Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice
Advisor
Grace Telesco
Committee Member
Jennifer Allen
Committee Member
Maria Levi-Minzi
Keywords
Violent female offenders, juvenile delinquency, family household structure, maternal incarceration
Abstract
The number of females under correctional supervision has been increasing in the last four decades. For adult women, these offenses are generally drug offenses; however, there have also been increases in the number of women committing violent crimes. Unfortunately, violent females are an understudied population, which limits the data available to inform programs and policies that could address the problem. This study explored potential factors related to violent behavior among adult females by analyzing public-use data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. More specifically, violent and nonviolent state and federal female inmates were assessed regarding juvenile detainments, household structure, and maternal incarceration. Developing a deeper understanding of violent females is crucial for future gender- responsive prevention and intervention strategies.
The following research questions were explored: (1) How does the frequency of detainment in a juvenile correctional facility compare between violent and nonviolent adult female offenders? (2) How does the childhood family structure compare between violent and nonviolent adult female offenders? (3) How do nonviolent and violent female offenders compare in terms of experiences with maternal incarceration? (4) How does the frequency of violent crime compare between violent adult female offenders who have experienced maternal incarceration and those who have not? These questions were tested using Mann-Whitney U tests and chi-square tests of independence. The results found that violent female offenders reported higher rates of juvenile detainment than nonviolent female offenders. The analyses for household structure and maternal incarceration did not yield statistically significant results. These findings highlight the importance of programs that focus on juveniles and continuing research on justice-involved females.
NSUWorks Citation
Lauren N. Fowler. 2024. Female Offenders: Exploring Risk Factors for Adulthood Violence. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. (715)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_etd/715.
