A scoping review on self-control: insights from cross-domain conceptualizations and implications for forensic psychiatric treatment

Self-control is an important predictor for offending behavior, receiving considerable attention in forensic research and practice. Perspectives from other domains, such as health and social psychology, have demonstrated that self-control is a complex and multidimensional construct. However, this complexity is not yet fully reflected in forensic psychiatry. To explore what forensic psychiatry could learn from other domains, this scoping review examines how self-control is conceptualized across domains and identifies the aspects that constitute it. This information may help expand our knowledge about self-control in forensic psychiatry, for instance, to more comprehensively assess and treat self-control. An electronic database search yielded 16,202 records, of which 59 were included in the review. Definitions of self-control varied, about, for example, what is being controlled and which aspects were mentioned. Nine records did not provide a definition. Furthermore, inductive coding identified 12 aspects of self-control: motivation, cognition, values, goals, emotion, monitoring, external factors, personality, biological factors, dual process approach, initiation/inhibition, and capacity. Five records related to offending behavior, mentioning six of these aspects. Findings support that self-control is a multifaceted and dynamic concept, and that this is not yet fully reflected in forensic research and practice. Future research should explore the relevance of these aspects in forensic practice to enable a more nuanced approach to self-control in forensic risk assessment and treatment.