Understanding desistance : a critical review of theories of desistance
Weaver, Beth (2019) Understanding desistance : a critical review of theories of desistance. Psychology Crime and Law. ISSN 1068-316X (https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2018.1560444)
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Abstract
Informed by a comprehensive review of theories and research into desistance (Weaver, 2015), this article advances a critical and contemporary overview of the main theories of desistance, drawing on illustrative empirical research. It begins by addressing definitional issues, prior to showing how various theories of desistance differently explain the phenomena of giving up crime. The article concludes by engaging with its limitations and its relatively muted impact on policy and practice. It is argued that desistance research, and its interpretation in both policy and practice, remains very individualistic in focus, and often disconnected from specific analyses of the cultural and structural contexts in which both offending and desistance take place. In considering how this review might inform future research, the article suggests that the desistance paradigm might be enhanced by attending to contemporary critiques of its limitations. In particular, this would suggest the application of intersectional methods and analyses, analyses of divergences in desistance pathways by crime type, enhanced critical and contextualizing analyses of cultural and structural influences on desistance, and, beyond individual desistance, a focus on the challenges of social integration for people with convictions, to better inform and shape penal policy and practice.
ORCID iDs
Weaver, Beth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1711-1068;-
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Item type: Article ID code: 66399 Dates: DateEvent7 January 2019Published7 January 2019Published Online12 December 2018AcceptedSubjects: Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology Department: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Social Work and Social Policy > Social Work and Social Policy > Social Work Depositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 18 Dec 2018 10:24 Last modified: 25 Nov 2024 01:15 Related URLs: URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/66399