Recent work on desistance from delinquency increasingly considers knifing off — an explicit change of one’s social environment and opportunity structure — but has largely ignored immigration as a cause of knifing off. Interviews with 26 migrants from the Former Soviet Union who were involved in delinquency prior to emigration to Germany show that differences between desisters and persisters with respect to delinquency, agency and the social and structural situation arise just after arrival. Desisters can progress quickly when their agency and motivation are acknowledged in society and when receiving support from new friends and society. Persistence appears to be fostered by quick and repeated negative experiences, and reinforced by making friends who share similar problems rather than providing support in the process of integration.
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