Are the Effects of Poverty and Victimization on Criminal Recidivism Mediated by Depression as Predicted by General Strain Theory? A Longitudinal Study of Provincially Sentenced Women

The current study is a longitudinal analysis of psychosocial factors contributing to re-offending among 125 adult female offenders. Drawing on General Strain Theory (GST), the study examined the role of victimization and poverty on criminal recidivism and investigated whether this relationship was mediated by depression. Regression, survival, and mediational analyses were employed to examine the impact of these variables on criminal recidivism. Findings revealed that using illegal means to make ends meet, and having survived childhood sexual abuse, were particularly important predictors of recidivism for women in the study sample, although depression was not found to significantly mediate the relationship between strain and recidivism. Implications for future research on female recidivism and helping women to stay crime-free are discussed.