Settling Down and Aging Out: Toward an Interactionist Theory of Desistance and the Transition to Adulthood

摘要

Conceptions of adulthood have changed dramatically in recent decades, with shifts in the timing and sequencing of classic markers such as parenthood and school completion. Despite such changes, however, the notion that young people will eventually “settle down” and desist from delinquent behaviors is remarkably persistent. Uniting life course criminology with classic work on age norms and role behavior, we contend that people who persist in delinquency will be less likely to view themselves as adults, less likely to achieve behavioral markers of adulthood, and less likely to make timely adult transitions than others their age. Our analysis of longitudinal survey data and intensive interview data supports this proposition, with both arrest and self-reported crime blocking the passage to adult status. We conclude that settling down or desisting from delinquency is an important part of the package of role behaviors that define adulthood in the contemporary United States.