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Lambert, AE, 2024. Assessing maladaptive overcontrol: development and validation of the Overcontrol Assessment Questionnaire. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.
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Abstract
The idea of excessive self-control – or maladaptive overcontrol – has been present in psychological literature for several decades, including in clinical, forensic, and personality domains of psychology. However, there has been a lack of a comprehensive and testable theoretical framework that would both demonstrate how maladaptive overcontrol may present among populations and account for the mechanisms behind the development, reinforcement, and maintenance of maladaptive overcontrolled tendencies. This resulted in a linear view of self-control – i.e., the more self-control, the better – becoming the status quo among both the social science professionals and the general population. The topic of overcontrol was becoming less and less popular over time despite indications that too much self-control can be as problematic for individuals as too little self-control and that it requires tailored interventions – ultimately leading to the overcontrolled issues being overlooked and the individuals struggling with maladaptive overcontrol unable to access appropriate treatment.
In 2018, Thomas Lynch published a novel, comprehensive theoretical framework to explain maladaptive overcontrol – the Neurobiosocial Theory for Disorders of Overcontrol. The framework was developed based on nearly three decades of interdisciplinary empirical research. It integrated top-down and bottom-up neuroregulatory models of socioemotional functioning and built on those by theorising how the interactions between biological predispositions, environmental factors, and coping mechanisms function to develop, reinforce, and maintain specific deficits posited to be associated with maladaptive overcontrol. Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy was also developed, designed specifically to target these overcontrolled deficits, with preliminary evaluation studies indicating good outcomes.
Still, a valid and reliable instrument that would allow researchers to efficiently and confidently identification of maladaptive overcontrol in the light of Lynch’s theorising was lacking. The diagnostic protocol published alongside the theory required input from a specially trained clinician, was rather lengthy, and some of its elements were semantically complex and not well validated. This was considerably hindering research progress, making theory testing costly and difficult and slowing down the roll-out of the accompanying therapeutic intervention on a wider scale.
The current programme of research aimed to answer this urgent need for a valid and reliable questionnaire that would allow researchers to assess adults for maladaptive overcontrol. Rigorous psychometric techniques guided by an extensive review of psychometric literature were used to achieve this aim. The scale development process was theory-driven, with the conceptual framework derived directly from the Neurobiosocial Theory for Disorders of Overcontrol. Deductive and inductive methods were used to generate the initial item pool, the contents of which were then refined and validated using the expert judgement method. The item pool was then pre-tested with a sample of participants from the general population using cognitive interviews. Subsequently, two factor-analytic studies were conducted to guide decisions on factor retention and item reduction and test model fit.
As a result, a 26-item, self-report Overcontrol Assessment Questionnaire (OAQ) was developed. The four-dimensional scale was designed not only to assess the overall extent of issues associated with maladaptive overcontrol, but also its specific deficits. The OAQ presented with satisfactory internal consistency and composite reliability, as well as 4-week test-retest reliability.
The relationships between maladaptive overcontrol, as measured by the OAQ, and other constructs posited to be conceptually linked to maladaptive overcontrol were also tested, and a complex landscape of correlations was revealed. Highly overcontrolled individuals were found to present with high behavioural inhibition and low ego-control in support of Lynch’s framework. More nuanced relationships were indicated between the deficits of maladaptive overcontrol and various elements of behavioural activation and impulsive behaviour. Maladaptive overcontrol has shown some convergence with ego-overcontrol, however, unexpected patterns of correlations were revealed between Lynch’s model of maladaptive overcontrol and other, linear models of self-control. These mixed results warrant further investigation.
The current programme of research involved the development of a new self-report scale to assess adults for maladaptive overcontrol that presented with encouraging preliminary validity and reliability evidence, thereby offering an original contribution to psychological science. It is hoped that future research will employ the scale in empirical studies aiming to better understand the nature of maladaptive overcontrol, as well as validate the questionnaire for use in clinical and forensic populations and introduce linguistic and cultural adaptations.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Lambert, A.E. |
| Contributors: | Name Role NTU ID ORCID Hamilton, L. Thesis supervisor PSY3HAMILLJ UNSPECIFIED |
| Date: | August 2024 |
| Rights: | The copyright in the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level, and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use or for a more substantial copy are required and should be directed to the author. |
| Divisions: | Schools > School of Social Sciences |
| Record created by: | Laura Borcherds |
| Date Added: | 10 Jun 2025 14:48 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jun 2025 14:48 |
| URI: | https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53722 |
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9118-679XActions (login required)
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