Female Justice-Involved Veterans: The Nature of the Relationship between Military Discharge and Entry into the Correctional System

Since the first Gulf War began in 1990, increasing numbers of female military veterans have been sentenced to the correctional system; however, limited research examines the relationship between type of military discharge and entry into the correctional system, leaving policy makers with little information about how to craft viable public policy. The research questions and hypotheses focused on the nature of the relationship between type of military discharge and entry into community or institutional correctional systems for female military veterans who committed crimes after military service. Sampson and Laub's life-course theory and Schneider and Ingram's conceptualization of the social construction of target populations provided the theoretical framework of this sequential and balanced mixed-methodology study. An online survey with quantitative and open-ended qualitative questions was distributed to 41 local, state, and federal institutional and community corrections agencies throughout the U.S. A total of 24 surveys were returned with quantitative data used for Pearson's correlation testing, indicating a statistically significant correlation between dishonorable discharge and sentence into the correctional system. Twelve survey participants indicated willingness to be included in a follow-up focus group and 5 participated. Qualitative data gathered from open-ended questions and the focus group revealed minimal agency collection of information relative to female military veterans, their type of military discharge, and any subsequent criminal behavior. Positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to criminal justice and military policy makers related to improving the transition from military service to civilian life for female military veterans.