Social bond theory argues that weak bonds (e.g., relationships, values, activities) with society facilitate engagement in crime and deviance. As these bonds are strengthened, young people grow out of deviance and into prosocial adulthood roles. Social bond theory has four classic components: Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, and Belief. While these components are significant for adolescents and youth, research has yet to examine how social bonds function for young and emerging adults (ages 18–29). This article examines how emerging adults identify and define which social bonds are essential in their transition into prosocial adulthood. Life story interviews were conducted with emerging adults (n = 30), approximately half of whom have histories of justice system involvement. Themes from interviews inform a reconceptualization of social bond theory for emerging adults focusing on two key elements: (a) Attachment and (b) Commitment Through Involvement.
Abeling-JudgeD. (2021). Social bonding experiences facilitating desistance in adolescence. Crime & Delinquency, 67(2), 287–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128720940952
2.
AdlerJ. M.DunlopW. L.FivushR.LilgendahlJ. P.Lodi-SmithJ.McAdamsD. P.McLeanK. C.PasupathiM.SyedM. (2017). Research methods for studying narrative identity: A primer. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(5), 519–527. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617698202
3.
AllanG. (2008). Flexibility, friendship, and family. Personal Relationships, 15(1), 1–16.
4.
ArnettJ. J. (1997). Young people’s conceptions of the transition to adulthood. Youth & Society, 29(1), 3–23.
5.
ArnettJ. J. (1998). Learning to stand alone: The contemporary American transition to adulthood in cultural and historical context. Human Development, 41(5–6), 295–315.
6.
ArnettJ. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.
7.
ArnettJ. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. Oxford University Press.
8.
ArnettJ. J. (2005). The developmental context of substance use in emerging adulthood. Journal of Drug Issues, 35(2), 235–254.
9.
ArnettJ. J. (2015). The cultural psychology of emerging adulthood. In JensenL. A. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human development & culture (pp. 487–501). Oxford University Press.
10.
ArnettJ. J. (2016). Emerging adulthood theory and research. In ArnettJ. J. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 1–7). Oxford University Press.
11.
BarryC. M.MadsenS. D.DeGraceA. (2016). Growing up with a little help from their friends in emerging adulthood. In ArnettJ. J. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 215–229). Oxford University Press.
12.
BersaniB. E.DohertyE. E. (2018). Desistance from offending in the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Criminology, 1, 311–334.
13.
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
14.
BushwayS. D.ThornberryT. P.KrohnM. D. (2003). Desistance as a developmental process: A comparison of static and dynamic approaches. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 19(2), 129–153.
15.
Carbone-LopezK.MillerJ. (2012). Precocious role entry as a mediating factor in women’s methamphetamine use: Implications for life-course and pathways research. Criminology, 50(1), 187–220.
16.
CarstensenL. L.IsaacowitzD. M.CharlesS. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54(3), 165–181.
17.
CharmazK. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative research. Sage Publications.
18.
ChassinL.PittsS. C.ProstJ. (2002). Binge drinking trajectories from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a high-risk sample: Predictors and substance abuse outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(1), 67–78.
19.
ConradC.NeumannA.HaworthJ. G.ScottP. (1993). Qualitative research in higher education: Experiencing alternative perspective and approaches. Ginn Press.
20.
CoppJ. E.GiordanoP. C.LongmoreM. A.ManningW. D. (2020). Desistance from crime during the transition to adulthood: The influence of parents, peers, and shifts in identity. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 57(3), 294–332.
21.
CostelloB. J.LaubJ. H. (2020). Social control theory: The legacy of Travis Hirschi’s causes of delinquency. Annual Review of Criminology, 3, 21–41.
22.
CôtéJ.BynnerJ. M. (2008). Changes in the transition to adulthood in the UK and Canada: The role of structure and agency in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth Studies, 11(3), 251–268.
23.
CoyleB. (2019). “What the f**k is maturity?”: Young adulthood, subjective maturity, and desistance from crime. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(5), 1178–1198. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azz010
24.
CreswellJ. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. SAGE.
25.
CreswellJ. W.ClarkV. L. P. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. SAGE.
26.
DeterdingN. M.WatersM. C. (2021). Flexible coding of in-depth interviews: A twenty-first-century approach. Sociological Methods & Research, 50(2), 708–739. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124118799377
27.
DubasJ. S.PetersenA. C. (1996). Geographical distance from parents and adjustment during adolescence and young adulthood. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1996(71), 3–19.
28.
ElderG. H. (1998). The life course as developmental theory. Child Development, 69, 1–12.
29.
EriksonE. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company.
30.
FarrallS. (2002). Rethinking what works with offenders. Willan Publishing.
31.
FingermanK. L.YahirunJ. J. (2016). Emerging adulthood in the context of family. In ArnettJ. J. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 163–176). Oxford University Press.
32.
FurstenbergF.RumbautR.SetterstenR. (2005). On the frontier of adulthood: Emerging themes and new directions. In SetterstenR.FurstenbergF.RumbautR. (Eds.), On the frontier of adulthood: Theory, research, and public policy (pp. 3–25). University of Chicago Press.
33.
GiordanoP. C.CernkovichS. A.RudolphJ. L. (2002). Gender, crime, & desistance: Toward a theory of cognitive transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 107(4), 990–1064.
34.
GlaserB.StraussA. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
35.
GreeneA. L.WheatleyS. M.AldavaJ. FIV. (1992). Stages on life’s way: Adolescents’ implicit theories of the life course. Journal of Adolescent Research, 7(3), 364–381.
36.
HirschiT. (1969). Causes of delinquency. University of California Press.
37.
HoffmannJ. (2011). Delinquency theories: Appraisals and applications. Routledge.
38.
KangT. (2019). The transition to adulthood of contemporary delinquent adolescents. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, 5(2), 176–202.
39.
KazemianL. (2007). Desistance from crime: Theoretical, empirical, methodological, and policy considerations. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23(1), 5–27.
40.
KingP. M.KitchenerK. S. (2016). Cognitive development in the emerging adult: The emergence of complex cognitive skills. In ArnettJ. J. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 105–125). Oxford University Press.
41.
KolbS. M. (2012). Grounded theory and the constant comparative method. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 3(1), 83–86.
42.
KubrinC. E.StuckyT. D.KrohnM. D. (2009). Researching theories of crime and deviance. Oxford University Press.
43.
LaubJ. H.RowanZ. R.SampsonR. J. (2018). The age-graded theory of informal social control. In FarringtonD. P.KazemianL.PiqueroA. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of developmental and life-course criminology (pp. 295–322). Oxford University Press.
44.
LaubJ. H.SampsonR. J. (2001). Understanding desistance from crime. Crime and Justice, 28, 1–69.
45.
LaubJ. H.SampsonR. J. (2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Harvard University Press.
46.
LloydK. M.TuranovicJ. J. (2020). Instrumental support from parents and substance use during the transition to adulthood. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, 6(4), 477–498.
47.
LopezJ.ScottJ. (2000). Social structure. Open University Press.
48.
MagoldaM. B.TaylorK. (2016). Developing self-authorship in college to navigate emerging adulthood. In ArnettJ. J. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 299–315). Oxford University Press.
49.
MarshallE.ButlerK. (2016). School-to-work transitions in emerging adulthood. In ArnettJ. J. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 316–333). Oxford University Press.
50.
MatzaD. (1964). Delinquency and drift. Wiley.
51.
McAdamsD. P. (1988). Power, intimacy, and the life story: Personological inquiries into identity. Guilford.
52.
McAdamsD. P. (1993). The stories we live by: Personal myths & the making of the self. Morrow.
53.
McAdamsD. P. (2008). Personal narratives and the life story. In JohnO. P.RobinsR. W.PervinL. A. (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 242–262). Guilford.
54.
McAdamsD. P.HoffmanB.DayR.MansfieldE. (1996). Themes of agency and communion in significant autobiographical scenes. Journal of Personality, 64(2), 339–377.
55.
McCabeA.DinhK. T. (2018). High points, low points, turning points: Life stories of Cambodian American Youth. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, 13(1), 1–28.
56.
MoffittT. E.CaspiA.HarringtonH.MilneB. J. (2002). Males on the life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways: Follow-up at age 26 years. Development and Psychopathology, 14(1), 179–207.
57.
MurdockG. (1949). Social structure. MacMillan.
58.
NaderE. S. (2019). Desistance among emerging adults: A mixed methods approach to understanding identity formation, community, and relationships (Publication No. 22617674) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts Lowell]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
59.
O’ConnorT. G.AllenJ. P.BellK. L.HauserS. T. (1996). Adolescent-parent relationships and leaving home in young adulthood. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1996(71), 39–52.
60.
PerryW. G.Jr. (1999). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
61.
PiqueroA. R.BrameR.MazerolleP.HaapanenR. (2002). Crime in emerging adulthood. Criminology, 40(1), 137–170.
62.
SalvatoreC. (2017). The emerging adulthood gap: Integrating emerging adulthood into life course criminology. International Social Science Review, 93(1), 1–22.
63.
SalvatoreC.TaniguchiT. A. (2012). Do social bonds matter for emerging adults?Deviant Behavior, 33(9), 738–756.
64.
SampsonR. J.LaubJ. H. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Harvard University Press.
65.
SampsonR. J.RaudenbushS. W.EarlsF. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277(5328), 918–924.
66.
ScheerS. D.UngerD. G.BrownM. B. (1996). Adolescents becoming adults: Attributes for adulthood. Adolescence, 31(121), 127–131.
67.
SchiraldiV.WesternB.BradnerK. (2015). Community-based responses to justice-involved young adults. U.S. Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.
68.
SchroederR. (2014). Social bonding and crime. In BeaverK. M.BarnesJ. C.BoutwellB. B. (Eds.), The nurture versus biosocial debate in criminology: On the origins of criminal behavior and criminality (pp. 218–235). SAGE.
69.
ShanahanM. J. (2000). Pathways to adulthood in changing societies: Variability and mechanisms in life course perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 667–692.
70.
ShulmanS.ConnollyJ. (2013). The challenge of romantic relationships in emerging adulthood: Reconceptualization of the field. Emerging Adulthood, 1(1), 27–39.
71.
ShulmanS.ConnollyJ. (2016). The challenge of romantic relationship in emerging adulthood. In ArnettJ. J. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 230–244). Oxford University Press.
72.
StraussA.CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research techniques. SAGE.
73.
TaylorS. J.BogdanR.DeVaultM. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
74.
TimmermansS.TavoryI. (2012). Theory construction in qualitative research: From grounded theory to abductive analysis. Sociological Theory, 30(3), 167–186.
75.
UmamaheswarJ. (2018). A life-course perspective on incarcerated women’s views on adulthood. Women & Criminal Justice, 28(5), 351–374.
76.
UmamaheswarJ. (2020). “When the hell are you going to grow up?”: A life-course account of hybrid masculinities among incarcerated men. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, 6(1), 127–151.
77.
WarnerC.RemsterB. (2021). Criminal justice contact, residential independence, and returns to the parental home. Journal of Marriage and Family, 83(2), 322–339.
