Final answer:
The sociological theories that have extensively researched female criminality are Conflict Theory and Feminist Criminology. These theories focus on systemic inequalities and gender issues affecting females in crime. Functionalism and Symbolic Interactionism are less focused on gender-specific crime but contribute to our understanding of deviance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sociological theories that have extensively researched female criminality are Conflict Theory and Feminist Criminology. These theories are focused on the systemic inequalities and gender issues that underlie criminal behaviors among females.
On the other hand, functionalism, represented by theorists such as Émile Durkheim, considers the broader functions that deviance serves in society, like affirming cultural norms and promoting social unity. Symbolic Interactionism, indeed, looks into how societal interactions contribute to deviating behaviors through processes like labeling.
Conflict Theory, drawing extensively on the work of Karl Marx, suggests that crime and deviance are a result of societal tensions and conflicts, often related to class, gender, race, and other axes of inequality. This approach could delve into how the economic structures and power differentials in society contribute to female criminality, while Feminist Criminology explicitly addresses the gendered aspects of crime, both in terms of how women are criminalized and how the criminal justice system responds to them.
Functionalism would attribute gender inequality to the division of labor in society, but it's not primarily focused on female criminality. Symbolic Interactionism can be used to understand the subjective experiences and societal labeling that contribute to deviance, while Labeling Theory and Strain Theory, which fall under the broader functionalist paradigm, might be relevant in discussing the societal reactions to female offenders and the pressures that might lead to their deviance.