The Influence of Informal Social Controls on Intermittency: A Study of Serious Adolescent Offenders

• In Event: Life-Course Transitions and Offending Behavior

Abstract

Sampson and Laub (1993) propose that informal social controls, or the bonds that connect members of society to various social institutions, can restrict the natural instinct towards crime. These bonds can also serve as turning points in later life, contributing to a process of desistance from an initial delinquent trajectory. While there is empirical evidence that bonds to various institutions can influence the desistance process, no studies to date have specifically looked at the impact of informal social controls on intermittency, represented in the time gaps between criminal events. Using the Pathways to Desistance study, we assess the impact of changes in social bonds on changes in the average months between offenses. By using a sample of serious adolescent offenders, we are able to explore whether positive transitions in adolescence and adulthood can contribute to longer periods of intermittency.

Authors

• Thomas Baker, University of Central Florida

• Christi Metcalfe, University of South Carolina

• Caitlin Brady, University of Central Florida