Desistance from Serious and Not So Serious Crime: A Comparison of Psychosocial Risk Factors

Abstract

Desistance from criminal behavior represents an important dimension of offending, yet few studies have explored whether factors promoting desistance from crime also promote desistance from less serious forms of offending behavior. Using data from the National Youth Survey, this study examines whether a series of theoretically informed psychosocial factors can differentiate offenders who desist from those who persist and whether these factors vary for offenders who desist from general and more serious forms of offending behavior. The results reveal that a number of characteristics differentiate desisters from persisters, and that there are important similarities and differences between factors that promote desistance from serious and not so serious offending.