Cognitive loopholes of crime: Mapping the Codevelopment of moral disengagement within perceptions of risks and rewards.

ABSTRACT: Prior research has examined individuals' perceptions of punishments (PP) and rewards (PR) for crime, as well as their use of moral disengagement (MD), to understand why adolescents and young adults commit crimes. However, the joint development of these cognitions as a broader risk-perception mechanism remains understudied. This paper explores the independent and relational development of these processes in justice-involved youth. Data from 1,170 male participants (42.1% Black, 34.0% Hispanic, 19.2% White, 4.6% Other) in the Pathways to Desistance study were analyzed using a three-variable autoregressive latent trajectory model. MD, PP, and PR were measured across 11 waves and 7 years, allowing for the simultaneous examination of individual trajectories and their bidirectional relationships

SUBMITTER: Decrop R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12305401 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature