ABSTRACT

Jeffrey Fagan’s (1989) early observation pointed to the potential importance of distinguishing onset and desistance processes. Yet Sampson and Laub’s theorizing and empirical research (Sampson and Laub 1993; Laub and Sampson 2003) have served as especially important catalysts for developing further this area of study-and the life course perspective on crime more generally. Sampson and Laub’s analyses of data from follow-ups of a sample of delinquent youths (Glueck and Glueck 1950) documented that traditional risk factors, such as coming from a “broken home,” were not especially useful as predictors of variability in the adult men’s success in moving away from their earlier patterns of involvement in criminal behavior. Instead, these researchers focused attention on features of the men’s adult lives-notably movement into a “good marriage” and a stable job-as transition events that were significantly related to crime cessation. However, in articulating their theoretical perspective, a conceptual thread nevertheless connects the early experiences and later circumstances: Sampson and Laub’s theorizing included the idea that the lack of social control associated with inadequate parenting could in effect be overcome by the acquisition of informal social control that was later provided by a caring spouse. Thus, ideas about factors associated with onset may continue to figure into perspectives on specific mechanisms underlying the desistance process.