Exploring Violence in the Lives of Women with Mental Illness on Probation

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

Despite the vast amount of academic information that exists about violence in the lives of women, scholars have only recently begun to investigate in what ways women are both the victims and perpetrators of violence in their lives. This project seeks to expand upon previous work by exploring the concept of violence within a particular group of women – those who are both in the criminal justice system and have been diagnosed with a major mental illness. The authors of this project analyze a purposive sample of 65 semi-structured life history interviews completed with women on the Significantly Mentally Ill (SMI) probation caseload in Maricopa County Arizona (Phoenix Metro Region) between 2012 and 2013. The results examine the prevalence and types of violence these women experience, as well as the narratives that develop around the violence present in these women’s lives.

Authors

• Brice Terpstra, Illinois State University

• Alexis LaPorta, Illinois State University

• Philip Mulvey, Illinois State University