ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the concept of knifing off, which conceptualizes the processes and individual actions that occur when an individual permanently withdraws from the specific social environments and opportunity structures that promoted their delinquency. Criminologists largely agree that delinquency is tied to age and maturity. Sampson and Laub introduced the concept of turning points, integrating the significance of far-reaching life events. They identify social control as the main factor influencing changes in delinquency and turning points as events that explain changes in delinquency due to changes in social control. Knifing off is not merely an environmental change, but includes the development of attitudes and practices. Both concepts stress the significance of individual maturing processes conditioned by changes in social points of reference. Social institutions such as youth clubs were rarely perceived as relevant supporters and at most used for leisure activities, seldom for personal development.
