NCJ Number
225929
Date Published
2008
Length
36 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this chapter is to address the unresolved issue of different explanatory types or etiological patterns among female juvenile delinquents.
Abstract
A wide-ranging conclusion is that the present results support a substantial typological structure among female delinquents, along with certain qualifications. However, the development of a female offender taxonomy is only in its early stages. A major goal of this chapter is to asses whether the findings from an empirical taxonomic analysis of a large sample of female delinquents, which produced seven well-replicated female offender types, have any theoretical and practical relevance for female delinquency. From a theoretical perspective, the seven female offender clusters illustrate specific mixtures of theoretical components from social control, strain, and social learning theories, among others. From a practical perspective the author states that given the relative prevailing inattention to female classification, the hope of this study is to strengthen the explanatory power and practical utility of female offender classification so that it comes closer to fulfilling its promise of supporting correctional decisionmakers. Even though only in the early stages of development, the taxonomy (classification) presented should offer decisionmakers a more complete mapping of the causal complexity underlying delinquency. Tables, figure, appendixes, and references