Escaping Control: Desistance, Recovery and Self-Determination in Mentally Ill Offenders.

• In Event: Alternative Perspectives to Understanding Persistence and Desistance from Offending

Abstract

Previous desistance research mainly focused on the general offender population. Even though some specific groups, such as drug using offenders and sexual offenders, have already been studied, mentally ill offenders are neglected in the desistance literature. The current study is strengths-based and the goal is to find out which factors mentally ill offenders experience to be helpful in their change process. A qualitative mentally-ill-offender-centered study design is executed, which applies focus group interviews and in-depth interviews. The factors that are central to the desistance process of mentally ill offenders are similar to the factors in the general offender population. However, the change process differs. The change process of mentally ill offenders seems to contain a dual structure, namely desistance from crime and recovery from mental illness. Considering desistance in mentally ill offenders, an alternative conceptualization of desistance seems warranted, since they desisted from crime, but this desistance is not accompanied by positive experiences and lifestyle. It seems that the (indeterminate) nature of the judicial control prevents the offenders from taking active steps towards a prosocial identity. The absence of offending can be called ‘legal desistance’, while the lived desistance process can be called ‘personal desistance’.

Authors

• Sofie Van Roeyen, Ghent University

• Freya Vander Laenen, Ghent University

• Fergus McNeill, University of Glasgow