Motivatie in de ontwikkeling van desistance: Jongvolwassen veelplegers 15 jaar gevolgd

Aim: Various research studies in countries worldwide have shown that most repeat offenders quit their criminal career at some point in life, many of them choosing to do so when they reach the age period of emerging adulthood (18-28 years old). This process of quitting crime has been named ‘desistance’. The aim of this study is to shed more light on why young adult repeat offenders decide to stop their criminal lifestyle and what helps them in this process of desistance. Methods: Data were collected for a group of 81 registered juvenile repeat offenders. Three waves of data collection took place, the first of which went back to the first registered offences committed by the youngsters. During the second wave of data collection, next to checking up on their ‘offence status’ 21 young adults were interviewed to get a better understanding of their motivations in life. The last wave of data was collected when the mean age of the group was 25 years old, to see which part of the group was still criminally active. Results: A motivational model has been developed based on the interviews, from Persistence tot Desistance, from having no wish to give up crime, to consolidating a non-criminal lifestyle. The stages are named: Persisting, Acknowledging, Preparing and Consolidating. This model can help place a young adult repeat offender in his or her process of desistance. Based on which stage the person is in, an approach to help them desist from crime can be chosen. Also it was found that at a mean age of 25 years old, when the group still existed of 79 young adults, 40 of them had given up their criminal career for a minimum of three years. A further 8 persons had given up their criminal career for at least two years. Conclusion: In conclusion can be stated that at 25 years old, half of the group had given up crime for a minimum of three years. This means they quit crime at 22 years old. A second conclusion is that motivation plays a large part in the process of desistance and the motivational stage should be taken into account in trying to aid a person in the process of quitting crime. Desistance is a struggle which entails a large change in a young person’s life and should not be underestimated.