have very low self-control will tend to experience addiction to use the internet in the high category of 27 respondents (30.7%). Kendall Tau correlation test results, the results obtained p value = 0.001 (p value <0.05), and the value of r = -435. Conclusion : there is a relationship between self-control and the level of internet addiction in adolescents.

Effectiveness of Training Child-Oriented Mindfulness Skills on the Parent-Child Interaction and Social Behaviors of the Children with Low Self-Control

Introduction and purpose: Behavioral problems such as low self-control cause communicational and psychological damages in the children. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of child-oriented mindfulness skills on the parent-child interaction and the children’s social behaviors with low self-control. Methodology: The present study was experimental with pretest, posttest and control group design. The statistical population of the present study included the children with low self-control in the city of Isfahan in academic year 2020-21. 40 children were selected through multi-stage clustered random sampling method and they were randomly accommodated into experimental and control groups (each group of 20 children). The experimental group received ten seventy-five-minute sessions of intervention regarding child-oriented mindfulness skills (Burdic, 2017) during two-and-a-half months. Three children from the experimental group and two from the control group were omitted from the study. The applied questionnaires in this study included Children's Self-control Questionnaire, Parent child relationship scale or PCRS by and social skills questionnaire. The data from the study were analyzed through ANCOVA method via SPSS23 software. Findings: The results showed that training child-oriented mindfulness skills have significant effect on the parent-child interaction (0.57) and social behaviors (0.50) of the children with low self-control (p<0.001). Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study it can be concluded that training child-oriented mindfulness skills can be employed as an efficient method to improve parent-child interaction and social behaviors of the children with low self-control through employing techniques such as mindful emotions and thoughts and being in the present time.

The association between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency in the context of Situational Action Theory: Crime propensity and criminogenic exposure as mediators in a sample of European youth?

The current study investigates the association between physical child maltreatment and juvenile delinquent behavior in the context of the Situational Action Theory (SAT) (Wikström, 2006, 2017, 2020). Self-control, morality and exposure to criminogenic settings are proposed as possible mechanisms explaining the association between physical child maltreatment and adolescent offending. The hypotheses are tested in a subsample of the third wave of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD3), a large international non-clinical study on delinquency and victimization among adolescents. The final sample consists of N = 24,956 adolescents aged 12–16 years from nine West European countries. While controlling for dependence due to nested data and several covariates, the models are tested for overall offending and separately for violent and property offending. Results confirm that physical child maltreatment is associated with the main concepts of SAT (lower self-control; lower morality; and more exposure to criminogenic environments), which in turn are associated with juvenile delinquency. The models show partial mediation for overall offending, property offending and violent offending. The findings provide support for the theoretical prowess of SAT and its main concepts: self-control, morality and exposure to criminogenic settings as mediators in the well-established physical child maltreatment/delinquency link. These findings are consistent with the ‘cycle of violence’ perspective and contribute to the theoretical clarification of the mechanisms involved in the child maltreatment/delinquency link. The findings fail to confirm a ‘crime-specific propensity’. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for prevention.

Systematic Literature Review on Importance of Limited Resource Model in Health-oriented Behaviours

This article aims to review research on the relationship between self-control and health-oriented behaviours (healthy eating, physical exercise, smoking and alcohol abstinence) using the strength or limited resource model. The present work also aims to discuss alternative explanations for why initial acts of self-control impair subsequent adherence to health-oriented behaviours. The authors adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines to conduct a systematic review. Database searches were performed to identify 25 articles, published in English from 2000 to 2020, that empirically tested the theory in the health domain. The available evidence supported the relationship between self-control and health-oriented behaviours, and the performance of health-oriented behaviours was found to reduce self-control resources. Mixed findings exist regarding the impact of a number of mediators and moderators in strengthening the relationship, and few studies have attempted to explain the mechanisms behind the controversial concept of ego depletion or the factors that can facilitate the performance of health behaviours under depletion conditions. Gaps in the reviewed studies were identified and the review highlighted the role of mediators and moderators. A decision-making framework is proposed (which can be tested in the future) to explain the role of dispositional self-control in health behaviours and how health behaviours can be facilitated, even in a state of low self-control.

An Experience-Sampling Study on Academic Stressors and Cyberloafing in College Students: The Moderating Role of Trait Self-Control.

Student cyberloafing is a relatively new educational phenomenon and is getting to be an outstanding issue that educators have to face. It is necessary to find out important factors that aggravate cyberloafing. Using an experience sampling method, this study examined the relationship between academic stressors and cyberloafing. Once a week for five consecutive weeks (T1–T5), 134 undergraduate students assessed the extent of academic stressors and cyberloafing of that week through an electronic questionnaire. Additionally, participants completed a trait self-control scale at Time 2. Results of two-level regression analysis showed that academic stressors were negatively associated with cyberloafing at the within-person level (i.e., week-to-week changes), but not at the between-person level. Furthermore, this relationship pattern was only observed in students with low trait self-control, while those with high trait self-control were less likely to cyberloaf regardless of academic stressors. These findings suggest that cyberloafing can fluctuate over periods, especially for individuals who lack self-control. Future research should consider cyberloafing from a dynamic perspective of individual-context interaction. Several practical implications are also discussed.

Enhanced Self-Control for the Prevention of Pornography of Student in Senior High School

The lack of students' self-control led to the emergence of pornography. The phenomenon of pornography is a general term that refers to sexually explicit material that may be softcore or hardcore and can also be referred to as things that attempt to stimulate and increase sex drive with text and images. Self-control is the ability to organize, guide, regulate, and direct forms of behavior that can lead to positive consequences. The purpose of this study was to describe students' self-control at SMA N 1 Merbau. This research uses descriptive analysis. The research sample consisted of 128 students who were taken using purposive sampling technique. The instrument used was "Self-control scale in preventing pornography" with a reliability value of (0.888). The results showed that: most of the students as many as (65.6%) of the students had "moderate" self-control in the prevention of pornography, then a small proportion of students (2.3%) of students had "low self-control". "In the prevention of pornography. Furthermore, as many as (5.5%) students had “very high” self-control in preventing pornography and as many as (26.6%) students had “high” self-control in preventing pornography. The results of the study generally showed that students' self-control was in the medium category with a percentage of 65.6% and it needed to be improved in order to prevent pornography. The results of this research can be used as a basis for counseling teachers in providing guidance and counseling services to prevent student pornographic behavior in schools.

The Relationship Self Control and Student Hedonism Behavior and Its Implications for Guidance and Counseling

This research is motivated by the phenomenon that there are adolescents who have low self-control and high hedonism. It can be seen that students lie to their parents to send money on the grounds of buying necessities on campus when in fact it is for fun and buying things that are not needed and it is difficult to control themselves to carry out a hedonistic lifestyle. Some even expect Bidikmisi scholarships to buy what they want instead of buying necessities for college or shopping for daily food. This study aims to (1) describe the control of students, (2) describe the hedonistic behavior of students, (3) examine the relationship between self-control and hedonistic behavior of students. This research is a type of quantitative research with a correlational descriptive method. The population in this study of 1906 students of the Faculty of Education, Padang State University, enrolled in 2018 with a sample of 295 people. The instrument used in collecting research data was a questionnaire with a choice of answers using a Likert scale model. The analysis used is a descriptive analysis of percentages and uses the Pearson Product Moment technique with the help of the SPSS For Windows 20.0 program. The results of the study revealed that (1) students' self-control was in a low category. (2) students' hedonistic behavior is in the moderate category, and (3) there is a significant negative relationship self-control and student hedonistic behavior. Based on the research findings, it is highly recommended that students increase self-control and carry out positive and productive activities. and avoiding hedonistic behavior.

Paranormal Activity: Self-control Theory and Belief in the Paranormal

ABSTRACT Recent survey data show that belief in the paranormal – including aliens, ghosts, telepathy, mind reading, and unlucky numbers – is widespread in the United States. Given the ubiquitous nature of paranormal beliefs in society, insight into why individuals believe in the paranormal is surprisingly limited. Although the few studies that do exist on this topic show that paranormal beliefs vary somewhat by race/ethnicity, gender, and social class, few studies have applied a rigorous test of theory to quantitatively understand why individuals believe in the paranormal. To address this key gap in research, we use an original dataset and apply the theory of self-control to the understanding of paranormal beliefs. Overall, the data demonstrates that the majority of respondents in our sample report belief in at least one paranormal phenomenon. Multivariate analyses show that individuals with lower levels of self-control report significantly greater belief in the paranormal than those with higher self-control, even after controlling for a range of variables. The characteristics of low self-control – a tendency to choose immediately gratifying courses of action while ignoring long-term consequences – may predispose people to endorse high levels of paranormal beliefs.

Decreased Dorsolateral-Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Functional Connectivity as a Biomarker of Low Self-Control That May Underlie Excessive Asset Trading and Other Money Problems Beyond Gambling Disorder

Clinical case studies suggest that money problems extend beyond gambling disorder to include excessive asset trading, compulsive shopping, overearning, and other suboptimal relationships with money that disrupt social and occupational functioning. These money problems may be mediated by impaired self-control. In a lab asset-trading study, Ogawa et al. (2014) failed to discern evidence from their functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data suggesting a neural signature of impaired self-control.

Low Self-Control: A Hidden Cause of Loneliness?

Loneliness has been associated with multiple negative outcomes. But what contributes to loneliness in the first place? Drawing from the literature on the importance of self-regulatory ability for successful social functioning, the present research explored the role of low self-control as a factor leading to loneliness. A set of four studies (and three additional studies in Supplementary Online Materials) using cross-sectional, experimental, daily diary, and experience sampling methods showed that lower self-control is associated with higher loneliness at both trait and state levels. Why does low self-control contribute to loneliness? Self-control failures that have negative implications for others lead to higher risks for being ostracized by others, which predicts increased feelings of loneliness over time. These results suggest that low self-control, which is often associated with negative intrapersonal outcomes, can have important interpersonal consequences by evoking ostracism, and consequently, loneliness.

Does Self-Control Moderate the Relationship between Social Influence and Savings Behavior among Small Business Owners?

This study examined whether self-control moderates the association linking social influence to saving behavior among small business owners. Using a standardized questionnaire, the study utilized a cross-sectional design to collect data from 402 micro and small business owners based in Kampala City. Process macro was used to analyze the interactive impact of self-control and social influence on saving behavior. The findings showed a significant interactive effect of self-control and social influence on saving behavior in Kampala, Uganda. Also, the results showed that the social impact on micro and small business owners' saving actions, at any degree of self-control, has a significant impact. These findings provide the literature and theory in behavioral finance with valuable insights. The study employed a cross-sectional design, rejecting a longitudinal analysis. Furthermore, we focused on Kampala City, leaving out other Ugandan cities. For those with low self-control, the government can implement deliberate government policies that impose savings in national social security funds and scale up the percentage of social security system savings for all individuals with strong self-control. The study points to the moderating effect of self-control on the link between social influence and saving behavior.

Understanding the effects of personal factors and situational factors for adolescent cyberbullying perpetration: The roles of internal states and parental mediation

IntroductionThe risk and protective factors of cyberbullying perpetration have been widely investigated. Less attention is paid to explore the effects of personal and situational factors, internal states, and external states in an integrated framework. This study aims to fill this void by developing an integrated framework to investigate the effects of power imbalance, the online disinhibition effect, internal states, and parental mediation on cyberbullying among Chinese adolescents. MethodsMultistage cluster random sampling was employed with 1103 adolescents (Mage = 15.3, 52.5% girls) who responded to the questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted. ResultsProficiency in technology use was directly related to cyberbullying. Social status among peers was found to be not only directly related to cyberbullying but also to operate through low self-control to predict cyberbullying. The online disinhibition effect did not directly correlate to cyberbullying but operated through moral disengagement and low self-control to predict cyberbullying. Notably, the results showed that physical power was neither directly correlated to cyberbullying nor aligned with moral disengagement or low self-control to predict cyberbullying. The multiple-group comparison analysis revealed that parental mediation moderated the effects of the online disinhibition effect on cyberbullying. However, this study found that parental mediation had no buffering effects when examining the relationships between physical power, social status, technology use, and cyberbullying. ConclusionsFindings suggest that cyberbullying prevention should consider the effects of both internal states and external factors. The study has provided theoretical and practical implications for understanding and tackling the widespread problem of cyberbullying among adolescents.

Differential Self-control Effects: Moral Filtering and the Subsidiary Relevance of Self-control

Criminological research has identified low self-control as major cause of criminal activity. However, astonishingly little is known about the individual and situational characteristics that affect the functioning of self-control in relation to crime. Recent theorizing, especially in the context of Situational Action Theory, suggests that the interplay of personal and contextual morality creates a morally preselected choice set whose composition determines the relevance of self-control. Guided by the ideas of differential self-control effects and a moral filtering of action alternatives, the present inquiry investigates whether the role of self-control in crime causation depends on the power of moral factors to exclude crime from the set of the considered behavioral options. We argue that the significance of an individual’s capacity for self-control increases with a growing weakness of the moral filter, reaching its maximum when both personal and setting morality encourage criminal activity. Analyses of self-report data on adolescent vandalism delinquency provide support for differential self-control effects. The general picture is that self-control ability matters most when the strength of the moral filter hits a low, which is when both an individual’s own moral rules and the moral norms of the setting facilitate offending. Further evidence suggests that crime contemplation is highest when individual morality and setting morality jointly encourage vandalism. There is also indication that trait self-control has a greater effect on vandalism delinquency at higher levels of crime contemplation. All these results accord with the notion of a subsidiary relevance of control.

Smartphone Addiction and Cybercrime Victimization in the Context of Lifestyles Routine Activities and Self-Control Theories: The User's Dual Vulnerability Model of Cybercrime Victimization.

(1) Background: This paper combines lifestyle-routine activities (L-RAT) and self-control (SCT) theories along with the literature on smartphone addiction in a joint model that addresses the multiple vulnerabilities that make the smartphone user a potential victim of cybercrime. This model, which we call the dual vulnerability model of cybercrime victimization, was subjected to empirical testing on a nationally representative sample of smartphone users. (2) Methods: Data from 2837 participants from a nationally representative sample of Spanish smartphone users were modeled using Mplus causal modeling software. (3) Results: The results of the study confirm the predictions of L-RAT and SCT in explaining cybercrime victimization (higher cybercrime victimization under conditions of high exposure, proximity, and suitability, relative absence of capable guardian, and low self-control). A significant effect of smartphone addiction on cybercrime victimization was also observed above and beyond L-RAT and SCT predictors. (4) Conclusions: The potential victim of cybercrime presents a double vulnerability, on the one hand, those identified by criminological theories such as L-RAT and SCT, and on the other hand, those derived from the deregulated-addicted use of the Internet access device (smartphone in our work).

The effects of illness perceptions on their medication attitudes among patients with schizophrenia

IntroductionAntipsychotics are the primary treatment for patients with schizophrenia. However, medication non- adherence rate of schizophrenia patients is high. Illness perceptions have been identified as critical indicators to influence patients’ medication adherence and treatment process. Knowledge remains unclear about the effects of illness perceptions on medication attitudes among patients with schizophrenia.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the effects of illness perceptions on medication attitudes among patients with schizophrenia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in a regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan with a convenience sample of 200 patients with schizophrenia recruited. Two self-reported scales, Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ - R) and Drug Attitude Index - 10 (DAI - 10), were used to assess patients’ illness perceptions and medication attitudes. Positive illness perceptions mean patients believe their illness acute, noncyclical, fewer consequences and emotional representation. And have more personal control, treatment control, and illness coherence.ResultsPatients’ illness perceptions were negative, with a little illness identity. Most of them believed that illness is more chronic and cyclical, causing negative consequences, lower self-control, and negative emotional expression. However, they thought treatment is moderately helpful for illness control, and the treatment effect is moderate. Multiple regression analysis showed that positive illness perceptions and negatively emotional representation could predict better medication attitudes.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that psychiatric mental health professionals could assess the illness perceptions of schizophrenia patients to influence their medication attitudes. Moreover, developing evidence-based interventions to improve their positive illness perceptions and decrease negative illness perceptions is needed.

약한 자기통제력과 부정적 양육방식이 청소년 비행에 미치는 상호작용효과

본 연구의 첫 번째 목적은 생물사회학적 관점이 주장하는 것처럼 약한 자기통제력과 부정적 양육방식이 상호작용(GxE)을 통해 청소년 비행에 영향을 미치는지 검증하는 것이었다. 이어서 상호작용이론이 제시하는 것처럼 약한 자기통제력과 부정적 양육방식의 직접효과와 상호작용효과가 연령에 따라 상이한지 검증하고자 했다. 이를 위해 ‘한국아동 · 청소년패널조사 2010(KCYPS 2010’의 초등학교 4학년 패널자료 가운데 3차년도(초등학교 6학년 시기), 5차년도(중학교 2학년 시기), 7차년도(고등학교 1학년 시기) 자료를 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 약한 자기통제력은 잘 변하지 않는 속성 변수의 특징을 가지고 있으며 비행에 미치는 정적 영향도 지속적으로 강한 수준을 유지했다. 부정적 양육방식은 약한 자기통제력에 비해 비행과의 상관성이 상대적으로 작고 그 영향도 초등학교 6학년 시기에 가장 큰 이후 점차 감소하였다. 약한 자기통제력과 부정적 양육방식의 상호작용효과는 초등학교 6학년 시기에만 유의했는데, 그 방향이 부적이었다. 이는 ‘약한 자기통제력이 비행에 미치는 정적 영향은 양육방식이 양호할수록 더 강하다’ 또는 ‘부정적 양육방식이 비행을 증가시키는 영향은 자기통제력이 강할수록 더 강하다’고 해석될 수 있었다. 정책적으로는 자기통제력이 양호한 자녀에 대해서 절대로 학대나 방임과 같은 부정적 양육방식을 삼가야 하며, 자기통제력이 약한 자녀에 대해서도 부정적 양육방식이 결코 그들의 비행을 억제하지 못하기 때문에 막연히 강압적인 훈육보다는 진솔한 소통을 시도하고 부모와 자녀가 함께 전문가 상담을 받는 등의 노력이 필요함을 시사했다. 향후 성별이나 비행의 심각성에 따른 분석, 자기통제력의 형성 요인에 대한 분석, 관련 변수들이 서로 영향을 주고받는 쌍방향 관계분석 등이 활성화되길 기대한다.

ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНО-ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ ЛИЧНОСТИ С ИНТЕРНЕТ-ЗАВИСИМОСТЬЮ

Abstract. The accelerating development of digital technologies and the greater availability of the Internet lead to the fact that some users are immersed in virtual space so densely that it results in Internet addiction. Most of the studies of Internet addiction have been conducted on schoolchildren and students. However, the question of studying this phenomenon on the generation Y sample remains open. Aim: the paper aims to identify the individual psychological traits of Internet addicted people. Materials and methods. The sample consisted of 289 people ages 18-38 (X = 23.7; SD = 5.26), of which 137 were female (47.4%) and 152 were male (52.6%). To identify Internet addiction, the Chen Internet Addiction Scale was used, as well as the 16-PF questionnaire (form C), which allows studying the individual psychological traits of a person. Descriptive statistics, the Kruskal–Wallis H, and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient were used for processing the data. Mathematical processing was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics v. 17.0. Results. As a result of the study, it was revealed that an internet addicted adult is characterized by emotional instability, low rule-consciousness, high anxiety, traditionalism, low self-control and emotional tension. As the person becomes more addicted to the Internet, there is an increase in the quantitative indicators of these personal traits. Conclusion. Individual psychological traits of an internet addicted person have been determined, which can be used for the development and implementation of the corrective program for this type of addictive behavior.

Control Deficits, Conditioning Factors, and Playing through Pain and Injury among Iranian Professional Soccer Players.

Playing through pain and injury is a common and accepted behavior in the athletic realm. The purpose of this research was to apply Tittle’s control balance theory to explain why athletes engage in playing through pain and injury despite its risky nature. We hypothesized that playing through pain and injury is a form of submission described by Tittle and that it can be predicted by the concept of control deficit. To this end, we collected and used data from a sample of 410 professional soccer players from Guilan province, Iran, and tested several propositions derived from control balance theory. Hierarchical linear regression was used to analyze the data. The study findings demonstrate that players with more control deficits are more likely to play through pain and injury. This relationship is conditioned by self-control, opportunity, motivation, perceived benefits, and provocations. For example, the relationship between control deficit and playing through pain and injury is stronger for those with lower self-control. Our findings support the utility of control balance theory in explaining an act of submission (i.e., playing through pain and injury).