Does the Military Make the (Wo)man? An Examination of Gender Differences Among Incarcerated Veterans

Drawing upon prior research that has examined participation in the military and criminal justice outcomes, the current study investigates whether service history elements are associated with arrest frequencies, types of criminal behavior, and if certain service components influenced these outcomes in a similar or different manner for male and female veteran inmates. Using data from a nationally representative sample of inmates incarcerated in state prisons, results indicated that various attributes of military service and veteran gender were directly related to lifetime arrests and offense types. Gender disparities also emerged across military experiences depending on the type of behavior examined. The findings lend support for a multifaceted approach to understand and implement gender-specific programming in meeting the needs of justice-involved veterans.