Research Outline, Annotated Bibliography, and Sample...

Research Question and Justification On average, women make up about 7 percent of the total federal and state incarcerated population in the United States. This has increased since the 1980s due to stricter and more severe laws that focus on recreational drug use, a lack of community programs, and fewer treatment centers available for outpatients (Zaitow and Thomas, eds., 2003). According to the National Womens Law Centers, women prisoners report a higher than statistically normal history of domestic violence in their immediate past, and the fastest growing prison population with a disproportionate number of non-Whites forming over 60 percent of the population. In fact, over 30 percent of women in prison are serving sentences for murder involving a spouse or partner. The incarceration of women presents far different cultural and sociological issues than those of men issues with children, family, sexual politics and more (NWLC, 2012). The rapid increase of female prisoners in a male-dominated system has left fewer adequate resources available for women. In addition, most research shows that womens prison experiences differ drastically from those of men because their relationships inside and outside prison tend to shape the culture then enter into in prison. Women tend to form differing structures than men, finding roles similar to that which they would undertake outside prison. In addition, over 60 percent of women in prison were the primary guardians for their children,