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    Investigating the personality construct of self-control as defined in the General Theory of Crime : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2004) Isaacson, Anja
    Over the decades, "self-control" has generated much theoretical debate and research across the disciplines of human science. Although intuitively understood, the concept of self-control remains slippery as it can he viewed from various perspectives. As a consequence, it has been defined and measured in different ways which are not all consistent with one another. Self-control, or the lack thereof, has been implicated in criminality, psychopathology and various deviant behaviours. The General Theory of Crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) has attracted much interest and continues to be a major influence in understanding crime and deviance. At the core of this theory is the construct of self-control. Although the authors argue that their theory denies the existence of "an enduring criminal disposition", their definition of self-control appears fully compatible with the concept of "trait" as used in personality psychology. However, there have been few attempts to establish explicit connections between personality traits and the self-control construct as defined in the General Theory of Crime. This research investigated the personality construct of self-control as defined in The General Theory of Crime. The sample consisted of 63 faculty staff members and 126 young students located at the Albany, Palmerston North and Wellington campuses of Massey University. Quantitative data were collected via a postal survey questionnaire comprising scales measuring individual differences relating to (a) personality (Francis, Brown & Philipchalk (1992) Abbreviated form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire), (b) self-control (Grasmick, Tittle, Bursik & Arneklev (1993) Self-Control Scale), (c) imprudent behaviours (an adaptation of Marcus (2003) Retrospective Behavioural Scale), and (d) impulsivity (Dickman (1990) Functional and Dysfunctional Impulsivity Inventory). Results from the present study indicated that incorporating personality variables into a model of self-control explained more of the variance, strengthened the prediction of imprudent behaviours and indicated better goodness –of-fit statistics. Furthermore, the components of self-control, as defined in the general theory of crime, were better explained by the conceptually distinct latent constructs of Dysfunctional and Functional impulsivity. Limitations of this research and recommendations for further research are considered.
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    Evaluation of the relationship between lifestyle balance, emotional regulation, and relapse with individuals with drug and/or alcohol problems : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Dicks, Casey William
    Drug and alcohol abuse costs the country over $5.3 billion per year (Slack, Nana, Webster, Stokes, & Wu, 2009). Treatment can reduce both the health and social cost of drug and alcohol abuse (Rout, 2008) but relapse remains a major problem (Stewart, 2000). Studies have shown lifestyle balance and emotion regulation are important factors in relapse prevention (Thakker & Ward, 2012; Matto, Strolin & Mogro-Wilson, 2008). This study explored the relationship between lifestyle balance, emotion regulation and relapse with 25 participants, aged between 18 and 55, actively seeking treatment through CADS North Action group. Participants reported their subjective lifestyle balance, emotion regulation, and whether they had relapsed, at three time periods (pre-, mid-, and post-treatment). Relapse rates were 56% at pre-, 42% at mid-, and 25% at post-treatment. Results indicate a positive relationship between lifestyle balance and relapse, which suggests that as lifestyle balance improves relapse decreases. Results also indicate that, as emotion regulation improves relapse decreases. A newly developed lifestyle balance questionnaire (LBQ) showed good psychometric properties, which were comparable with existing measures. This study addresses a gap in the literature on the relationship between lifestyle balance, emotion regulation and relapse, in a drug and alcohol population, and seems to be the first of its kind in New Zealand. Limitations of the research and future directions are discussed.