Adaptations and Supports: The gendered context of parenthood and crime for at-risk young adults

• In Event: The Gendered Context of Life Events and Their Impact on Offending and Desistance

Abstract

How does the experience of parenthood differ between formerly-sanctioned mothers and fathers during early adulthood, and how might differences in experience relate to continuity and change in offending? Recent qualitative and quantitative studies have examined the relationship between parenthood and crime for men and for women, but few studies have examined the gendered context of parenthood and crime for men and women within the same study. In this paper, I analyze in-depth, semi-structured interviews to compare and contrast the parenthood experiences of 6 formerly-sanctioned mothers and 17 formerly-sanctioned fathers, ages 21 to 25, who participated in the qualitative component of the Pathways to Desistance Study. These accounts suggest that regardless of commitments to parenthood, role constraints and expectations require men and women to adapt to the financial and time demands of parenthood differently, and these differences shape young parents’ pathways to desistance and persistence in offending. Regardless of these differences, similar underlying mechanisms appear to be at work.

Author

• Sarah Boonstoppel, North Dakota State University