This study aims to investigate patterns of decision-making and responsibility-taking as opposed to the compulsion process selection of a criminal lifestyle among women in prison. A life story approach and semi-structured interviews sampling 30 Israeli women in prison during their first imprisonment were used. Using a mixed-method, results revealed that most of the participants claimed full or partial self-responsibility for having engaged in a criminal lifestyle or for the offense of which they had been convicted. This figure was consistent when the participants were divided by age of first offense or a history of abuse. The results support the need for an integrated approach explaining women’s criminal paths, including gender-specific as well as gender-neutral factors. The conclusion is that responsibility-taking for a criminal act should be one of the factors in intervention programs for women with delinquent behavior, regardless of whether there is a history of victimization or not.

本研究旨在调查决策和承担责任的模式，而不是在监狱中的女性中强制选择犯罪生活方式的过程。使用了生活故事方法和半结构化访谈，对第一次入狱期间的 30 名以色列妇女进行了抽样调查。使用混合方法，结果显示，大多数参与者声称对从事犯罪生活方式或他们被定罪的罪行承担全部或部分责任。当参与者除以初犯年龄或虐待史时，这个数字是一致的。结果支持需要一种综合方法来解释女性的犯罪途径，包括特定性别和中性因素。