Precursors for Criminal Activity in Women Essay Example

had been convicted of a crime before reaching the age of 35.

Messer's (2004) study revealed that the majority of convictions were linked to theft or fraud, but instances of assault, sex offenses, and substance abuse were also identified. Additionally, the research examined the backgrounds of female offenders and discovered that a substantial proportion came from disrupted families, as anticipated.

According to Messer (2004: p 92), 83% of offenders came from broken families and were raised in institutional care. In addition, 50% had criminal fathers and 30% had criminal mothers. Other factors that were analyzed included employment difficulties during late teen years (15-21) and association with deviant friends after leaving home (Messer 2004: p 93).

According to Messer (2004: p93), almost half of the offenders encountered employment difficulties during their teenage years, while 59% of them had friends who engaged in deviant behavior during these years. A surprising finding was that 58% of the offenders experienced teenage pregnancies, which is very close to the percentage of deviant friends. This suggests a potential correlation between deviant friendships and teen pregnancies. Mental health was also taken into consideration.

According to Messer's (2004: p 96) analysis, two age groups were studied in terms of their rates of substance abuse and psychiatric episodes. The first group, which consisted of teenage to mid-twenties offenders, exhibited a consistent 23% history of substance abuse. This pattern remained the same for the second group comprising individuals in their twenties to thirties. However, there was a notable increase in psychiatric episode rates from 43% in the first age group to 51% in the second group (Messer, 2004: p 96).

Individuals may have committed numerous crimes as a result of

drug or alcohol use and psychiatric episodes. Although similarities exist between these precursors in both males and females, there are also notable differences. A significant difference is the absence of early signs of anger or aggression in girls, which is a key aspect to consider when evaluating boys for potential criminal conduct. Educators can improve their predictions about possible female involvement in criminal behavior by taking these indicators into account.

Attempts can be made to stop these girls from turning into lawbreakers.