Existing literature on reentry and community supervision experiences of mothers requires expansion. An age-graded informal social control life course theory perspective provided the framework for studying whether several indicators of bonds to children explained women's desistance from crime. The focus on bonds to children addressed a concern of feminist theorists, who criticize life course theory for omitting bonds that are salient influences on women's behavior. Because prior research from inmate surveys and qualitative assessments suggest that parental concerns are especially frequent, and they may be stressful for women offenders, stress from parenting is also studied as an influence on desistance. In order to statistically examine these distinct parenting-related challenges and protective factors, the connections of women's recidivism outcomes to maternal dispositions and motivations are investigated using a longitudinal design on a large sample of women offenders. Based on transcripts from three waves of interviews from a larger project's data set, and guided by life course theory and feminist criticisms of it, the current research examined parent-related factors and several measures of recidivism for 193 mothers on community supervision. This study expanded knowledge regarding maternal motivations, involvement with children, and stress from parenting, in relation to criminal desistance processes conceptualized in the theory of age-graded informal social control.
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