Age-Graded Transitions and Turning Points in Polish Offenders’ Criminal Careers from the Standpoint of Life Course Theory

Krzysztof Pękala, Andrzej Kacprzak, Piotr Chomczyński, Jakub Ratajczak, Michał Marczak, Remigiusz Kozłowski, Dariusz Timler, Anna Pękala-Wojciechowska and Paweł Rasmus
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Krzysztof Pękala: Department of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 90-419 Lodz, Poland
Andrzej Kacprzak: Department of Applied Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Lodz, 90-136 Lodz, Poland
Piotr Chomczyński: Department of Sociology of Organization and Management, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Lodz, 90-136 Lodz, Poland
Jakub Ratajczak: Department of Management and Logistics in Healthcare, Medical University of Lodz, 90-419 Lodz, Poland
Michał Marczak: Department of Management and Logistics in Healthcare, Medical University of Lodz, 90-419 Lodz, Poland
Remigiusz Kozłowski: Center of Security Technologies in Logistics, Faculty of Management, University of Lodz, 90-136 Lodz, Poland
Dariusz Timler: Department of Emergency Medicine and Disaster Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, 90-419 Lodz, Poland
Anna Pękala-Wojciechowska: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, First Chair of Internal Diseases, Medical University of Lodz, 90-419 Lodz, Poland
Paweł Rasmus: Department of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 90-419 Lodz, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-11

Abstract: Both juvenile and adult criminal careers show regularities in the origins of delinquency, the dynamics of the criminal pathway, and the turning points that lead to desistance/persistence in crime. Research shows that family, education, and friendship environments contribute significantly to the individual choices that create criminal biographies. Our aim was to apply core aspects of life course theory (LCT): trajectory, the aged-graded process, transitions, institutions, and ultimately how desistance/persistence factor into explaining the criminal careers of Polish offenders. The research is based on in-depth interviews (130) carried out with both offenders (90) and experts (40). The offenders were divided into two groups: 30 were juveniles, and 60 were adults of whom half were sentenced for the first time (30) and half were recidivists (30) located in correctional institutions or released. The experts group (40) includes psychologists, educators, social rehabilitators, and prison and juvenile detention personnel working with offenders. We used triangulation of researcher, data, and methodology. Our data revealed that similar biographical experiences characterized by an early socialization, family and friends-based circles laid the groundwork for their entry and continued participation in criminal activity. Juvenile and adult first-time sentenced offenders led criminal careers significantly different from those of recidivists, who faced problems with social adaptation caused by lack of family and institutional support.

Keywords: life course theory; criminal careers; qualitative research; juvenile offenders; adult offenders; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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