Rapporten - Kriminalvården

SUMMARY
The aim of the present study was to enlighten
the criminal career, focusing on
factors of importance for quitting an ongoing
severe criminal career. One hundred
male recidivists, aged 30-38 years and
incarcerated in prisons in the region of
Stockholm, Sweden, were studied. The
subjects were interviewed regarding lifesituation
factors, e.g., criminality and
addiction, quality of social networks, lodging
situation, economic status, work and
leisuretime. Inclusion criteria for participating
in the study were that the subject
had at least three prior convictions to
prison and at least a total of one year of
prison served. In a follow-up three years
after the release from prison, registered
criminal activity was obtained and used in
►SUMMARY◄
-7-
yielding four recidivism groups. These
groups were then studied regarding differrences
in the collected lifesituation factors.
The results indicated significant
differences within certain areas between
those who kept out of conviction and
those who showed severe recidivism during
the three year period studied. The subjects
free of convictions displayed better
quality in relationships and lodging, they
also differed in their evaluation of addiction
and the criminal life-style. The results
are discussed with a focus on the necessity
to quit drug-related social contacts and
the overall complexity of the interactional
process of giving up crime.