Chapter 6: Theory of Female Delinquency & Offending Flashcards
Ceasear Lombrose and William Ferrero’s
the first two theorists who attempted to explain female offending
Lombrose and Ferrero studied & found that…..
Hint: Published the “Female Offender” (1895)
physical differences of women who were incarcerated. They found that women were less evolved than men. .
Critics of the Lombroso and Ferrero study was that (3)
1/A small sample size was used
2/Did not considered environmental and structural variables
3/Their study had no scientific basis.
[SVS]
The implications of Lombrose and Ferrero’s study was that….
female criminals would possess all the worst characteristics of the female gender, while embodying the criminal tendencies of a man.
Sheldon and Elenor Gluek published the “Five Hundred Delinquent Women” (1934) that looked at…
looked at a variety of different factors to explain criminality (influenced by biology, soc, psych, anthro & the role of family on delinquency).
**was also the first study to address recidivism
Methodology for the “Five Hundred Delinquent Women” study
studied over long periods of time
compared samples of men and women who were incarcerated.
(1961) Pollack argued 2 things within his published study “The criminality of women”
- criminal data sources didn’t get the true extent on female crime.
2.felt the women were more likely to evade the criminal justice system
[DE]
Why are women more likely to evade the system, according to Pollack? (4)
Officer discretion
Crimes committed by women were less likely to be reported.
Female criminal receive preferential treatment.
Women have the power because they manipulate men through sex and menstruation
[OLPP]
masked criminality of women
women gain power by deceiving men by sexual playacting & menstruation
allows female crime to be underreported
Early theories relied on…..
stereotyping
Hirschi “Social Bond Theory” (1969)
- macro level & gender neutral crime (failed to look at females)
- basic premise is that bonds have an impact on whether an individual will engage in crime.
Based on social bond theory, what are the four reasons humans desist from criminal behavior?
(1) Attachment (2) commitment (3) involvement (4) Belief
Sutherland’s Differential Associations Theory (1974)
- focused on peer relationships and crime
- found that criminal behavior is learned through your peers
- nothing about gender :(
Merton & Agnew’s strain theory (late 1990s)
The avenue for some individuals to achieve the goals and the means is different and create a strain for some individuals in society
found that…Females tend to experience what is cause relationship strain which can contribute to their offending.
Agnew looks at
individual’s psychological sources as it correlates to criminal behavior.
3 potential sources for strain
(1) failure to achieve + goals (2) loss of + influences (3) the arrival of - influences
Positive goals, loss of positive influences, arrival of negative influences [PLN]
Hagan’s Power control theory (1989)
- suggests that women and girls are socialized differently than men and boys.
- Females chances of committing a crime is reduced because of control and the restriction of their freedom.
The Power control theory is criticized because
it only takes into account the nuclear structure families
Life course theory suggests
significant events that take place in an individual’s life can predict whether or not that individual will engage in criminal behavior.
Life course theory is criticized because
the specifics about what is a significant event is not clearly defined.
Black feminist criminologists highlight four themes that can alter the experience of an African American women within the criminal justice system:
–Structural oppression
–Community and culture ideals
–Intimate relationships (family and significant others)
–Individuality and uniqueness of the African American female
[ROUC]
Power control theory says that egalitarian structure families ______________
socialize their children in a similar fashion regardless of sex
Alder + Simon (1970’s)
- inspired by
- argued that
- inspired by the second wave of feminist movement and the emancipation of women.
- argued that has women become more liberated there is an increase chance of engaging in criminal activity.
Alder + Simon’s research has been criticized because
-Prediction about violent and property crimes committed by women.
-Reliance on the women’s liberation movement as the basis for their ideals.
[PR]
Analysis of crime statistics between 1960-1973 indicates
that female crimes skyrocketed (so did males)
shows that women crimes are misinterpreted
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime focuses on__________ & found that___________
self-control as a single explanation for delinquency and criminal behavior
(1) rooted within the family
(2) early intervention is the only way to deter crime
Difference between Micro and Macro theories in relation to offending behaviors
Micro theories : individual differences between law-abiding and law-violating behaviors.
Macro theories of criminality: large scale social explanations for crime
Historically female lawbreakers are worse than men b/c
they are breaking their prescribed gender roles
Merton’s 5 typologies
Does it accept the cultural goals or institutionalized means?
Conformity (accepts goals accepts mean)
Innovation (accepts goals , not means)
Ritualism (not goals, but the mean)
Retreatism (no goals no means)
Rebellion (all new made goals and means )
Differential Association Theory - 5 charactertics
- Intensity
- Duration
- Priority
- Frequency
- Rationalization, Justification, & Motivation
