| Currently there is an effort in criminology to focus not only on the initiation of crime and deviance for adolescents but to also look at patterns of persistence and desistance (Sampson & Laub, 1993). Juvenile court records were collected in 1995 as part of an ongoing longitudinal research study initiated in 1990 of mothers and one of their children. Out of 363 participants eighty-eight children were found to have had contact with juvenile court. In 1996-1997 participants were brought in again to be interviewed and then a third time in 1998-1999. In these two later interviews extensive data was collected on a variety of constructs that might relate to desistance of delinquency. We will be examining the subsample of arrested youth. We will divide those who have desisted from criminal activity and those who have continued, as per self-report in the later interviews. Hypothesized constructs such as family structure, parental monitoring and family attachment will be tested to see if they relate to participants' desistance from crime. |
Updated 05/20/2006