Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1979

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Abstract

The judicial treatment of adult male and female criminal offenders is theoretically and empirically examined in this paper. After discussing various problems with the chivalry hypothesis and labelling theory, the two major explanations of gender disparities, an empirical test is made to determine the accuracy of both perspectives. Examining a sample of 543 adult felony cases in Dade County, Florida, using multiple regression to control for the effects of relevant legal and non-legal variables indicated inconsistent differences in treatment by sex at the levels of negotiations, prosecution, conviction and sentence. These differences also vary over the three time periods examined: 1965-1966, 1971, 1975-1976. Because the findings do not support any existing theory of the differential legal handling of male and female offenders, a new, integrated theory is formulated and set forth.

Extent

123 p.

Comments

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1979.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1979.

Identifier

FADT14001

Format

pdf

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