Violent Female Offending: An Exploration of Repeat and One-Time Offending

Abstract

There has been an increased focus on understanding the factors that may be predictive of violent recidivism among female offenders. Previous research has indicated that repeat and one-time violent female offenders have very different profiles. All female prisoners incarcerated for a violent offense in Scotland over a two-month period (n = 87) were compared on a range of demographic, offending, behavioral and mental health variables. Multivariate regression analysis revealed a lack of 'spousal' relationships and early onset of violent offending were significant predictor variables that distinguished the recidivist subgroup (explaining 68.2% of variance). Difficulties with intimate relationships are, however, noted for both subgroups.

Characteristics and Context of Women Probationers and Parolees Who Engage in Violence

“…As shown in Table 1, women on parole had more evidence of violence than women on probation. Finally, because some past research has treated this type of composite score of violence as a categorical variable, we also followed the practice of prior studies that compared women with zero, one, and two or more indicators of violence (Bell, 2004; Kubiak et al, 2013; Mahoney & Karatzias, 2012; Pollock et al, 2006; Verona & Carbonell, 2000).…”

“…For a sample of women on probation and parole, our aim is to describe the nature of violence and to identify the characteristics of the women who use violence. Prior studies have found differences between one-time and repeatedly violent women (Bell, 2004; Kubiak et al, 2013; Mahoney & Karatzias, 2012; Pollock et al, 2006; Verona & Carbonell, 2000); thus, we compare women with zero, one, and multiple indicators of violence. We also examine our measure of violence as a quantitative variable in which higher numbers indicate stronger indication of violence.…”

How important are Phase 1 interventions for complex interpersonal trauma? A pilot randomized control trial of a group psychoeducational intervention

“…Although any improvements are welcomed, it is important for a more complete range of improvements to be realized. A greater focus in relational functioning may also lead to wider and more robust outcomes (Ford et al, 2013; Mahoney & Karatzias, 2012).…”

Psychological interventions for women with intellectual disabilities and forensic care needs: a systematic review of the literature

“…This review has identified four publications that report on the efficiency and effectiveness of psychological therapies for women with ID and offending behaviours. All studies focused on group interventions using CBT (Mahoney & Karatzias ). A potentially biasing limitation of all the studies related to the failure to control for concurrent treatment that participants received.…”