2005/12/07 by Joanne Belknap, Kristi Holsinger · 2 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child Abuse and Trauma #Crime Patterns and Interventions #Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
paper · doi:10.1177/1557085105282897
openalex publication_date 2005/12/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Traditional delinquency theories typically exclude girls and examine economic marginalization as the primary risk factor for boys. More recent mainstream theories expand the childhood strains associated with delinquency but fail to account for the link between childhood abuses and subsequent offending reported in the feminist pathways studies of girls and women. In addition, policies since the 1990s request the development of “gender-specific services” for delinquent girls without examining how the risks are gendered. This study of 444 incarcerated youths’ self-reports indicates the contribution of feminist pathways to better understand the risks associated with and improve the responses to girls’ and boys’ delinquency by examining demographic, abuse, family, school and peer, and self-esteem variables.