While violent crime among females has nearly doubled,
research on crime still tends to focus on male offending. To better understand
the developmental patterns of female crime, this study identifies the
trajectories of female offending from ages 14–25 years and examines the risk
factors for persistent offending. Female trajectories and risk factors for
offending are compared to those from a matched sample of males.
Participants include 172 serious (largely felony level)
offending females and a matched sample of 172 males from the Pathways to
Desistance study. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify patterns
of female and male offending behavior (assessed via self-report) across 7
years.
Findings indicate that there is great heterogeneity in
criminal behavior among serious female offenders with roughly 7 % of females’
criminal careers persisting into adulthood. Notable differences in the risk
factors for male and female offending trajectories were found. Females who
persist in their criminal careers tend to be exposed to more violence in their
lives, have more mental health problems, and experience more adversarial
interpersonal relationships compared to those who desist.
Although the pathways of male and female offending may
follow remarkably similar patterns, the underlying factors that distinguish
among these trajectories are often different for females than for males. As
such, there is great need for a more nuanced understanding of the most common
precursors to persistent female offending.
Below: Trajectories of offending among females only
Full article at: http://goo.gl/9F4C7d
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