The Role of Self-Control in the Process of Desistance

• In Event: Research on Parenting Practices, Religion, Desistance, and Self-Control Theory

Abstract

Traditionally, self-control has not received much attention in the field of desistance research. The General Theory of Crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) maintains that self-control is a stable trait, unaffected by experiences in adulthood. Consequently, it is unsuitable for explaining discontinuity in criminal behaviour, or desistance. Gottfredson and Hirschi argued that desistance could be explained by the natural process of aging and changes in opportunities for crime, rather than any psychological or sociological factors. However, there is convincing evidence that self-control varies over time and is a situational construct, as opposed to a stable trait. As such, it is much more compatible with theories of desistance, including life-course and agency perspectives. Some of the recent theoretical and empirical developments related to self-control, crime and desistance will be discussed. This paper adds to this by developing a new theoretical view on the role of self-control in the process of desistance. It is argued that a truly situational conceptualisation of self-control incorporates the possibility that exposure to criminogenic settings can have a negative impact on the ability to exercise self-control. The implications of a new understanding of self-control for empirical studies and theories of desistance are discussed.

Author

• Esther F.J.C. van Ginneken, Leiden University