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Romantic Relationships and Time-Varying Moderators of Desistance

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Romantic Relationships and Time-Varying Moderators of Desistance ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND TIME-VARYING MODERATORS OF DESISTANCE: A FOCUS ON ADOLESCENCE, EMERGING ADULTHOOD, AND ADULTHOOD _____________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology Sam Houston State University _____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _____________ by Sara Briana Zedaker May, 2017 ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND TIME-VARYING MODERATORS OF DESISTANCE: A FOCUS ON ADOLESCENCE, EMERGING ADULTHOOD, AND ADULTHOOD by Sara Briana Zedaker ______________ APPROVED: Leana A. Bouffard, PhD Dissertation Director Cortney Franklin, PhD Committee Member Erin Orrick, PhD Committee Member Phillip Lyons, PhD Dean, College of Criminal Justice DEDICATION First and foremost, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Bill and Rhonda Simmons. Without your constant love, support, and encouragement I would never have made it this far. I love you both so much more than words can say. Second, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Wade. You have been a constant source of support since I started this program and I can never thank you enough. You have been there for me through all the stress and given up so much of yourself to help me achieve my dreams. Most importantly, you gave me the best gift of all to make finishing this program so much more worth it: the pending arrival of our son, Cooper. I love you so much. Third, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my sister, Leesa. I know you think I am crazy for doing this, but you have always been there to listen when I have been overwhelmed. I love you so much and I am so thankful you are my sister! Fourth, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my Nana, Fonetta Simmons. I will never forget living with you while going to St. Edward’s and our adventures. I hope you know how much of an important role you played in why I am here today. I love you so much. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my best friend, Jessica Wells. This whole process is so scary and overwhelming at times and I am forever thankful that we were on this crazy ride together. Not only did I earn my PhD, but I also met the best friend I could ever ask for. iii ABSTRACT Zedaker, Sara Briana, Romantic relationships and time-varying moderators of desistance: A focus on adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood. Doctor of Philosophy (Criminal Justice and Criminology), May, 2017, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. The impact of marriage on antisocial behavior is consistently documented in extant literature (Giordano, Cernkovich, & Rudolph, 2002; King, Massoglia, & MacMillan, 2007; Sampson & Laub, 1993, 2003); however, the impact of dating and cohabiting relationships has received less attention. As such, this dissertation uses six waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance study to examine how elements of romantic relationships, peer relationships, and sex have differential effects on individuals in adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood with regard to desistance from non- violent offending, violent offending, and official arrest. Results indicated a number of differential relationship affects for adolescents, emerging adults, and adults. In addition, peer influence and sex differences were noted. Peer antisocial influence continued to matter throughout the life course and romantic relationship involvement and quality of romantic relationships did not mitigate this effect. In addition, non-violent and violent offending both decreased as individuals aged. Limitations, future research, and policy recommendations are discussed. KEY WORDS: Desistance, Life-course, Adolescence, Emerging adulthood, Adulthood iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 II LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 16 Adolescence .......................................................................................................... 16 Adolescent Relationships with Peers .................................................................... 18 Adolescent Romantic Relationships ..................................................................... 21 Delinquency in Adolescence................................................................................. 29 Emerging/Young Adulthood ................................................................................. 38 Adulthood ............................................................................................................. 45 Relationships with Peers in Emerging Adulthood and Adulthood ....................... 47 Romantic Relationships in Emerging Adulthood and Adulthood ........................ 49 Offending in Emerging Adulthood and Adulthood .............................................. 56 Desistance ............................................................................................................. 60 III THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ........................................................................ 67 Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control ................................................... 67 Gender Differences in Offending .......................................................................... 76 v IV METHODS ........................................................................................................... 82 Data ....................................................................................................................... 82 Measurement ......................................................................................................... 84 Research Questions and Hypotheses .................................................................. 101 Analytic Strategy ................................................................................................ 101 V RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 111 Adolescents ......................................................................................................... 111 Emerging Adults ................................................................................................. 132 Adults .................................................................................................................. 162 Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models ............................................................ 190 VI DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 204 Summary of Adolescent Results ......................................................................... 204 Summary of Emerging Adult Results ................................................................. 209 Summary of Adult Results .................................................................................. 214 Summary of Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models ....................................... 217 Control Variables ................................................................................................ 220 Link to Intimate Partner Violence within Relationships ..................................... 221 Limitations and Future Research ........................................................................ 223 Policy Recommendations.................................................................................... 225 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 228 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 232 VITA ............................................................................................................................... 309 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Factor Loadings for Wave 1 and Wave 2 Non-Violent Offending ....................... 87 2 Factor Loadings for Wave 7 and Wave 8 Non-Violent Offending ....................... 88 3 Factor Loadings for Wave 10 and Wave 11 Non-Violent Offending ................... 89 4 Wave 1 and Wave 2 Descriptive Statistics ........................................................... 95 5 Wave 7 and Wave 8 Descriptive Statistics ........................................................... 97 6 Wave 10 and Wave 11 Descriptive Statistics ....................................................... 99 7 Bivariate Analyses Between Non-Violent Offending, Violent Offending, Arrest, and Relationship Status ....................................................................................... 113 8 Baseline Regression Models for Non-Violent Offending, Violent Offending, Arrest, and Relationship Status ........................................................................... 115 9 Independent Samples T-Tests between Quality of Romantic Relationships, Monitoring by Partner, Antisocial Influence of Partner, Violent Offending,
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