How ‘Gendered’ are Gendered Pathways into Prison?: A Latent Class Analysis of the Life Experiences of Male and Female Prisoners in The Netherlands

• In Event: Gender Differences in Pathways to Offending

Abstract

Studies of pathways to offending have mainly focused on identifying either gendered trajectories in criminal careers, gendered risk factors for offending, or gendered pathways. Less common is research that explores to what extent classes or types of pathways to offending are actually gendered. In the current study, we examine latent classes of pathways to prison for both males and females in The Netherlands using two large samples and a broad array of background characteristics. Data on life experiences prior to incarceration of 1904 male and 397 female prisoners covered the following domains: age of onset, offense type, family situation in childhood, substance use, homelessness, economic marginalization, mental health, romantic relationships, and parenthood. For both the male and female prisoners we found the following 4 comparable typologies: (a) multi-problem property offenders (b) multi-problem violent offenders (c) drug-connected offenders (d) low-risk exposure offenders. The male low-risk category could be further divided into a low-risk group of property offenders and a low-risk group of violent offenders, resulting in a 5-class solution. Results indicate that prison re-entry programs should pay attention to risk-exposure prior to incarceration so that interventions can be tailored to the needs of specific subgroups of both male and female inmates.

Authors

• Katharina Joosen, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement

• Hanneke Palmen, Leiden University

• Candace Kruttschnitt, University of Toronto

• Catrien Bijleveld, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement

• Anja Dirkzwager, NSCR

• Paul Nieuwbeerta, Leiden University