Abstract
This chapter presents results of the analysis of respondents’ desistance narratives. The process of desistance from criminal behavior and substance abuse was analyzed in terms of the pathways respondents took and how their significant relationships functioned to assist them. Primary desistance, the preliminary attempts at sobriety and curtailing criminal behavior, is distinguished from secondary desistance in which an identity change occurs and all antisocial behavior stops. The types of relationships respondents engaged in and the elements of these relationships crucial to desistance are explored particularly as they impacted new identity formation. Affective, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of this process are described. Identification with others is highlighted as the pivotal mechanism creating the capacity for this transformation. Cultural and societal obstacles to desistance are discussed.
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Benveniste, D.H. (2016). Pathways to Desistance. In: Changing Substance Abuse and Criminal Behavior Through Therapeutic Relationships. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53039-4_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53039-4_4
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