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CLINICAL RESEARCH IN TRAUMA AND ABUSE

Does Forced Sexual Contact Have Criminogenic Effects?

An Empirical Test of Derailment Theory

Pages 41-66 | Received 18 Mar 2002, Accepted 18 Nov 2002, Published online: 23 Sep 2008
 

Abstract

According to derailment theory, tactics girls and women use to survive a history of abuse, strategies shaped by their abuse, and societal reactions to it estrange them from non-deviant social networks and situations and increase the likelihood of criminal offending and the application of criminal labels. This process is self-reinforcing, with interactions of substance abuse, sexual deviance, criminal offending, and social control constraining choices through alienation and stigmatization. In short, a dynamic of cumulative disadvantage is set in place that puts some women at greater risk for involvement with the legal system. Empirical evaluation of this theory suggests that alienation from and marginal positions in pro-social networks have parallels in anti-social networks sufficient to decrease the likelihood of criminal offending and contact with crime control agencies.

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