Crime And Deviance - Crime And Gender - Pat Carlen & Social Control (1988)

Question 1

Pat Carlen

Answer 1

A sociologist who linked gender and class as contributing factors for women who commit crimes

Question 2

How does Carlen explain why most women don’t commit crimes?

Answer 2

• working-class women have been ‘controlled’ by the promises of both a class-deal and a gender-deal

Question 3

define class-deal

Answer 3

• the way in which society promises material success and the ability to spend wages on our wants and needs

Question 4

define gender-deal

Answer 4

• the way in which society perpetuates the notion that femininity will win the attention and affection from men
• marriage and family life ‘promise’ to keep women law-abiding and prevent them from committing crime

Question 5

describe the study Carlen conducted in 1988

Answer 5

• 39 women convicted of one or more crimes
• in-depth, unstructured interviews with women, many in prison or youth custody
• women from working-class backgrounds

Question 6

what did Carlen say the women in the study lacked?

Answer 6

• class and gender-deals

Question 7

what factors influenced why the women committed crimes? (5)

Answer 7

• being brought up in care
• living in poverty
• experienced little/no material benefits
• troubled family backgrounds
• abuse, violence, and neglect characterised their childhoods and early-adult experience

Question 8

what crimes were more common?

Answer 8

• prostitution
• drug-abuse
• victim-less crimes

Question 9

eval/counter argument for study in 1988 points (4)

Answer 9

• unstructured interviews could lead to bias
• specific group of women were selected; not representative of all women
• acknowledged link between gender and social class in relation to crime, but does not consider other factors such as race
• why do some working class people work hard for class-deals while others commit crime?

Question 10

more eval/counter arguments about 1988 study (2)

Answer 10

• troubled family lives, drug abuse, and violence have shaped these 39 womens early experience of life, giving Carlen’s findings great validity
• no guarantee that the women were honest - danger of social desirability effect which lowers validity