Agency, Self-Efficacy, and Desistance from Crime

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

Abstract

To explain why many offenders desist from crime, and why some persist, some theorists highlight the role of personal agency. Qualitative studies, in particular, observe that desisting offenders tend to express a “language of agency”—they view themselves as capable of influencing their actions and environment—while persistent offenders tend to see themselves as relatively helpless and “doomed to deviance.” Drawing on Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which highlights self-efficacy as a key mechanism of agency, we analyze quantitative data from a large sample of serious offenders and examine how confidence in their ability to desist (desistance self-efficacy) is related to future offending behavior. To advance research in this area, we also examine factors that are expected to promote or constrain personal agency. The findings indicate that traditional criminological variables (e.g., self-control, delinquent peer associations) influence the perceived ability to desist. The perceived ability to desist, in turn, is associated with decreases in future offending. Implications for policy and programming are discussed.

Authors

• Tricia Johnston, Georgia State University

• Timothy Brezina, Georgia State University