Immigration as a trigger to knife off from delinquency? Desistance and persistence among male adolescents from the Former Soviet Union in Germany

Bibliographic Data

ID12900053
AuthorsSteffen Zdun (0000-0002-5122-6099, Technische Universität Braunschweig, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume11
Issue4
Pages307-323
Publication date2011-05-16
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCriminology & Criminal Justice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-8958 • E-ISSN: 1748-8966
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1748895811408835
OpenAlexW2144929608
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited27

Recent work on desistance from delinquency increasingly considers knifing off — an explicit change of one’s social environment and opportunity structure — but has largely ignored immigration as a cause of knifing off. Interviews with 26 migrants from the Former Soviet Union who were involved in delinquency prior to emigration to Germany show that differences between desisters and persisters with respect to delinquency, agency and the social and structural situation arise just after arrival. Desisters can progress quickly when their agency and motivation are acknowledged in society and when receiving support from new friends and society. Persistence appears to be fostered by quick and repeated negative experiences, and reinforced by making friends who share similar problems rather than providing support in the process of integration

Agency (philosophy · Criminology · Emigration · Immigration · Juvenile delinquency · Persistence (discontinuity · Political science · Politics · Social integration · Social science · Sociology · Soviet union · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Engineering · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

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