Judith A. Ryder: Girls & Violence: Tracing the Roots of Criminal Behavior

Abstract

Judith A. Ryder’s book, Girls & Violence: Tracing the Roots of Criminal Behavior is a qualitative study looking at 24 female juvenile violent offenders adjudicated and remanded to custody in New York in the mid 1990’s. Ryder examines the problems with this particular demographic to explain female violence. She includes quotes that show female juvenile violent offenders described as monsters due to societal views of women and violence. The book uses attachment theory to address why the girls commit violent crime as well as show that they are not particularly monstrous. Additionally, Ryder offers ideas for policy changes that could address the unique psychological needs of female violent offenders. In the introduction, Ryder gives the reader a broad overview of female juvenile violent offenders’ problems, some of the background issues that could explain their reasons for offending, and statistical information on the qualitative sample that she used. She explains that the background trauma and abuse the girls experienced could explain why they offended. She does, however, simultaneously state that female juvenile violent offenders should not be seen as monstrous in comparison to their male counterparts, but that female juvenile violent offenders should be assessed differently from violent male juvenile offenders specifically because of their different backgrounds. Ryder begins her argument in chapter two by laying the foundations of attachment theory. Her basic premise is that the female juvenile violent offenders experience impaired bonding when psychological needs are not met and, as a result, act out in violent behaviors as an avoidant coping mechanism when later attachment problems manifest themselves. Ryder indicates that, generally, females use self-harm or drug and alcohol abuse as coping mechanisms; but those coping mechanisms can, in some female juvenile violent offenders, lead to violence as well. She concludes the chapter by proposing that violent behavior should be viewed as a consequence of abandonment and other attachment issues. The next chapter addresses attachment theory’s argument that the early attachments that children form with the primary caregivers affect them throughout the rest of their lives. When children are unable to form secure attachments to their primary caregivers, the children can display early signs of problems like the inability to handle different emotional states. Ryder uses this chapter as the first direct link between attachment theory and her qualitative sample. The girls interviewed for this indicated that they had insecure relationships with their mothers. They appeared incapable of interacting on an emotional level with their mothers and frequently chose to remain silent instead of expressing how they were feeling or attempting to work out their problems with anyone else. Most of the girls’ senses of emotional security were unstable and demonstrated a lack of basic family support. Subsequent chapters link other early childhood experiences, primarily trauma, in the sample to outcomes of violence. In chapter four, Ryder shows that the girls also experienced serious childhood traumas and exposure to violence. Many of the girls recounted early exposure to violence, such as fist fights and other physical abuses. All of the girls reported dealing with sexual harassment and sexual advances from adults around them as well as family members. Additionally, several of the girls experienced sexual violence. In addition to primary victimization, the & Ashley L. Hemsath ahemsath@indiana.edu