Assessing gender and ethnic differences in developmental trajectories of offending

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...

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Published inAustralian & New Zealand journal of criminology Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 379 - 402
Main Author Ferrante, Anna M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.12.2013
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Body Height
Crime
Criminal behavior
Criminal behavior, Prediction of
Criminology
Discourse
Ethnic groups
Ethnicity
Gender
Gender differences
Knowledge
Longitudinal studies
Membership
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Offenders
Opposite Sex Relations
Racial Differences
Risk
Sex
Sex Differences
Australia
offending trajectories
Indigenous status
ethnicity
gender
offending frequency
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Summary: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 empirically-grounded, generalizable research which compares and contrasts offending patterns across and within gender and ethnic groups. The current study applies a semi-parametric 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.
Bibliography:Includes graphs, notes, references, tables
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ISSN:0004-8658
1837-9273
DOI:10.1177/0004865813490948