*2.3. Instruments*

ICOD MP92-100 test (Noriega 2011), in-depth interviews and focus groups. For the application of the test, the intention of evaluating the couple's relationships before and/or during admission to prison was specified.

### *2.4. Data Analysis*

The data collected through the ICOD MP92-100 were descriptive and analyzed through the SPSS software (IBM SPSS Statistics 27—Bucaramanga, Colombia). For the data resulting from the interviews and the focus groups, the analysis of the discourse was carried out through the Atlas.Ti software (The Qualitative Data Analysis 8—Bucaramanga, Colombia). The interviews were transcribed through Scribe Transcription Software, following the criteria of Jefferson (2004).

### **3. Results and Discussion**

Initially, the results of the emotional codependency test (ICOD MP92-100) were analyzed, finding that 88.9% of the participating women presented emotional codependency with the couples they had before and/or during prison admission, with a score higher than 32 according to the descriptive

analysis parameters. The test analyzed the four conceptual dimensions of codependency proposed by Noriega (2011): Factor 1. Denial mechanisms; Factor 2. Incomplete development of identity; Factor 3. Emotional repression and Factor 4. Rescue orientation towards others.

The instrument applied in the Bucaramanga Women's Prison yielded very approximate values in each of the factors; however, 33.33% of the sample obtained the highest score in factor 4: rescue orientation, where the woman tries to control her environment seeking to solve problems of others; with attitudes of perfectionism, excessive work and exaggerated responsibility. This confirms what has been exposed by di fferent authors, who point out that there are women who assume a traditional gender role, mainly associated with caring for others (Lagarde 1990; Lamas 1996).

Subsequently, 25.93% of the participants obtained a high score in factor 2: incomplete development of identity. According to Noriega (2011), this factor corresponds to a child development interrupted by dysfunctional situations, where women since childhood take a role of early responsibility, while reversing the role of father or mother with their own parents and being trapped in a unresolved symbiosis with them, waiting one day to meet their own needs for support, care and protection. Therefore, the woman with an incomplete identity development lives in order to meet the needs of others as a way to compensate for her own feelings of fear and insecurity and it is generally difficult for her to make decisions because internally she feels incomplete.

In the third instance, factor 3 was found: emotional repression, with a 22.22% frequency in the sample. Here, women do not usually express their displeasure and/or emotions because they fear causing problems and losing acceptance of others, trying to be understanding and accommodating to everyone, living in fear that something terrible may happen. Finally, factor 1 appears: denial mechanism with a 18.52% occurrence. This factor manifests itself as a defense mechanism that seeks to avoid experiencing a reality that is di fficult to face. It manifests itself with self-deception and justifications, through which the woman disqualifies her thoughts and emotions, while avoiding contact with other people who may confront her with her reality. It is generally made visible by tolerating mistreatment of the couple, avoiding contact with other people so as not to listen to their opinions, confusion when trying to accept what they do not really accept, justifying their partner's faults and minimizing problems with their partner so as not to have to solve it.

The quantitative data presented above were closely related to the qualitative data analyzed through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The speeches of the participating women clearly show the social construction of what it means to "be a woman" in a patriarchal society that links her to caring for others; care that is often permeated with violence. Most of the women tried to leave their violent partners and they did not succeed until they go<sup>t</sup> to prison; once there, many men walked away from them and other women still continue with this type of relationship that from prison becomes ideal because the daily violence is hidden and the expectation is generated that when they leave "everything will change", and even "it will be better than before". Below are some emerging categories that confirm the conceptual factors of codependency and that, in turn, show a possible connection between codependency and female crime.

### *3.1. I Did It for Him*

Many women repeatedly expressed in their stories the statement: "I did it for him," indicating an attitude of fidelity, rescue and help towards their partner, who expressed how much they needed them, and who perceived themselves as vulnerable subjects. Most of the women were victims of domestic violence, although they did not identify emotional abuse and physical assault as violent actions. Some men were not only aggressive, but also dependent on alcohol, drugs, or gambling. This category is closely related to factors 4 and 2 of codependency: rescue orientation and incomplete identity development.

"He needed me ... , I knew that if I left him he would not bear it ... , because he told me [ ... ] Everything I did I did for him, for a better future, because I kept hoping that someday he was going to stop drinking, and I saw that he was trying. When we were well he did not

ge<sup>t</sup> drunk, but if we had a fight he would leave [ ... ] The same thing happened to me with my dad" (S-22, Woman registered on line 22 of the database)
