Gendered Pathways

• Published in: Criminal justice and behavior 2009-06, Vol.36 (6), p.541-566
• Main Authors: Salisbury, Emily J, Van Voorhis, Patricia
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; jpn
• Subjects: Imprisonment; Mental illness; Offending; Substance abuse; Victimization; Women
• ISSN: 0093-8548
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854809334076

Although qualitative research in the area of gender-responsive offending pathways has grown extensively, little quantitative work has been conducted. This study utilizes interview and survey data to assess various gender-responsive needs with an intake cohort of 313 women probationers. Using a path analytic approach, the study statistically supported three gendered pathways to women offenders' incarceration: (a) a pathway beginning with childhood victimization that contributed to historical and current forms of mental illness and substance abuse; (b) a relational pathway in which women's dysfunctional intimate relationships facilitated adult victimization, reductions in self-efficacy, and current mental illness and substance abuse; and (c) a social and human capital pathway in which women's challenges in the areas of education, family support, and self-efficacy, as well as relationship dysfunction, contributed to employment/financial difficulties and subsequent imprisonment. Support for such gendered pathways has implications for both criminological explanations of female offending and correctional interventions for women. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright American Association for Correctional Psychology.]