Female Criminality, Incarceration and Mental Health: A Comparative Study

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.7 Issue.1

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.25.1.11

REVIEW ARTICLE / DERLEME YAZISI

Female Criminality, Incarceration and Mental Health: A Comparative Study

Kadın Suçluluğu, Mahkûmluk ve Ruh Sağlığı: Karşılaştırmalı Bir Çalışma

Zübeyit Gün¹

Abstract:

The multidimensional relationship among women, crime, and mental health has picked up scientific interest only after the 1970s and in response to the pressure of the globally rising rates of crimes committed by women since then. In hopes of expanding this scientific interest, this paper gathers national and international research that adopted a gender-based approach to the mental health of incarcerated women. In this vein, databases such as Science Direct, Research Gate, Mendeley, Wiley Online Library, Google Scholar, TRDizin, ULAKBİM, DergiPark and TURKSTAT were screened for English and Turkish publications using keywords that are related to female and male inmates’ mental health. For a comprehensive portrayal of the current situation, the evolution of the approaches to the criminality of women and national and international statistics about incarcerated women and their crimes were discussed in addition to offering an extensive compilation of the studies that compare the mental health of female offenders to that of the general population and male offenders. Thus, this review aims to contribute to the studies, programs, and interventions that both consider gender-based differences and focus on the female offenders’ mental health both before and during incarceration. The findings of the review indicated that gender-sensitive biopsychosocial interventions should be developed for the mental health of female inmates, and that legal and healthcare curricula should be updated accordingly.

Keywords: Female Criminality, Incarceration, and Mental Health.

¹PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Genesis Psychological Counseling Center, İzmir, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-2106-1796

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Zübeyi Gün, Mansuroğlu Neighborhood, 1593/1 Street, 286th Street No:32 Ince Memed Plaza, Floor 4, Apartment 22, 35280/Bayraklı/Izmir, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected]

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 24.06.2024, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 19.11.2024, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 17.12.2024, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 20.03.2025

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Gün, Z. (2024). Female Criminality, Incarceration and Mental Health: A Comparative Study, Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology 7(1), 93-101

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/