This article conceptualizes intermittency in the form of Matza's drift and assesses the relationship between co-offending and intermittency to determine whether the gap between offenses is influenced by a situation of company.
This article conceptualizes intermittency in the form of Matza's drift and assesses the relationship between co-offending and intermittency to determine whether the gap between offenses is influenced by a situation of company. Using the 1958 Philadelphia Birth Cohort, we explore the age/intermittency curve for the entire sample and lifetime co-, solo-, and mixed offenders to determine whether co-offending during the life-course influences intermittency. We devote particular attention to lifetime mixed offenders, who exhibit variation between co-offending and solo-offending, by using survival analysis to predict the risk of re-offending i.e., time to re-offense when the immediately prior offense was a co-offense. Findings suggest that lifetime mixed offenders have the shortest average gaps between offenses. Among mixed offenders, an immediately prior co-offense is related to a significantly lower risk of re-offending longer time between offenses. The results do not support a relationship between a situation of company and persistent offending behavior. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage.