Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Jenson, Sandra
URN	etd-09012003-015832
Title	Descriptive And Developmental Characteristics Of Chronically Overcontrolled Hostile Women Offenders
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Psychology, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Edwin I. Megargee Committee Chair Charles Figley Committee Member John P. Kline Committee Member Joyce L. Carbonell Committee Member Rob Contreras Committee Member
Keywords	Anger Expression
Date of Defense	2003-06-01
Availability	restricted
Abstract Megargee (1966) proposed that there were at least two distinctive types of assaultive offenders, the Chronically Overcontrolled Hostile and the Undercontrolled Aggressive types, and subsequently developed the Overcontrolled-Hostility scale (O-H; Megargee, Cook, & Mendelsohn, 1967). The purpose of the current study was twofold: (a) to investigate the men vs. women generality of the Overcontrolled and Undercontrolled typology and (b) to determine the factors that differentiate Overcontrolled from Undercontrolled assaultive female offenders. An examination was conducted to determine how closely Overcontrolled and Undercontrolled women resembled their male counterparts and differences on measures of familial, social, and environmental variables between Over- and Undercontrolled offenders, chosen on the basis of their scores on the Overcontrolled Hostility Scale (O-H) and their history of offenses. This study provided support for extending Megargee’s overcontrolled typology to women. Both Overcontrolled men and women, as compared to Undercontrolled men and women, scored lower on measures of how often they express anger towards others and higher on measures of the frequency with which they attempt to control their expression of anger. Aggressiveness and childhood and adolescent behavior problems were found to differ significantly between the two groups. Overcontrolled women, as compared to Undercontrolled women, had lower scores on measures of lifelong aggressiveness and behavior problems. It is possible that gender differences within the socialization process may account for the lack of significant findings among the developmental variables in this study. While the Overcontrolled phenomenological characteristics may look the same for men and female offenders, the etiology of Overcontrolled female offenders may differ significantly from Overcontrolled male offenders,based on gender and/or socialization differences. Future research should replicate the current findings and identify additional factors that effectively differentiate the Overcontrolled from the Undercontrolled women offender. Such knowledge would assist in offering effective treatments to these women and understanding this phenomenon.
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