Stopping Out and Going Back: The Impact of Educational Attainment on Criminal Desistance Among Stopped-Out Offenders

Education has been consistently studied as a source of crime prevention and control, but the relevance of returning and completing educational degrees among offenders who drop out, as an opportunity to further the process of desistance, has not received empirical attention. The current study addresses this gap in desistance research by examining the impact of educational return and specific degree attainment on desistance from crime using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Results indicate that reenrolling in educational pursuits can produce partial desistance effects as does specific degree attainment. The findings suggest a reconsideration of education as both a source of prevention and desistance and expands theoretical and practical discussion of desistance through educational pursuits.