FEMALE DELINQUENCY - FANTASIES, FACTS, AND FUTURE (FROM ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY, VOLUME 7 - DEVELOPMENT AND CLINICAL STUDIES, 1979, BY SHERMAN C FEINSTEIN AND PETER L GIOVACCHINI)

• NCJ Number: 64753
• Author(s): E BENEDEK
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 16 pages
• Corporate Author: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

STATISTICAL DATA, THEORIES OF ETIOLOGY, AND THE CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT OF FEMALE DELINQUENTS ARE CRITICALLY ANALYZED.

Abstract

THE FOUR MAIN U.S. SOURCES OF STATISTICAL DATA (SELF-REPORTED; FBI; DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE; AND WASHTENAW COUNTY) MAY BE BROADLY INTERPRETED TO INDICATE THE LESSER INCIDENCE OF FEMALE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AS COMPARED WITH MALE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF OFFENSE COMMITTED BY FEMALES (E.G., SEXUAL MISCONDUCT). HOWEVER, THE ART OF STATISTICS KEEPING IN REGARD TO FEMALE DELINQUENCY IS STILL SO PRIMITIVE AND FLAWED THAT NO EXACT CONCLUSIONS ARE POSSIBLE. THEORIES OF ETIOLOGY ON FEMALE DELINQUENCY CAN BEST BE CATEGORIZED AS PSYCHOLOGICAL (STARTING WITH FREUD'S THEORY IN 1933), SOCIOLOGICAL (BASED ON FACTORS LIKE BROKEN HOMES, LACK OF DISCIPLINE, BAD COMPANIONS, AND UNFAVORABLE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS), AND ORGANIC (FOCUSING ON BRAIN DYSFUNCTION, CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITY, AND HORMONAL RELATIONSHIPS). HERE AGAIN NO CONCLUSIVE RESULTS HAVE BEEN REACHED. CONCERNING CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT, RECENT RESEARCH INDICATES THAT WOMEN ONCE SENTENCED ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE DEALT WITH PUNITIVELY THAN MEN. AREAS OF CONCERN INCLUDE (1) THE GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF FEMALES BEING ASSIGNED TO CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS WHICH INVOLVE REMOVAL FROM THEIR HOME, (2) A MORE LIMITED RANGE OF DISPOSITIONAL ALTERNATIVES FOR WOMEN, (3) DISPROPORTIONATE COMMITMENT OF FEMALES FOR STATUS OFFENSES, (4) DISPROPORTIONATE COMMITMENT FOR OFFENSES THAT ARE NOT THREATENING TO SOCIETY, AND (5) COMMITMENT OF NUMEROUS YOUNG OFFENDERS TO INSTITUTIONS. IN REVIEWING INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAMS, RESEARCH INDICATES THAT FEMALE DELINQUENTS HAVE FEWER INTERNAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITH LESS DIVERSITY, FEWER EXTERNAL PROGRAMS, FEWER WORK RELEASE PROGRAMS, AND FEWER ALTERNATIVES TO INSTITUTIONALIZATION AT THEIR DISPOSAL. MORE RESEARCH ON THIS UNDERSTUDIED FIELD IS NEEDED AND THE FEMALE'S RIGHT TO TREATMENT MUST BE UPHELD. THE ARTICLE CONTAINS AN EXTENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY. (SAJ)