The Psychology of Desistance

Polaschek, Devon L. L.

doi:10.1002/9781119139980.ch20

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Göbbels et al (2014) argue that successful re‐entry promotes longer‐term desistance, whereas a stressful and problematic re‐entry experience increases the likelihood of recidivism, possibly because lack of social and material resources undermines the initial commitment (Burnett, 1992; Davis, Bahr, & Ward, 2013). Those individuals who, in the first few months have better experiences both with the outside world and internally, are better equipped to progress through later stages of desistance (Polaschek, 2019). And both the PCA and regression analyses of the PEM demonstrated that these two types of factors—external circumstances (e.g., accommodation, personal support) and the internal state or subjective wellbeing—are distinctly different from each other.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lastly, the present research used a narrow definition of re‐entry success: an absence of reconviction after 12 months in the community. Although a necessary precondition, the absence of a new conviction within the first year of release may not mean that an individual is progressing towards long‐term desistance (Polaschek, 2019). Recent research has cast some doubt on the extent to which parolees actually can ‘make good’ (Maruna, 2001), and most notably, on whether early re‐entry indicators actually do lead to positive long‐term outcomes (Giordano, Schroeder, & Cernkovich, 2007; Nugent & Schinkel, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life on parole: The quality of experiences soon after release contributes to a conviction‐free re‐entry

Gwynne

Yesberg

Polaschek

2020

Criminal Behav Ment Health

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Background: People returning to the community after prison face many challenges, including finding suitable accommodation and employment, and accessing good social support. The prospects are particularly poor for high-risk offenders with up to a third of those released in New Zealand returning to prison within 100 days. Aims/hypotheses: We developed the Parole Experiences Measure (PEM) to quantify the quality of men's life experiences during the first weeks of re-entry from prison. We aimed to answer the question, can the quality of life experiences differentiate men who survive in the community without reconviction from those who do not? Methods: Using a longitudinal design, we examined whether PEM scores for 178 men with extensive histories of crime and violence predicted three recidivism indices (breach of parole, reconviction and reimprisonment) over a 12-month follow-up period. Results: We found that PEM scores predicted all three indices of recidivism. Of the two PEM subscales, external circumstances (finances, support, accommodation) were more predictive of recidivism than subjective wellbeing (mental and physical health).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life on parole: The quality of experiences soon after release contributes to a conviction‐free re‐entry

Gwynne

Yesberg

Polaschek

2020

Criminal Behav Ment Health

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“…Thus, from Laub and Sampson's (2003) perspective, subgroups of individuals with similar developmental histories but who differ in level of informal social control should also vary in their probability of desistance. Others (see Hirschi & Gottfredson, 1995;Paternoster et al, 2015;Polaschek, 2019) have raised concerns that Laub and Sampson (2003) fail to explain why persons who are unmotivated to change and engage in serious offenses would respond to adult roles in the same way as persons who are motivated to change and engage in minor offenses. Support for (Blokland & Nieuwbeerta, 2005;Kubrin & Stewart, 2006;Reisig et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2014) versus against (Bersani et al, 2009;Doherty, 2006;King et al, 2007;Wright et al, 2001) treatment effect heterogeneity varies by sampling strategy.…”

Section: The Revised Age-graded Theory and Its Incompatibility With D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…52-53). Polaschek (2019) suggested that this version of life-course criminology seems to discount the importance of early intervention and correctional treatment programming. In contrast, developmental theories view early development as important to adult outcomes and therefore early treatment and prevention matters (e.g., Kazemian et al, 2019;Morizot & Kazemian, 2014).…”

Section: Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Twenty years in the making: Revisiting Laub and Sampson's version of life-course criminology

McCuish,

Lussier

2023

Preprint

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Purpose: Using data on participants born around 100 years ago, Laub and Sampson asserted that early developmental risk factors are not informative of social outcomes in adulthood. More specifically, they claimed that early risk factors were not informative of adulthood informal social control, persistent offending, and the degree to which informal social control protects against later offending. We offer a contemporary comparison point to these claims that carry theoretical implications for developmental and life-course criminology. Methods:The current study used prospective longitudinal data on 518 male and female participants from the Incarcerated Serious and Violent Young Offender Study. Early developmental risk for persistent offending was measured via the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV). Informal social control was measured in emerging adulthood via the Community Risk Needs Assessment (CRNA). Offending trajectories were measured for an average of 15 years following participants' CRNA ratings.Results: PCL:YV scores were negatively associated with informal social control (selection effects), positively associated with persistent offending, and negatively related to lower rates of offending, even when informal social control was high (treatment effect heterogeneity). Conclusions: Findings align with Elder's conceptualization of life-course theory that acknowledges the potential for individual, social, and macro-level factors to shape human development.

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“…Reducing recidivism overall is an important outcome for correctional systems; and for the people in them, desistance-the process by which they begin to leave crime behind for something better, or at least to reduce reoffending and contact with the criminal justice system (Polaschek, 2019)-is the desired outcome. Successful reintegration or re-entry after time in prison is an essential early step toward desistance (Polaschek, 2016b).…”

Section: Community Reintegration Processes and Tripm Psychopathy Comp...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Triarchic Psychopathy Components of New Zealand High-Risk Parolees Predict Probation Officer Relationship Quality, Quality of Life on Parole, and Recidivism?

Polaschek

Bell

Casey

et al. 2021

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) is a self-report scale based on the Triarchic Model that has been little used in research in the criminal justice system. We sought to examine associations between pre-release TriPM components, probation officer relationships, and parolee quality of life, both measured after 2 months in the community, and reconviction 12 months after release. Using data from 234 New Zealand male high-risk prisoners, we tested four multivariate models each across three timepoints. Pre-release, we found Boldness was not predictive, but Meanness predicted poorer relationship quality after 2 months, both from probation officer and parolee perspectives, with the former in turn predicting reconviction within 12 months. Disinhibition predicted 12-month recidivism regardless of relationship quality or external life circumstances. This relationship to recidivism was partially explained in the final model which linked Disinhibition and poorer subjective wellbeing, with the latter in turn predicting recidivism.

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The Psychology of Desistance

Cited by 9 publications

References 65 publications

Life on parole: The quality of experiences soon after release contributes to a conviction‐free re‐entry

Life on parole: The quality of experiences soon after release contributes to a conviction‐free re‐entry

Twenty years in the making: Revisiting Laub and Sampson's version of life-course criminology

Do Triarchic Psychopathy Components of New Zealand High-Risk Parolees Predict Probation Officer Relationship Quality, Quality of Life on Parole, and Recidivism?

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