Williams MMWilliams MN1/01/20122012ETHICS & BEHAVIOR, 2012, 22 (2), pp. 89 - 112 (24)1050-8422https://hdl.handle.net/10179/5742"This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Ethics & Behavior on 14 March 2012, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10508422.2011.653291."Academic dishonesty is an insidious problem that besets most tertiary institutions, where considerable resources are expended to prevent and manage students’ dishonest actions within academia. Using a mixed retrospective and prospective design this research investigated Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory as a possible explanation for academic dishonesty in 264 university students. The relationship between academic dishonesty and general criminality was also examined. A significant but small to moderate relationship between academic dishonesty and general criminality was present, including correlations with general dishonesty, violent crime and drug offending subcategories. These findings suggested that a general criminological theory may be of use in explaining academic dishonesty, but the overall ability of self-control variables to explain academic dishonesty was not strong. Controlled logistic regressions indicated that a significant positive association with academic dishonesty was only present for one of 6 self-control subscales (self-centeredness), and even this association was only present in the prospective study component. A strong relationship between past and future academic dishonesty was present. Implications of the study for institutions are discussed.89 - 112 (24)Social SciencesEthicsPsychology, MultidisciplinarySocial Sciences - Other TopicsPsychologyETHICSPSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARYacademic dishonestyself-controlgeneral criminalitypast academic dishonestyprospective and retrospective studyETHICAL DECISION-MAKINGCOLLEGE-STUDENTSSOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONSCONTEXTUAL INFLUENCESCHEATING BEHAVIORSCONSTRUCT-VALIDITYEMPIRICAL-TESTCONTROL SCALECRIMEDELINQUENCYJournal article10.1080/10508422.2011.6532911684961701 Psychology2201 Applied Ethics