17 research outputs found
Sex differences in predictors of violent and non-violent juvenile offending
In response to concerns regarding the rise in female juvenile violent crime and the dearth of genderāspecific research, this study\ud
aimed to identify predictors of violent offending in female offenders. Data were extracted from risk assessments of 586 male and\ud
female juvenile offenders (aged 11ā17 years) conducted between 2005 and 2009 by the Youth Offending Service in\ud
Gloucestershire, an English county. Information regarding the young peopleās living arrangements, family and personal\ud
relationships, education, emotional/mental health, thinking and behavior, and attitudes to offending was recorded. Comparisons\ud
were made between the violent male offenders (NĀ¼185), the violent female offenders (NĀ¼113), the nonāviolent male offenders\ud
(NĀ¼150), and the nonāviolent female offenders (NĀ¼138) for these variables. These were followed by a multinomial logistic\ud
regression analysis. The findings indicated that engaging in selfāharm was the best predictor of being a female violent offender,\ud
with the predictors of giving into pressure from others and attempted suicide nearing significance. Furthermore, nonāviolent\ud
females were significantly less likely to lose control of their temper and more likely to give in to pressure from others than their\ud
violent counterparts. Nonāviolent males were significantly less likely to lose control of their temper and more likely to selfāharm\ud
and give in to pressure from others than violent males. Although many similarities existed between sexes for predictors of violent\ud
offending, the findings of this study indicate that more attention needs to be paid to the mental health of female offenders