Immigrant Girls' Pathway to Delinquent and Criminal Behavior

• In Event: Roundtable: Immigration

Abstract

The existence of gender differences in crime and delinquency was discussed in multitude studies along the history of criminology and the main reported trend is that males offend, on average, more than females. This inference became undisputable along the years and is referred to as “the gender gap in crime”. Since the gap was found to be consistently wide and gender became one of the promising predictor of antisocial behavior, most of the criminological studies are based on male's samples and classical as well as modern criminological theories well explain male antisocial acts. The current study asks whether the established knowledge gathered concerning males' delinquent behavior is relevant also for girls and are there specific pathways predicting girls' delinquent and criminal acts. The study is based on a longitudinal survey conducted on 1420 adolescents aged 12-18 who immigrated from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) to Israel. Preliminary results show that 79.7% of the girls were involved in delinquent behavior and 21.8% were involved in criminal acts. logistic regression reveals a unique and exclusive explanatory models for girls who engage in delinquency and in criminality. The result and their implication will be discussed

Author

• Turjeman Hagit, Western Galilee College