ABSTRACT
Previous research in life-course criminology has shown how desistance from crime is linked to the successful transition to adult roles (Sampson and Laub 1993; Uggen 2000). In particular, offenders who establish a stable work history and a strong marriage appear to have better post-release adjustment than those who have yet to enter such work and family roles. More generally, the transition to adulthood is characterized by the assumption of age-graded roles and the attainment of specific behavioural markers. Completing formal education, obtaining a fulltime job, marrying and voting are all markers signalling adult status, although their sequence and timing may vary over time and space (Shanahan 2000). Specifying the social-psychological process underlying role transition among offenders has therefore emerged as a critical question for theory and empirical research on the desistance process (Shover 1996; Maruna 2001).
