![]() Our research is based on 138 longitudinal qualitative interviews with 15 male and seven female prisoners in Michigan during their final months in prison and the two years following release. Incorporating insights from research on women's desistance – such as the potential for romantic relationships with criminally-involved men to become pathways into crime for women, we also consider gender differences in the role of romantic relationships in desistance ( Daly 1994, Steffensmeier and Allan 1996, Chesney-Lind and Shelden 1998, Harm and Phillips 2001, O'Brien 2001, Giordano et al. This framework incorporates theoretical insights from prior research on the protective effects of marriage but also considers pathways through which romantic relationships can encourage criminality, particularly when offenders’ partners are engaged in anti-social behaviors. 1ĭrawing on empirical examples from qualitative research on returning prisoners, we offer a conceptual framework that identifies and explicates the primary pathways through which romantic partnerships can enhance or hinder efforts to desist from crime after prison. We build on recent ethnographic work on the importance of intense but fleeting “disposable ties” in the survival strategies of the urban poor ( Desmond 2012) and argue that given the dearth of resources, attachments and identities to which many former prisoners have access, romantic relationships of even the most tenuous sort may prove deeply influential to desistance processes. This paper extends the scope of current criminal desistance research by considering the significance of a broad array of romantic relationships, and a more diverse array of social processes through which relationships may be linked with desistance. For example, an increasing number of studies have shown that some romantic relationships actually encourage criminality, particularly when partners are themselves engaged in anti-social behaviors ( Simons et al. ![]() 2002, Western 2007), and studies that have considered a broader range of romantic relationships have not yielded consistent findings. Marriage, however, has become increasingly rare among criminal offenders and returning prisoners ( Giordano et al. ![]() The formation of high quality marital relationships is understood to be one of the key potential “turning points” in desisting from crime (1993, Warr 1998, Laub and Sampson 2003, Sampson et al. While more tenuous bonds to marginally conventional partners would seem to exert little effect, as one of the few relationships and social roles available to many former prisoners, we found that they wielded important influence, if not always in a positive direction. We also consider gender differences in these processes. These pathways include material circumstances, social bonds and interactions, and emotional supports and stressors. We present an empirically-based typology detailing six processes, grouped within three conceptual categories, through which romantic relationships had their effects. Drawing on 138 longitudinal in-depth interviews with 22 men and women reentering society from prison, this paper extends the scope of desistance research by additionally considering the significance of more fleeting and fluid relationships, and the diverse processes through which romantic relationships of all sorts are linked with criminal behaviors. Empirical studies supporting this claim have largely focused on the positive role of marriage in men's desistance from crime, and relatively few studies have examined the role that non-marital relationships may play in desistance. In dominant theories of criminal desistance, marital relationship formation is understood to be a key “turning point” away from deviant behavior.
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