Citation

Healy D. J. Res. Crime Delinq. 2010; 47(4): 419-438.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0022427810375574

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article presents the results of an investigation into the psychosocial changes involved in the early stages of desistance, which to date have attracted little empirical or theoretical attention. The study used a mixed-methods design to produce a nuanced account of the shifts that occur in cognitions and social circumstances as offenders make the transition to desistance. Three psychometric instruments were completed by 73 adult males aged 18 to 35 who had acquired at least two previous convictions and were living in Dublin, Ireland. Participants who reported no offending in the past month were defined as "primary desisters." In a regression analysis, age, age at onset of offending, and criminal thinking styles emerged as important predictors of primary desistance, whereas social circumstances and pro-criminal attitudes did not. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.