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Title: The Impact of Socio-demographic Characteristics and Cognitive Transformation on Desistance from High Risk Behaviors
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Anderson, Annika Yvette |
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The Impact of Socio-demographic Characteristics and Cognitive Transformation on Desistance from High Risk Behaviors Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, Washington State University, 2015 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) Keyword(s): Behavior, Antisocial; Crime; Disconnected Youth; Ethnic Differences; Expectations/Intentions; Racial Differences Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. This study explores the conduits and barriers to identity transformation and successful desistance for a sample of high-risk adolescents transitioning into adulthood in the United States. I use multivariate analyses of data drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997-2011 (rounds 1-15), to answer several research questions: 1) Who among high-risk youth are most likely to undergo a cognitive transformation? 2) Who is most likely to desist? 3) What impact does cognitive transformation have on chances of desistance? 4) What are the similar/different factors relevant for race-ethnic groups in the cognitive transformation and desistance process? This study investigates the impact of both social bonds and an individual's cognitive change between 1997 and 2000 on criminality in 2000 and 2001. My findings show that Hispanic respondents who envisioned better futures for themselves had decreased chances of a future arrest compared to those whose future expectations did not change or worsened. I also found that there may be racial differences in the identity change and desistance process because black respondents were less likely than Hispanic respondents to envision positive future changes. This research adds a social psychological perspective to the desistance literature and is necessary in light of the high arrest/incarceration rates (especially among blacks) and the subsequent large population of formerly incarcerated people in the United States. |
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Bibliography Citation
Anderson, Annika Yvette. The Impact of Socio-demographic Characteristics and Cognitive Transformation on Desistance from High Risk Behaviors. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, Washington State University, 2015. |