Dissertation
On the road to adulthood
On Tuesday 26th September Jessica Hill defended her thesis ‘On the road to adulthood. Delinquency and desistance in Dutch emerging adults’. The supervisor is Professor Arjan Blokland.
- Author
- Jessica Hill
- Date
- 26 September 2017
- Links
- News item Ph.D. defence Jessica Hill
- Leiden University Repository
This thesis demonstrates that for Dutch young people, on the way towards the stability, independence, and responsibilities of adulthood, but not quite there yet, desisting from delinquency is not self-evident. Certain features of this time of life increase the risk of continued involvement in delinquent behaviour, such as engaging in excessive alcohol use, boomeranging back into dependent roles, or relying on parents for financial support. In contrast, indications that adulthood has been achieved, such as leaving home, having a steady partner, and progressing through education and into employment, are linked to another indicator of adulthood: desistance.