Deterrence, Defiance and Deviance: An Investigation Into a Group of Recidivist rink Drivers' Self-Reported Offending Behaviours.

This article reports on the utilisation of aspects of defiance, deviance and deterrence theories to examine the self-reported offending behaviours and punishment experiences for a group of recidivist drink drivers (N = 166).The analysis indicated that the sample perceived their penalties as severe yet fair, but not entirely certain nor swift. Participants also reported they were treated fairly in court and received reasonable punishments compared t o others, but a considerable proportion reported low levels of respect for the law and questioned the government's legitimacy to control drink driving. Multivariate analysis revealed that factors from all three models were identified as predictors of reoffending (e.g., severity, government legitimacy and respect for the law), as well as for the frequency of drink driving in the past (e.g., certainty and severity of punishment, personal shame and respect for the law).The findings indicate that aspects of all three models are applicable to the examination of habitual reoffending, but a number of factors appear associated with a drink driving offence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]