Disentangling Self-control From its Elements: A Bifactor Analysis

• In Event: Conceptualization and Measurement Issues

Abstract

Despite self-control being firmly established as a significant predictor of crime and victimization, persistent concerns over the factor structure have led to ongoing debates about whether to treat self-control as a unidimensional construct or as six correlated traits. The current study utilizes bifactor models to explicitly disentangle self-control from its individual elements, resulting in several new insights into the measurement debate. Specifically, we document the proportion explained variance in scale items by self-control and its elements, discuss the sources of reliability in the overall scale and six subscales to inform the viability of using a total score and individual scores to measure self-control and its elements in observed variable analyses, and assess the unique effects of general (self-control) and specific (elements) latent factors on crime and victimization. Implications for theory, measurement, and future research are discussed.

Authors

• Jeffrey T. Ward, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Matt R. Nobles, Sam Houston State University

• Kathleen A. Fox, Arizona State University