Self-efficacy, the subjective belief that one can successfully perform a behavior, has been shown to be an important predictor of various conventional behaviors. This study applies self-efficacy theory to offending experiences and aims at examining the factors that influence criminal self-efficacy.

The study is based on a survey questionnaire that was administered to 212 inmates. The sources of information identified by self-efficacy theory—individual and contextual characteristics, physiological states, social persuasion, vicarious learning, and personal performance accomplishments—were operationalized with the data to evaluate their impact on criminal self-efficacy.

Results from ordered logistic regressions demonstrate that age, education, legitimate earnings, relative criminal earnings, qualifications, authority, and criminal earnings are the most potent factors influencing the development of criminal self-efficacy.

This study’s findings are consistent with research on noncriminal contexts in that one’s self-efficacy in a given domain is primarily the result of personal and vicarious experiences as well as contextual features surrounding these activities. While this study could not evaluate the temporal horizons extending from criminal self-efficacy, we believe that these subjective outlooks bare great theoretical relevance for life course criminology and might prove informative in understanding criminal persistence and desistance.