NCJ Number
136846
Date Published
Unknown
Length
22 pages
Annotation
A database of 1,076 female chronic offenders incarcerated in Florida was used to compare their bio-historical and offense pattern characteristics with those found in studies of male chronic offenders. Discriminant analysis techniques were used to compare the chronic with the non-chronic female offenders contained in this sample of felons.
Abstract
Seventeen hypotheses were tested concerning the similarities and differences between male and female chronic offenders. Female chronics were different from non-chronics in ways unique to their gender: they had higher levels of education and lower IQs, were more likely to come from broken families, had less family criminality, had experienced less spouse abuse, committed fewer violent crimes, and had fewer co-defendants. Chronic female offenders were similar to their male counterparts in that they tended to be younger and single at the time of first arrest, reported more problem psychoactive substance abuse, committed more serious offenses, were more often from minority groups, and committed their offenses alone. 5 tables and 38 references