Impact Of Life Experiences On Mental Health Of Criminal And Non-Criminal Women In AJK And KP

Abstract

The rate of female crime has grown rapidly in recent years in Pakistan. Criminal women are likely to have negative life experiences. Current research aimed to examine the effect of positive and negative life experiences on mental health of criminal and non-criminal women. Two measures (Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (Diener et al., 2010), and Mental Health Inventory (Zafar & Kausar, 2016) were used. Purposive sample of 200 women (criminal = 100, noncriminal = 100) were taken from different areas of AJK and KP to assess their life experiences and mental health. Results revealed significant positive correlation with positive life experiences and mental health among non-criminal women and significant negative relationship with negative life experiences and mental health among criminal women. Positive life experiences showed significant impact on mental health of non-criminal. Negative life experiences showed significant impact on mental health of criminal women. It was concluded that positive and negative life experiences effect mental health of criminal and non-criminal women. Findings of current research are helpful to understand negative life experiences of criminal women.