By Scott H. Decker and David C. Pyrooz

Why do people leave a group that they have been a member of? What do they do to leave their group? What role, if any, do the use of social media and the Internet play in this process? These are central questions that motivate our interest in desistance. In criminology the focus on desistance has been a part of the life course study of crime. This approach examines involvement in crime across the life span, and pays particular attention to initial involvement in crime during adolescence as well as declines in crime that tend to occur beginning in the early twenties. This latter process is referred to as desistance from crime and tends to occur rather rapidly, usually starting in the late teens. This is typically a period of considerable maturation, marked by the movement from adolescence into adulthood and the increasing involvement in family and the labor market. Social media play an increasingly important role in the lives of adolescents as they transition to adulthood.

Google Ideas, 2011. 21p.