Different dimensions, different mechanisms? Distinguishing relationship status and quality effects on desistance

Abstract

This study follows from a long line of research aimed at understanding the effects of romantic relationships on desistance from crime. We expanded this work by testing the differential effects of relationship status (i.e., single, dating, cohabiting, married) and relationship quality on crime and the different mechanisms explaining these effects. We drew upon longitudinal data on African American young adults, and utilized a fixed effects approach to examine intraindividual change in relationship status, relationship quality, and offending. Results suggested that, for men, relationship status was directly associated with crime, in that coresidential unions reduced offending independent of their quality. High-quality relationships, however, were found to deter crime for both men and women no matter their form. The effect of relationship status was largely accounted for by social control processes, whereas the relationship quality effect was explained by cognitive transformation, particularly a change in the "criminogenic knowledge structure." These findings demand greater attention to multiple dimensions of relationships and the unique mechanisms through which they may foster desistance.