Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2758
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Item Considering the Role of Physiological Rewards in the Relationship Between Impulsivity and Decision Making(2021) Jaw, Hsin; McGloin, Jean M; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Individual levels of impulsivity and anticipated physiological rewards (i.e., thrill) associated with offending have both been recognized as important aspects of the criminal decision-making calculus. However, the extant literature does not have a clear understanding of the dynamics between the two constructs and crime, specifically how physiological rewards matter in the impulsivity-offending relationship. Using the dual-process framework of decision making, this thesis explores first whether impulsivity influence offending indirectly through perceived physiological rewards, and second whether individuals are differentially susceptible to physiological rewards according to their levels of impulsivity (i.e. moderation). These hypotheses are tested using two waves of the Pathways to Desistance study. The results provide support that physiological rewards partially mediate the relationship between impulsivity and offending, yet there is no statistically significant moderating relationship.Item The Link Between Impulsivity, Suicide Ideation, and Illegal Behavior in College Students(2011) Freeland, Rachel Miriam; Dugan, Laura; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi's general theory of crime posits that persons with low self-control are more likely to engage in criminal, as well as, analogous behaviors. This thesis attempts to explore the relationship between low self-control, as measured by impulsivity, illegal behavior, and suicide ideation, an analogous behavior, in a college student population. Data are taken from the College Life Study, a longitudinal study that examines the health behaviors of one cohort of first-year college students. Using multinomial logistic regression, the results indicate that the more impulsive students are also those who show signs of suicide ideation and illegal behavior or just illegal behavior without suicide ideation. However, when examining suicide ideation alone, there is not a statistically significant relationship with impulsivity. Thus, Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory is only partially supported by this thesis.