Recidivism Among Females Convicted of Violent Crimes: Exploring the Cumulative Impact of Psychological and Social Risk Factors

• In Event: Exploring the relationship between criminal justice contacts, health and mental health outcomes

Abstract

The limited literature on co-occurring risk factors has identified cumulative effects associated with psychological and social factors as impactful in the risk of criminal offending recidivism. However, much of this literature has focused on male-only or male-dominated samples, with less attention given to understanding co-occurring risk factors for female offenders. The current study uses data from a large sample of released females (N = 4,557) to explore the relationship between two cumulative risk indices—psychological and social risk index—on different forms of recidivism. Results across survival models suggest significant associations between the psychological and social indices and recidivism risk in females convicted for violent crimes. Implications for research and practice will be discussed.

Authors

• Samantha Brown, University of North Florida

• Bethany Mims-Beliles, United States Department of Defense

• Raquel V. Oliveira, Augusta University

• Jonathan C. Reid, Texas A&M University