Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Feminist Criminology
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Belknap, J.
Right arrow Articles by Holsinger, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

The Gendered Nature of Risk Factors for Delinquency

Joanne Belknap

University of Colorado

Kristi Holsinger

University of Missouri-Kansas City

Traditional delinquency theories typically exclude girls and examine economic marginalization as the primary risk factor for boys. More recent mainstream theories expand the childhood strains associated with delinquency but fail to account for the link between childhood abuses and subsequent offending reported in the feminist pathways studies of girls and women. In addition, policies since the 1990s request the development of "gender-specific services" for delinquent girls without examining how the risks are gendered. This study of 444 incarcerated youths’ self-reports indicates the contribution of feminist pathways to better understand the risks associated with and improve the responses to girls’ and boys’ delinquency by examining demographic, abuse, family, school and peer, and self-esteem variables.

Key Words: abuse and offending • gender-specific services • general strain theory

References

  • Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30, 47-87.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Arnold, R. A. (1990). Women of color: Processes of victimization and criminalization of Black women. Social Justice, 17, 153-166.
  • Artz, S. (1998). Sex, power, and the violent school girl. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Trifolium Books.
  • Artz, S., & Riecken, T. (1994). The survey of student life: In a study of violence among adolescent female students in a suburban school district. Unpublished report, British Columbia Ministry of Education, Education Research Unit, Canada.
  • Belknap, J. (2001). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice (2nded.). Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth.
  • Belknap, J., Holsinger, K., & Dunn, M. (1997). Understanding incarcerated girls: The results of a focus group study. The Prison Journal, 77, 381-404.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Bottcher, J. (2001). Social practices of gender: How gender relates to delinquency in the everyday lives of high-risk youth. Criminology, 39, 893-931.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Broidy, L. M. (2001). A test of general strain theory. Criminology, 39, 9-36.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Broidy, L. M., & Agnew, R. (1997). Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34, 275-306.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Browne, A., Miller, B., & Maguin, E. (1999). Prevalence and severity of lifetime physical and sexual victimization among incarcerated women. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 22, 301-322.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Burman, M. J., Batchelor, S. A., & Brown, J. A. (2001). Researching girls and violence. British Journal of Criminology, 41, 443-459.[Abstract]
  • Cernkovich, S., & Giordano, P. (1979). A comparative analysis of male and female delinquency. Sociological Quarterly, 20, 131-145.[CrossRef]
  • Chesney-Lind, M. (1989). Girls’ crime and woman’s place: Toward a feminist model of female delinquency. Crime & Delinquency, 35, 5-29.[Abstract]
  • Chesney-Lind, M., & Rodriguez, N. (1983). Women under lock and key. The Prison Journal, 3, 47-65.
  • Cohen, A. K. (1955). Delinquent boys: The culture of the gang. New York: Free Press.
  • Dahl, G., & Moretti, E. (2003). The demand for sons: Evidence from divorce, fertility and shotgun marriage. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://gsbwww.uchicago.edu/labor/dahl.pdf
  • Daly, K. (1992). A women’s pathway to felony court. Review of Law and Women’s Studies, 2, 11-52.
  • Daly, K., & Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5, 497-535.[CrossRef]
  • D’Augelli, A. R., & Dark, L. J. (1994). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. In L. D. Eron, J. H. Gentry, & P. Schlegal (Eds.), Reason to hope: A psychological perspective on violence and youth (pp. 177-196). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
  • Dembo, R., Williams, L., Wothke, W., Schmeidler, J., & Brown, C. H. (1992). The role of family factors, physical abuse, and sexual victimization experiences in high-risk youths’ alcohol and other drug use and delinquency: A longitudinal model. Violence and Victims, 7, 245-266.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Faith, K. (1993). Unruly women: The politics of confinement and resistance. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Press Gang.
  • Farrington, D. P. (1994). Human development and criminal careers. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan, & R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of criminology (pp. 511-584). New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Gaarder, E., & Belknap, J. (2002). Tenuous borders: Girls transferred to adult court. Criminology, 40(3), 481-517.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Gilfus, M. E. (1992). From victims to survivors to offenders: Women’s routes of entry and immersion into street crime. Women & Criminal Justice, 4, 63-90.
  • Habermas, T., & Bluck, S. (2000). Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 748-769.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Heimer, K., & DeCoster, S. (1999). The gendering of violent delinquency. Criminology, 37, 277-318.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Hoffman, J. P., & Su, S. S. (1997). The conditional effects of stress on delinquency and drug use: A strain theory assessment of sex differences. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34, 46-78.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Holsinger, K. (2000). Feminist perspectives on female offending: Examining real girls’ lives. Women & Criminal Justice, 12(1), 23-51.[CrossRef]
  • Johnson, C. C., & Johnson, K. A. (2000). High-risk behavior among gay adolescents: Implications for treatment and support. Adolescence, 35, 619-637.[Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Johnson, R. A., Su, S. S., Gerstein, D. R., Shin, H.-C., & Hoffmann, J. P. (1995). Parental influences on deviant behavior in early adolescence: A longitudinal response analysis of age- and gender-differentiated effects. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 11, 167-193.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Laub, J. H., & Lauritsen, J. L. (1993). Violent criminal behavior over the life course: A review of the longitudinal and comparative research. Violence and Victims, 8, 235-252.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (1993). Turning points in the life course: Why change matters to the study of crime. Criminology, 31, 301-325.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Leonard, E. (1982). Women, crime and society. New York: Longman.
  • Loeber, R. (1996). Developmental continuity, change, and pathways in male juvenile problem behavior. In J. D. Hawkins (Ed.), Delinquency and crime (pp. 1-28). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Loeber, R., & Le Blanc, M. (1990). Toward a developmental criminology. In M. Tonry & N. Morris (Eds.), Crime and justice: A review of the research (pp. 375-473). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Mazerolle, P. (1998). Gender, general strain, and delinquency: An empirical examination. Justice Quarterly, 15, 65-91.[CrossRef]
  • McClellan, D. S., Farabee, D., & Crouch, B. M. (1997). Early victimization, drug use and criminality: A comparison of male and female prisoners. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 24, 455-476.[Abstract]
  • Merton, R. K. (1949). Social theory and social structure. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
  • Messerschmidt, J. W. (2000). Nine lives: Adolescent masculinities, the body, and violence. Boulder, CO: Westview.
  • Miller, D., Trapani, C., Fejes-Mendoza, K., Eggleston, C., & Dwiggins, D. (1995). Adolescent female offenders: Unique considerations. Adolescence, 30, 429-435.[Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Moffitt, T. E. (1990). Juvenile delinquency and attention deficit disorder: Boys’ development trajectories from age 3 to age 15. Child Development, 61, 893-910.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Moore, J. W. (1999). Gang members’ families. In M. Chesney-Lind & J. M. Hagedorn (Eds.), Female gangs in America: Essays on girls, gangs and gender (pp. 159-176). Chicago: Lakeview Press.
  • Morgan, S. P., Lye, D. N., & Condran, G. A. (1988). Sons, daughters, and the risk of marital disruption. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 110-129.[CrossRef]
  • Morrill, C., Yalda, C., Adelman, M., Musheno, M., & Bejarano, C. (2000). Telling tales in school: Youth culture and conflict narratives. Law & Society Review, 34, 521-566.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Nagasawa, R., Qian, Z., & Wong, P. (2000). Social control theory as a theory of conformity: The case of Asian/Pacific drug and alcohol nonuse. Sociological Perspectives, 43, 581-603.
  • Nagin, D., Farrington, D. P., & Moffitt, T. E. (1995). Life-course trajectories of different types of offenders. Criminology, 33, 111-138.
  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-586,§ 8(c)(1), 106 Stat. 5036.
  • Piquero, A. R., Brame, R., Mazerolle, P., & Haapanen, R. (2003). Crime in emerging adulthood. Criminology, 40, 137-169.[CrossRef]
  • Piquero, A. R., MacDonald, J. M., & Parker, K. F. (2002). Race, local life circumstances, and criminal activity. Social Science Quarterly, 83, 654-670.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Pollock, J. M. (1999). Criminal women. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.
  • Rivera, B., & Widom, C. S. (1990). Childhood victimization and violent offending. Violence and Victims, 5, 19-35.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Robson, R. (1992). Lesbian (out)law: Survival under the rule of law. Ithaca, NY: Firebrand.
  • Rosenberg, M. (1989). Society and the adolescent self-image (Rev. ed.). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
  • Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1990). Crime and deviance over the life course: The salience of adult social bonds. American Sociological Review, 55, 609-627.[CrossRef]
  • Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1992). Crime and deviance in the life course. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 63-84.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Sharp, S. F., Brewster, D. R., & Love, S. R. (2005). Disentangling strain, personal attributes, affective response and deviance: A gendered analysis. Deviant Behavior, 26, 122-157.
  • Sharp, S. F., Terling-Watt, T. L., Atkins, L. A., & Gilliam, J. T. (2001). Purging behavior in a sample of college females: A research note on general strain theory and female deviance. Deviant Behavior, 22, 171-188.[CrossRef]
  • Stattin, H., & Magnusson, D. (1991). Stability and change in criminal behaviour up to age 30. The British Journal of Criminology, 31(4), 327-346.
  • Widom, C. S. (1989). The cycle of violence. Science, 244, 160-166.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Feminist Criminology, Vol. 1, No. 1, 48-71 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1557085105282897
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Youth Violence and Juvenile JusticeHome page
T. Q. Emeka and J. R. Sorensen
Female Juvenile Risk: Is There a Need for Gendered Assessment Instruments?
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, October 1, 2009; 7(4): 313 - 330.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Crime DelinquencyHome page
E. J. Salisbury, P. Van Voorhis, and G. V. Spiropoulos
The Predictive Validity of a Gender-Responsive Needs Assessment: An Exploratory Study
Crime Delinquency, October 1, 2009; 55(4): 550 - 585.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Criminal Justice and BehaviorHome page
E. J. Salisbury and P. Van Voorhis
Gendered Pathways: A Quantitative Investigation of Women Probationers' Paths to Incarceration
Criminal Justice and Behavior, June 1, 2009; 36(6): 541 - 566.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J Offender Ther Comp CriminolHome page
J. L. Hartman, M. G. Turner, L. E. Daigle, M. L. Exum, and F. T. Cullen
Exploring the Gender Differences in Protective Factors: Implications for Understanding Resiliency
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol, June 1, 2009; 53(3): 249 - 277.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Criminal Justice and BehaviorHome page
S. M. Manchak, J. L. Skeem, K. S. Douglas, and M. Siranosian
Does Gender Moderate the Predictive Utility of the Level of Service Inventory--Revised (LSI-R) for Serious Violent Offenders?
Criminal Justice and Behavior, May 1, 2009; 36(5): 425 - 442.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Crime DelinquencyHome page
P. Johansson and K. Kempf-Leonard
A Gender-Specific Pathway to Serious, Violent, and Chronic Offending?: Exploring Howell's Risk Factors for Serious Delinquency
Crime Delinquency, April 1, 2009; 55(2): 216 - 240.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Violence Against WomenHome page
C. McDaniels-Wilson and J. Belknap
The Extensive Sexual Violation and Sexual Abuse Histories of Incarcerated Women
Violence Against Women, October 1, 2008; 14(10): 1090 - 1127.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeHome page
E. M. Wright, E. J. Salisbury, and P. Van Voorhis
Predicting the Prison Misconducts of Women Offenders: The Importance of Gender-Responsive Needs
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, November 1, 2007; 23(4): 310 - 340.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Feminist CriminologyHome page
S. L. Mallicoat
Gendered Justice: Attributional Differences Between Males and Females in the Juvenile Courts
Feminist Criminology, January 1, 2007; 2(1): 4 - 30.
[Abstract] [PDF]

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Belknap, J.
Right arrow Articles by Holsinger, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?