Qualitative methodology for the study of desistance

Desistance has become in recent years a important research topic in criminological psychology, however the state of knowledge on this topic is still relatively limited. The desistance refers to the process by which people come to cease offending behavior. Studies on desistance are no longer focused on motivations explaining the delinquent trajectory, but try to understand “why” and especially “how” people get out of delinquency .This new scientific interest for going out of criminality brings the shift from risk-focused work to focused work on human resources. While early research has used quantitative methodology to measure the stop of criminal offenses, to understand the dynamics of the processes, the qualitative methodology is very interesting. Qualitative methods can approach the complexity of dynamics and processes of change mobilized in desistance. This presentation focuses on different methodology for studying the desistance in several areas: violent radicalization, domestic violence and juvenile delinquency with a clinical approach (case study), a longitudinal methodology and a Life course methodology. The relevance of these different methodologies and for the study of desistance will be discussed.