Analyzing the Self Control Theory Essay

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Self-Control Theory and ADHD

Self-Control Theory

Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) General Crime Theory, now referred to as the theory of self-control, remains one of the most well-known theories (Tibbetts & Gibson, 2002). Low self-control remains the main component of their theory. The time-stable individual difference that regulates behavior is low self-control. From what I learnt, individuals who have low self-control are mainly due to poor or ineffective parenting techniques during the early years-before they reached the age of eight. Particularly, parents that lack the consistency or effectiveness to form an emotional attachment with their children will find it hard to monitor the behavior of their children. The difficulty experienced in monitoring the child's behavior minimizes the possibility that the children's deviant behavior will be noticed by the parents. This will minimize the chance for the parents to administer non-corporal punishment for deviant behavior. Therefore, such persons would prefer easy and simple tasks; physical activities to mental ones; focus on themselves; risky behaviors; and letting their temper run its full course without any attempt to control it. This means that these persons are likely to experience low self-control and probably disregard the long-term effects their decisions have on themselves and others around them (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Under this condition, low self-control can manifest in different ways. One common way it manifests is as a criminal behavior. For Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990), crime is simply an act of fraud or force pursued by an individual to satisfy his interests. Those who have low self-control find crime attractive because crime and low self-control have a lot of characteristics in common. For example, crimes expose one to risks, gratifies instantly, and are quite simple and easy to perform (Gottfredson&Hirschi,1990; Higgins, 2007).

Part 2

For every adult, life can be a balancing act, but for individuals who are always disorganized, late, forgetful, and overwhelmed by their responsibilities, they may have ADD/ADHD. A number of adults are affected by attention deficit disorder, and its numerous frustrations can stand in the way of so many things like career, relationships, etc. Having ADHD, myself, it is always difficult for me to stay focused and attend to daily tasks, which I find mundane.

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For instance, irrelevant sights and sounds easily distracted me; I switch from one thing to another without a second thought. The symptoms found in this category are overlooked sometimes due to their obvious outward disruptiveness than the ADHD symptoms of impulsivity and hyperactivity-but they can be troublesome in the same degree (Smith & Segal, 2016). Common symptoms of concentration difficulties and inattention include:

zoning out without knowing, even while a conversation is on Severe distractibility; drifting attention makes staying on track difficult

Difficulty concentrating or focusing, like when listening to other people or reading

Fighting to accomplish tasks, even the simplest ones

Possibility of overlooking details, which leads to incomplete tasks or errors

Inadequate listening skills; difficulty recalling the subject of conversations and sticking to directions

Adults who have ADD/ADHD are more apt to become hyperactive than the younger ones. Only few adults with this condition suffer any serious hyperactivity symptoms. Don't forget that names can be misleading, and if you find yourself with any or some of these symptoms, you may well have ADD/ADHD.-even if you do not have hyperactivity (Smith & Segal, 2016).

Though ADHD patients experience difficulty concentrating on tasks that do not interest them, some tend to get absorbed in certain tasks they find rewarding and stimulating. This is a paradoxical symptom known as hyper focus -- a mechanism for coping with distractions-one way of dealing with chaos. It can get so severe that you are obvious to whatever is happening around you. For instance, I sometimes get so engrossed in certain tasks that I lose track of time completely and can no longer concentrate on important responsibilities. Nevertheless, hyper focus, when directed at productive activities can become an important asset, but if left unchecked, it can lead to serious relationship and work problems (Smith & Segal, 2016).

An adult with ADHD often experiences a chaotic life that seems out of control most times. It can get quite challenging to stay organized and on top of one's game-like sorting out relevant information for every task, getting one's list of priority right, keeping track of responsibilities….....

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