Assessing gender and ethnic differences in developmental trajectories of offending

Abstract

Research on diversity in offending patterns is crucial given ongoing polemical debates concerning the relationship between gender, ethnicity and crime. Competing theoretical perspectives, limited supporting evidence and inconclusive or contradictory findings from prior research point to the need for more empiricallygrounded, generalizable research which compare and contrast offending patterns across and within gender and ethnic groups. The current study applies a semiparametric group-based modelling approach to a large, longitudinal dataset of offenders to determine if, and how, offending trajectories vary across gender and ethnic sub-groups. Findings suggest that some trajectory attributes (e.g. number and shape) are shared across gender/ethnic groups, while other trajectory attributes (height, peak age) are not. An exploratory investigation of the risk factors associated with trajectory group membership finds that few of the available factors discriminate between trajectories either within or across gender/ethnic offender groups. The findings fill a knowledge gap, particularly in relation to offending patterns in Australia. Invariance in trajectory risk factors present a challenge to taxonomic theories of offending.

Life Course Offending Pathways Across Gender and Race/Ethnicity

“…The low prevalence of female chronic offenders may explain why some studies do not even identify them at all (e.g., [26]). We see this in Australia, where Ferrante [40] identified a low-and mid-rate offending group among males and females and an additional high-rate group among males, not evident among the female offenders in her sample. It is important to assess whether this finding holds in other Australian samples since it would suggest gendered protective factors in the Australian context that may be relevant to other contexts as well.…”

“…Specifically, recent research has applied the developmental approach to examine offending trajectories among a sample of adult offenders in Western Australia [40] and among samples of juvenile offenders in Queensland [42,61] and South Australia [65]. More importantly, and particularly relevant to the current effort, these studies assess how gender and race/ethnicity influence offending behavior over time.…”

“…More importantly, and particularly relevant to the current effort, these studies assess how gender and race/ethnicity influence offending behavior over time. All four examine gender variation and Ferrante [40], Marshall [65], and Livingston et al [61] also assess the influence of race/ethnicity by focusing on the how Indigenous status influences the distribution of life course offending patterns. Each of these Australian cohort studies also aims to provide insight into the risk factors associated with various offending patterns.…”

“…Fitzgerald et al [42] show child maltreatment to be a key feature in the lives of males and females who exhibit the most serious patterns of offending. Ferrante [40] examines a few key individual and ecological correlates and finds that similar risk and protective factors influence both high-and low-rate offending across gender and Indigenous status. Livingston et al [61] report that economic disadvantage, but not remoteness, correlates with trajectory group membership, but do not examine whether this holds across gender or Indigenous status.…”

“…At the same time, compared to males, females are particularly likely to cluster in this group [39,40]. Focusing on convictions in a sample of offenders from the Netherlands, Block et al [18] report that, compared to men, women are significantly more likely to be sporadic offenders with conviction rates close to 0 in adulthood (84 % of women and 69 % of men).…”