Citation

Harris DA. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2016; 60(15): 1717-1737.

Affiliation

Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia danielle.a.harris@griffith.edu.au.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306624X16668176

PMID

27621271

Abstract

Despite an increasing interest in desistance from sexual offending, a comprehensive theoretical account of the process has yet to be provided. This study examines the narratives of 60 men interviewed in the community, who were incarcerated for sexual offenses and released. Recent findings from this research conclude that men desist from sexual offending, but they seldom follow the processes described by traditional criminology. In many cases, in fact, they desist in spite of their inability to pursue Sampson and Laub's "informal social controls" or Giordano et al.'s "hooks for change." The relentless impact of current public policies such as community notification and electronic monitoring further impedes their likelihood of experiencing Maruna's "Pygmalion effect" or achieving true cognitive transformation or agentic change. The descriptive model introduced here identifies four styles of desistance from sexual offending: "age," "resignation," "rote," and "resilience." Relevant implications are discussed.

© The Author(s) 2016.

Language: en