Female Institutional Misconduct: A Test of Deprivation, Importation, and Gendered Importation Theories

Although deprivation and importation theories are frequently offered as explanations of institutional misconduct, there have been few studies that have tested either approach on women in prison. Moreover, despite research that suggests women have different pathways to crime, research studies have not incorporated gendered variables into the importation perspective. As such, this study tests three explanations of misconduct in a large sample of female inmates. Using logistic and negative binomial regressions, results support deprivation, importation, and gendered importation explanations relative to understanding of female misconduct.