Gender-Neutral or Gender-Responsive Risk Factors? An Examination of Sex Differences in the Predictors of Institutional Misconduct

• In Event: Inmate Misconduct: Risk Factors and Punishment

Abstract

Little is known about sex differences in factors influencing whether inmates engage in misconduct during confinement. Yet, male and female offenders often experience different trajectories into crime, and these differences may imply sex-specific predictors of misconduct. Using the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004), we examine gender differences in individual- and facility-level effects on misconduct (with violent, nonviolent, and alcohol/drug-related offenses examined separately). Implications of findings for strategies to reduce subsequent offending are discussed.

Authors

• Lindsey M Mueller, University of Cincinnati

• Paula Smith, University of Cincinnati

• John Wooldredge, University of Cincinnati