Gender, Parenthood, and Crime: What People Expect When You’re Expecting

Author

Madelyn Blaser, University of South DakotaFollow

Date of Award

Spring 3-24-2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Department/Major

Political Science

Additional Department

Communication Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Julia Marin Hellwege

Second Advisor

Dr. Jenna Borseth

Third Advisor

Gregory Brazeal

Keywords

Crime, gender, parenthood, perceptions of crime

Subject Categories

Criminology and Criminal Justice | Family, Life Course, and Society | Gender and Sexuality | Political Science

Abstract

Decades of research have underscored the importance of personal demographics on criminal sentencing outcomes. Race and gender have gained increasing attention within this area, while parental status, particularly expectant parenthood, has largely been neglected. The current study seeks to examine the influence that an offender’s gender and parental status have on how they are viewed by the public. Using a vignette-style survey of American adults, this paper examines how gender and parental status influences public perception of an offender’s character. The survey also highlights the impacts that gender and parental status have on perceptions of a fair correctional outcome. Results show that expectant parenthood has the largest impact on public perception, with other gender and parental status factors remaining statistically insignificant. The results of this study imply that future research should work to disentangle gender, parenthood, and expectant parenthood, recognizing the distinction among these groups and working to further understand what causes members of these groups to be perceived differently from one another.

Recommended Citation

Blaser, Madelyn, "Gender, Parenthood, and Crime: What People Expect When You’re Expecting" (2025). Honors Thesis. 356.
https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis/356