Reorienting Locus of Control in Individuals Who Have Offended Through Strengths-Based Interventions: Personal Agency and the Good Lives Model

Abstract

Having an external locus of control has been associated with a range of well-supported risk correlates of offending behavior. Further, individuals with an internal locus of control orientation are suggested to be more open to engaging in treatment and are also considered more likely to have successful treatment outcomes. In forensic settings, where individuals are subject to external controls and have little personal autonomy, it is important to consider what treatment approaches might be most successful in reorienting individuals' locus of control. The Good Lives Model (GLM) proposes a strengths-based approach to the rehabilitation of individuals who have offended. Within the GLM, an external locus of control is suggested to be associated with a deficit in the primary good of agency. In this article, we will provide a brief overview of the literature on locus of control and its hypothesized role in offending behavior. We will discuss how an external locus of control orientation is related to personal agency and how strengths-based models, such as the GLM, may assist with reorienting locus of control in individuals who have offended through promoting personal agency.

Locus of control and subjective well-being: Panel evidence from Australia

“…In recent years, more and more attention has been given to developing interventions around strengths-based approaches (e.g., [ 54 , 55 ]). Such interventions are specifically designed to build personal strengths and resources necessary to create a meaningful life.…”

Personal Agency in Borderline Personality Disorder: The Impact of Adult Attachment Style

“…The concept of personal agency has become more relevant for researchers and clinicians alike ( Groth et al, 2019 ), particularly since personal agency has been shown to impact treatment outcome ( Lefcourt and Davidson-Katz, 1991 ; Bateman et al, 2015 ). Within research, personal agency may be operationalized as locus of control (LOC) ( Tyler et al, 2020 ), a related construct that underlies how individuals explain events, situations and interactions in their lives. From this perspective, high personal agency maps on to an internal LOC—the idea that outcomes are dependent upon the effort individuals expend in their pursuit.…”

Investigating The Autobiographical Memories Of Adolescent Boys In Youth Justice Facilities

“…Individuals with a strong sense of control are more likely to believe that their own actions are responsible for their experiences and that they have a high level of agency over their own futures. Individuals with a high sense of control are also less likely to have an external locus of control and to believe that events are dictated by chance or are determined by others (Tyler et al, 2020).…”

“…Personal agency refers to "an individual's capacity for, and engagement in, intentional, goal-directed behaviour" (Heffernan and Ward, 2017, p. 134). Agency is considered to be at the heart of desistance from offending (Bateman, 2020;Heffernan & Ward, 2017;Maruna, 2001) as an individual's capacity and motivation to change, along with the belief that change is within their control are considered key to behavioural change (e.g., Devereux, 2009;McMurran & Ward, 2004;Tyler et al, 2020).…”

“…Concerns around agency may be particularly salient in adolescence, as achieving independence is a key developmental task of adolescence (see Dahl et al, 2018). Placement in highly restrictive justice environments interrupts this task and is likely to reinforce a sense that change is outside their control (Tyler et al, 2020). Past-orientated interventions may highlight limitations the adolescents have experienced with agency and control in childhood and may actually diminish their hope that this could change in the future (Bateman, 2020).…”