NCJ Number
93317
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 63 Issue: 2 Dated: (Autumn/Winter 1983) Pages: 66-79
Date Published
1983
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study tested the following hypotheses: violent female criminals conform to traditional sex roles; and violent female criminals are less supportive of women's liberation than other females who have adopted atypical lifestyles.
Abstract
Every woman incarcerated for a violent offense residing in a maximum security institution in south Florida was asked to participate in the study. Ninety of the 190 female inmates incarcerated for violent offenses participated in the study. The study selected the following offenses as constituting violent criminality: first degree murder (18.9 percent), second degree murder (28.9 percent), third degree murder (12.2 percent), aggravated assault (16.7 percent), aggravated battery (4.4 percent), and robbery (13.3 percent). The information was obtained by questionnaire. The first section consisted of 44 questions dealing with basic demographic information about the respondents, their family histories, health status, habits, and criminal histories. To investigate the connection between the women's sex role identification and female violent criminal behavior, subjects were administered the short form of the Personal Attribute Questionnaire. The California Psychological Inventory was given to assess the 'femininity' of interests and attitudes of the respondents, and to test the hypothesis regarding the possible connection between the purported increase in female criminality and the women's liberation movement, subjects were given the short version of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. The subjects were found to have profiles somewhat different from those found in violent female offenders assessed in previous research. They were not as likely to play a supportive role to a male in their criminal behavior. The subjects tended to plan the crimes themselves and commit the offense alone or with another female. The findings do not support the contention that there is a relationship between a liberated view of female roles and the commission of violent offenses by women. The subjects were closer to the general female population in 'feminine' characteristics than they were to women who were involved in atypical careers. Further, the subjects demonstrated a high degree of sex-role conformity; however, this is not to imply that all of the subjects were traditional in their views of women's roles; they were basically a heterogeneous group. Tabular data and 29 references are provided.