The article presents a study on gender, crime, and desistance, focusing on serious adolescent female delinquents and similarly situated males. It challenges the traditional theory of informal social control, which emphasizes the role of marriage and job stability in desistance. Instead, the authors propose a cognitive theory of desistance, emphasizing the internal cognitive transformations that occur during the process of leaving crime. They argue that while social control theories are useful, they lack the specificity needed to explain the mechanisms of change. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative data, including life history narratives, to illustrate the cognitive shifts that occur in desistance. The authors find that factors such as marital attachment and job stability are not strongly related to desistance in females, and that race/ethnicity and historical changes complicate the picture. They also highlight the importance of cognitive and identity transformations in the desistance process, and argue that these processes are more aligned with symbolic interaction theory than social control theory. The study concludes that a symbolic-interactionist perspective can be integrated with social control notions to provide a more complete understanding of desistance processes. The authors also emphasize the role of agency and the importance of considering the intersection of gender and other forms of disadvantage in understanding desistance. The study's findings suggest that cognitive and identity transformations are central to the desistance process, and that these processes are more relevant for female offenders than for males. The study also highlights the importance of considering the structural and cultural forces that influence desistance, and the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to desistance. The authors argue that their theory of cognitive transformation provides a more nuanced understanding of desistance than previous theories, and that it is particularly relevant for understanding the experiences of contemporary serious female and male offenders.The article presents a study on gender, crime, and desistance, focusing on serious adolescent female delinquents and similarly situated males. It challenges the traditional theory of informal social control, which emphasizes the role of marriage and job stability in desistance. Instead, the authors propose a cognitive theory of desistance, emphasizing the internal cognitive transformations that occur during the process of leaving crime. They argue that while social control theories are useful, they lack the specificity needed to explain the mechanisms of change. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative data, including life history narratives, to illustrate the cognitive shifts that occur in desistance. The authors find that factors such as marital attachment and job stability are not strongly related to desistance in females, and that race/ethnicity and historical changes complicate the picture. They also highlight the importance of cognitive and identity transformations in the desistance process, and argue that these processes are more aligned with symbolic interaction theory than social control theory. The study concludes that a symbolic-interactionist perspective can be integrated with social control notions to provide a more complete understanding of desistance processes. The authors also emphasize the role of agency and the importance of considering the intersection of gender and other forms of disadvantage in understanding desistance. The study's findings suggest that cognitive and identity transformations are central to the desistance process, and that these processes are more relevant for female offenders than for males. The study also highlights the importance of considering the structural and cultural forces that influence desistance, and the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to desistance. The authors argue that their theory of cognitive transformation provides a more nuanced understanding of desistance than previous theories, and that it is particularly relevant for understanding the experiences of contemporary serious female and male offenders.