Factors of Prison Recidivism in Women: A Socioeducational and Sustainable Development Analysis

Abstract

This article analyses women sentenced to prison in Spain (in open, closed, or ordinary regimes) to examine the risk and protection factors fundamentally related to criminal-prison recidivism. The study is national in scope, with a stratified representative sample of 756 female inmates, 446 in a closed environment and 310 in an open one. The women were surveyed using mixed questionnaires, and the data were analyzed using various tests and quantitative models of analysis. The results show the relationship between recidivism and different sociological and criminological characteristics. They highlight national origin as a risk factor for both samples. Age, addiction profile, criminal antecedents as a minor, and age at which the woman first went to prison were also assessed. Protective factors included official education, with education during the sentence as the most important, as well as courses and/or intervention programs attended. All of these issues contribute not only basic knowledge on the topic—for women while in prison and on temporary release—but also the foundations for improving prison socioeducational interventions/treatments and sustainable human development, and for preventing recidivism based on the best, most effective programs that focus on these issues.