NCJ Number
232635
Date Published
2010
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Drawing from three representative examples of qualitative interview studies involving active offenders, this chapter addresses various gender-related issues that may influence the content, validity, and reliability of the information provided in the interview.
Abstract
The following questions are addressed in the chapter: What role does gender play in the interview process when talking with active offenders? How do social positions of race, class, and age shape this gendered process? In what ways do gendered interactions affect both what offenders say about their experiences and how they talk about the nature of their offending? To what extent are the validity and reliability of what is learned from an interview affected by the gender combinations of interviewers and interviewees, and how does this vary across setting and context? Finally, what can be learned from interviews in which gender becomes highly relevant in the context of the interview? The author's study of young women's gang involvement (Miller, 2001) provides an example of the impact of gender and race when interviewing adolescent female offenders. Also examined is a study of violence among urban African-American youth, which focuses on young men's participation in sexual exploitation (Miller, 2008). This study provides an example of the role of masculinity, race, and gender in the construct of male offenders' accounts. In addition a study of the commercial sex industry in Sri Lanka (Miller, 2000, 2002) provides the context for considering how gendered interactional dynamics are shaped across divergent settings. The chapter concludes with a discussion of what the author's research suggests for the effective conduct and use of offender interviews about their offending. 7 notes and 63 references