Over the past 30 years, scholars have increasingly focused on the individual-level factors that explain criminal behavior. This line of research has revealed that myriad factors influence the onset of a criminal career, the maintenance of a criminal career, and the desistance from a criminal career. The current study focused on the factors that account for desistance from a criminal career. One of the most prominent contemporary criminological theories posits that exposure to adult social bonds such as marriage, employment, and military involvement explains why a person desists from crime. Criminological research has supported the theory, but has failed to consider the influence of genetic factors on exposure to adult social bonds and, ultimately, desistance from crime. Three key findings emerged from the analysis. First, genetic factors explained a significant proportion of the variance in nearly all of the adult social bonds analyzed. Second, genetic factors explained a significant proportion of the variance in changes in delinquency, drug use, and antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood. Third, once genetic factors were controlled, the explanatory power of an adult social bond on desistance from delinquency was often weakened or eliminated. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: May 17, 2010. / Life-course Criminology, Genes, Biosocial Criminology, Desistance / Includes bibliographical references. / Kevin M. Beaver, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stephen J. Tripodi, University Representative; Gary Kleck, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_168988 |
| Contributors | Barnes, James C. (authoraut), Beaver, Kevin M. (professor directing dissertation), Tripodi, Stephen J. (university representative), Kleck, Gary (committee member), College of Criminology and Criminal Justice (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
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