Monday, September 17, 2007

More NCJRS Abstracts, September 17, 2007

AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT http://www.ncjrs.gov/. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.

Stephanie Carmichael; Angela R. Gover ; Barbara Koons-Witt; BobbiDawn Inabnit
Successful Completion of Probation and Parole Among Female Offenders
Women & Criminal Justice
Volume:17 Issue:1 Dated:2005 Pages:75 to 97

This study examined factors that significantly contributed to the successful completion of parole and probation among female offenders under community supervision. The study examined the relationship between several independent measures that represent key demographic factors (e.g., race, age, education, marital status, and children), problem behaviors, programmatic treatment, and the successful completion of community supervision by female probationers and parolees. The study found that both race and age were significant predictors of probation and parole outcome. White and older females were significantly more likely to successfully complete their community supervision. Older females compared to younger females may have been more successful because of differences in their criminality, a natural aging out of their criminality, or they may be more capable of handling the multitude of demands and constraints that are inherent in community supervision. Using alcohol and drugs during the supervision period was found to be significant predictors of the supervision outcome. A review of the extant literature suggest that minimal research has been devoted to understanding factors that contribute to the successful completion of probation and parole among female offenders in a southeastern State. The purpose of this study was to fill a gap in the literature by answering the question: What factors contribute to the successful completion of probation or parole for female offenders? The examination of these factors can lead to the development of gender-specific programming for women. Female offenders completing sentences of probation or parole whose cases were closed between January 1997 and April 1997 made up the study sample of 503. Data were derived from the Women Offender Profile Survey, a questionnaire consisting of 28 questions regarding demographics and characteristics of the offender prior to closure. Tables, references

NCJ 219505
Jennifer J. Krabill; Ronald H. Aday
Exploring the Social World of Aging Female Prisoners
Women & Criminal Justice
Volume:17 Issue:1 Dated:2005 Pages:27 to 53

This study sought to identify how aging incarcerated women used perceived support, shared activities, shared conversations, and work and recreational interactions to create social support networks with each other. Similar to previous research, the voices of older women in this study illustrate their concerns of how they are marginalized in the prison space they share. Living in a total institution, the women replaced their social identities with identities more typical of institutionalized populations. The prison provides the impetus to manufacture new social networks as a prison strategy. The primary experience shared by women aging behind bars is the stressful nature of incarceration. Other lived experiences the inmates share with potential acquaintances include having retaliated against former abusers, grievances against staff members, and living with limited age-appropriate recreational and vocational opportunities. Considering health and mobility as a significant predictor of friendship formation and maintenance during later life, it is not surprising that the women help others who are sick and require medical treatment, nor is it surprising that one’s medical conditions may in fact lead her to socializing and forming close friendships. The entry into and adaptation to prison can be a difficult transition for many older women. In addition older women in prison represent a much-neglected population and only recently it has become apparent that the number of incarcerated women over 50 is beginning to pose significant problems for correctional officials. Using a sample of 29 female inmates over age 50 housed in a southeastern prison, this study identified how older female offenders adapted to prisons. Table, references

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