Differences in the cognitive ability and personality of desisters and re-offenders: A prospective study among young offenders

Abstract

This study investigates differences in cognitive and personality characteristics between desisters and re-offenders by the use of a discriminant analysis. One hundred and eight young offenders who had been given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to a criminal offence were assessed psychologically. Five years later their records of prison sentences were collected, which revealed that 44 (41%) of the young offenders had been re-convicted for a serious criminal offence (mainly property offences and acts of violence). The desisters were superior to the re-offenders in their intellectual and memory abilities as well as having more pro-social and compliant characteristics.