Changes in Self-Control and Desistance from Crime: A Partial Test of Pratt’s Integrated Self-Control/Life-Course Theory of Offending

• In Event: The Impact of Agency, Self, and Social Control Factors on Desistance from Crime

Abstract

Although self-control and life-course perspectives are often viewed as competing, if not incompatible, theoretical traditions, Pratt (2016) argues that the two perspectives are in many ways complementary. In his new integrated theory, self-control is viewed as a dynamic factor that is subject to change and that influences behavior over the life course, including the decreases in crime that typically come with age. In this study, we conduct a partial test of the integrated self-control/life-course theory, with a special focus on the theory’s relevance to desistance. Longitudinal data from a large study of serious youth offenders are used to examine how within-individual changes in self-control, social bonds, and other variables are related to desistance from crime. We also examine the dynamic interplay between self-control, socio-environmental variables, and desistance. The findings lend initial empirical support to the integrated theory and highlight the significance of self-control—especially changes in self-control—to the process of desistance. Implications for the future development of life course theories are discussed.

Authors

• Beverly Crank, Kennesaw State University

• Timothy Brezina, Georgia State University