Sex differences in crime
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| + | [[Image:Salome, c. 1530 - Cranach.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Salome (Cranach)|Salome]]'', c. [[1530]] - [[Cranach]], [[Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest]]]] | ||
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| - | [[Gender]] is a factor that plays a role in both [[human]] and [[animal]] [[aggression]]. Males are generally more aggressive than females (Coi & Dodge 1997, Maccoby & Jacklin 1974), and men commit the vast majority of [[murder]]s (Buss 2005). This is one of the most robust and reliable behavioral [[sex difference]]s, and it has been found across many different age groups and cultures. There is evidence that males are quicker to aggression (Frey et al 2003) and more likely than females to express their aggression physically (Bjorkqvist et al. 1994). However, some researchers have suggested that females are not necessarily less aggressive, but that they tend to show their aggression in less overt, less physical ways (Bjorkqvist et al. 1994, Hines and Saudino 2003). For example, females may display more verbal and relational aggression, such as [[social rejection]]. | ||
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| - | Attempts in various fields have tried to explore a possible relation between '''gender and crime'''. Such studies may belong to [[criminology]], [[sociobiology]] (which attempts to demonstrate a causal relationship between biological factors, in this case [[sex]], and human behaviors), etc. Despite the difficulty to interpret them, [[crime statistics]] may provide a way to investigate such a relationship, whose possible existence would be interesting from a [[gender differences]] perspective. An observable difference might be due to biological factors (as sociobiological theories claim) or to social and cultural factors. Furthermore, the nature of the [[crime]] itself must be considered. [[Gender]] and crime matters are often viewed through the perspective of [[violent crime]]s, in an attempt to justify common [[stereotype]]s that men are more "[[aggressivity|aggressive]]" than women. However, such a thesis has yet to be proven. It first requires a pre-definition of "aggressivity", usually related to alleged masculine traits. From a sociobiological point of view, or in the equally controversial field of [[behavioural genetics]], it has included research on an alleged "[[gene of aggressivity]]." However, the existence of such a gene, and, more widely, of any specific gene governing, by itself, human behaviour, has been challenged by various [[geneticist]]s . In ''[[The Gene Illusion]]'' (2002), Jay Joseph strongly opposed such sociobiological thesis, claiming that genetics could not explain human behavior. | ||
| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[List of women who have murdered their husbands]] | ||
| - | *[[Nature versus Nurture]] | ||
| - | *[[Race and crime]] | ||
| - | *[[Sex and intelligence]] | ||
| - | *[[Killer ape theory]] | ||
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| - | {{Refimprove|date=November 2007}} | ||
| '''Sex differences in crime''' are differences between [[men]] and [[women]] as the perpetrators and/or victims of [[crime]]. | '''Sex differences in crime''' are differences between [[men]] and [[women]] as the perpetrators and/or victims of [[crime]]. | ||
| Such studies may belong to fields such as [[criminology]] or [[sociobiology]] (which attempts to demonstrate a causal relationship between biological factors, in this case [[sex]], and human behaviors), etc. Despite the difficulty to interpret them, [[crime statistics]] may provide a way to investigate such a relationship, whose possible existence would be interesting from a [[gender differences]] perspective. An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors (as sociobiological theories claim). Furthermore, the nature of the [[crime]] itself must be considered. | Such studies may belong to fields such as [[criminology]] or [[sociobiology]] (which attempts to demonstrate a causal relationship between biological factors, in this case [[sex]], and human behaviors), etc. Despite the difficulty to interpret them, [[crime statistics]] may provide a way to investigate such a relationship, whose possible existence would be interesting from a [[gender differences]] perspective. An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors (as sociobiological theories claim). Furthermore, the nature of the [[crime]] itself must be considered. | ||
| - | Crime can be measured by such data as arrest records, imprisonment rates, and surveys. However, not all crimes are reported or investigated. Moreover, some studies show that men can have an overwhelming bias against reporting themselves to be the victims of a crime (particularly when victimized by a woman), and some studies have argued that women tend to get preferential treatment from law enforcement agencies and the courts.<ref>"[M]en who are involved in disputes with their partners, whether as alleged victims or as alleged offenders or both, are disadvantaged and treated less favorably than women by the law-enforcement system at almost every step." Brown, G. (2004). Gender as a factor in the response of the law-enforcement system to violence against partners. Sexuality and Culture, 8, (3-4), 3-139.</ref><ref> Felson, R. B., & Pare, P. (2005). The reporting of domestic violence and sexual assault by nonstrangers to the police. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 597-610</ref><ref>Felson, R. B. (2008). The legal consequences of intimate partner violence for men and women. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 639-646.</ref> | + | Crime can be measured by such data as arrest records, imprisonment rates, and surveys. However, not all crimes are reported or investigated. Moreover, some studies show that men can have an overwhelming bias against reporting themselves to be the victims of a crime (particularly when victimized by a woman), and some studies have argued that women tend to get preferential treatment from law enforcement agencies and the courts. |
| - | Studies generally find that males are incarcerated for crimes more often than females{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}, particularly for violent crimes{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}. However, men are also generally more likely than women to be the victims of violent crime{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}, with the exception of rape.{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} | + | Studies generally find that males are incarcerated for crimes more often than females, particularly for violent crimes. However, men are also generally more likely than women to be the victims of violent crime, with the exception of rape. |
| + | ==Overview== | ||
| + | [[Gender]] is a factor that plays a role in both [[human]] and [[animal]] [[aggression]]. Males are generally more aggressive than females (Coi & Dodge 1997, Maccoby & Jacklin 1974), and men commit the vast majority of [[murder]]s (Buss 2005). This is one of the most robust and reliable behavioral [[sex difference]]s, and it has been found across many different age groups and cultures. There is evidence that males are quicker to aggression (Frey et al 2003) and more likely than females to express their aggression physically (Bjorkqvist et al. 1994). However, some researchers have suggested that females are not necessarily less aggressive, but that they tend to show their aggression in less overt, less physical ways (Bjorkqvist et al. 1994, Hines and Saudino 2003). For example, females may display more verbal and relational aggression, such as [[social rejection]]. | ||
| - | == Statistical data == | + | Attempts in various fields have tried to explore a possible relation between '''gender and crime'''. Such studies may belong to [[criminology]], [[sociobiology]] (which attempts to demonstrate a causal relationship between biological factors, in this case [[sex]], and human behaviors), etc. Despite the difficulty to interpret them, [[crime statistics]] may provide a way to investigate such a relationship, whose possible existence would be interesting from a [[gender differences]] perspective. An observable difference might be due to biological factors (as sociobiological theories claim) or to social and cultural factors. Furthermore, the nature of the [[crime]] itself must be considered. [[Gender]] and crime matters are often viewed through the perspective of [[violent crime]]s, in an attempt to justify common [[stereotype]]s that men are more "[[aggressivity|aggressive]]" than women. However, such a thesis has yet to be proven. It first requires a pre-definition of "aggressivity", usually related to alleged masculine traits. From a sociobiological point of view, or in the equally controversial field of [[behavioural genetics]], it has included research on an alleged "[[gene of aggressivity]]." However, the existence of such a gene, and, more widely, of any specific gene governing, by itself, human behaviour, has been challenged by various [[geneticist]]s . In ''[[The Gene Illusion]]'' (2002), Jay Joseph strongly opposed such sociobiological thesis, claiming that genetics could not explain human behavior. |
| - | === In the United States === | + | ==More== |
| - | {{Further|Crime in the United States}} | + | |
| - | In the United States, men are much more likely to be incarcerated than women. Nearly 9 times as many men (5,037,000) as women (581,000) had ever at one time been incarcerated in a State or Federal prison at year end 2001. However, women are the fastest-growing demographic group in prison. [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/piusp01.txt]. | + | |
| - | In 2004, [[males]] were almost 10 times more likely than [[females]] to commit [[murder]], including rape-homicides. However, men are also far more likely than women to be the victims of violent crime, with the exception of rape.[http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/gender.cfm] | + | There are multiple theories that seek to explain findings that males and females of the same species can have differing aggressive behaviors. However the conditions under which women and men differ in aggressiveness are not well understood. In general, [[sexual dimorphism]] can be attributed to greater [[intraspecific competition]] in one sex, either between rivals for access to mates and/or to be [[mate choice|chosen by mates]]. This may stem from the other gender being constrained by providing greater [[parental investment]], in terms of factors such as [[gamete]] production, [[gestation]], [[lactation]], or upbringing of young. Although there is much variation in species generally the more physically aggressive sex is the male, particularly in mammals. In species where parental care by both sexes is required there tends to be less of a difference. When the female can leave the male to care for the offspring, then females may be the larger and more physically aggressive. Competitiveness despite parental investment has also been observed in some species. A related factor is the rate at which males and females are able to mate again after producing offspring, and the basic principles of [[sexual selection]] are also influenced by ecological factors affecting the ways or extent to which one sex can compete for the other. The role of such factors in human evolution is controversial. The pattern of male and female aggression is argued to be consistent with evolved sexually-selected behavioral differences, while alternative or complimentary views emphasize conventional [[gender role|social roles]] stemming from physical evolved differences. |
| - | The [[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]] reports that for each year between 2000 and 2005, "female parents acting alone" were most likely to be perpetrators of child abuse.<ref>[http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm00/figure4_2.htm Stats for 2000]; [http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm01/figure4_4.htm Stats for 2001]; [http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm02/figure3_6.htm Stats for 2002]; [http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm03/table3_13.htm Stats for 2003]; [http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm04/figure3_6.htm Stats for 2004]; [http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm05/figure3_5.htm Stats for 2005].</ref> Even after accounting for the greater number of females as primary caretakers of children, women still tend to commit more child abuse, neglect and homicide.<ref>"A 1999 report by the US Department of Health and Human Services revealed that, adjusting for the greater number of single mothers, a child is five times more likely to be murdered by a single mother than by a single father, and that children are 88% more likely to be seriously injured from abuse or neglect by their mothers than by their fathers." [[Glenn Sacks]], "[http://www.glennsacks.com/american_fathers_get.htm American Fathers Get A Bad Rap]." (2002), accessed 01 March 2013</ref> | + | Aggression in women may have evolved to be, on average, less physically dangerous and more covert or indirect. However, there are critiques for using animal behavior to explain human behavior. Especially in the application of evolutionary explanations to contemporary human behavior, including differences between the genders. |
| - | In 2010, the [[National Institute of Justice]] reported that American adolescents were the age group most likely to be victims of violent crime, while American men were more likely than American women to be victims of violent crime, and blacks were more likely than Americans of other races to be victims of violent crime.<ref name="NIJ2010>"[http://www.nij.gov/topics/victims-victimization/welcome.htm Victims and Victimization]," modified September 20, 2010, accessed 01 March 2013</ref> | + | In general, much research has suggested that males use more physical aggression than females. While females use more verbal aggression than males. Children interact with, and are aggressive toward,both same- and other-gender peers. There are more recent findings that show that differences in male and female aggression appear at about two years of age, though the differences in aggression are more consistent in middle-aged children and adolescence.Tremblay, Japel and Pérusse (1999) asserted that physically aggressive behaviors such as kicking, biting and hitting are age-typical expressions of innate and spontaneous reactions to biological drives such as anger, hunger, and affiliation. Girls’ relational aggression, meaning non-physical or indirect, tends to increase after age two while physical aggression decreases. There was no significant difference in aggression between males and females before two years of age. A possible explanation for this could be that girls develop language skills more quickly than boys therefore they have better ways of verbalizing their wants and needs. They are more likely to use communication when trying to retrieve a toy with the words "Ask nicely" or "Say please." |
| - | One study showed that women were more likely than men to deem certain behaviors that are criminal or unethical, such as inflating an insurance claim or using "cheap foreign labor," to be less acceptable (Fisher, 1999). | + | Many studies have found differences in the types of aggression used by males and females, at least in children and adolescents. Females between the ages of 10 and 14, around puberty age, show a more extreme rate of relational aggression compared to boys. These findings are true for Western society, but are not true of all cultures. In countries such as Kenya it has been found that young boys and girls have very similar rates of physical aggression. It has been found that girls are more likely than boys to use reactive aggression and then retract, but boys are more likely to increase rather than to retract their aggression after their first reaction. Studies show girls’ aggressive tactics |
| + | included gossip, ostracism, breaking confidences, and criticism of a victim’s clothing, appearance, or personality, whereas boys engage in aggression that involves a direct physical and/or verbal assault. This could be due to the fact that girls’ frontal lobes develop earlier than boys, allowing them to self-restrain. | ||
| - | === In Canada === | + | One factor that shows insignificant differences between male and female aggression is in sports. In sports, the rate of aggression in both contact and non-contact sports is relatively equal. Since the establishment of Title IX, female sports have increased in competitiveness and importance, which could contribute to the evening of aggression and the "need to win" attitude between both sexes. Among sex differences found in adult sports were that females have a higher scale of indirect hostility while men have a higher scale of assault. Another difference found is that men have up to 20 times higher levels of [[testosterone]] than women. |
| - | {{Further|Crime in Canada}} | + | |
| - | According to a [[Canadian Public Health Agency]] report, the rate of violent crime doubled among male youth during the late 1980s and 1990s, while it almost tripled among female youth. It rose for the latter from 2.2 per 1,000 in 1988 to a peak of 5.6 per 1,000 in 1996, and began to decline in 1999. Some researchers have suggested that the increase on crime statistics could be partly explained by the stricter approach to schoolyard fights and [[bullying]], leading to a criminalization of behaviours now defined as "assault" behaviours (while they were simply negatively perceived before). The increase in the proportion of female violent crime would thus be explained more by a change in law enforcement policies than by effective behaviour of the population itself. According to the report aforementioned, "Evidence suggests that aggressive and violent behaviour in children is linked to family and social factors, such as social and financial deprivation; harsh and inconsistent parenting; parents’ marital problems; family violence, whether between parents, by parents toward children or between siblings; poor parental mental health; physical and sexual abuse; and alcoholism, drug dependency or other substance misuse by parents or other family members.".<ref>[http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/html/nfntsaggsr_e.html Aggressive Girls], [[Public Health Agency of Canada]], last updated 10 June 2006, URL accessed on April 13, 2007</ref> | + | Some studies suggest that romantic involvement in adolescence decreases aggression in males and females, but decreases at a higher rate in females. Females will seem more desirable to their mate if they fit in with society and females that are aggressive do not usually fit well in society, they can often be viewed as antisocial. Female aggression is not considered the norm in society and going against the norm can sometimes prevent one from getting a mate. However, studies have shown that an increasing number of women are getting arrested for domestic violence charges. In many states, women now account for a quarter to a third of all domestic violence arrests, up from less than 10 percent a decade ago. The new statistics reflect a reality documented in research: women are perpetrators as well as victims of family violence. However, another equally possible explanation is a case of improved diagnostics: it has become more acceptable for men to report female domestic violence to the authorities while at the same time actual female domestic violence has not increased at all. This can be the case when men have become less ashamed of reporting female violence against them, therefore an increasing number of women are arrested, although the actual number of violent women remains the same. |
| - | <!-- SEE COMMENT ON TALK PAGE In another [http://www.wallettest.com study] conducted in the American city of Belleville, Illinois - 100 identical wallets containing money and valuables were intentionally 'lost' in front of hidden cameras. In that particular study, the dishonesty rate for men was well over twice that of women: | + | |
| - | Of the 51 females tested - 7 (14%) were dishonest and kept the wallets. | + | Also, males in competitive sports are often advised by their coaches not to be in intimate relationships based on the premises that they become more docile and less aggressive during an athletic event. The circumstances in which males and females experience aggression are also different. A study showed that social anxiety and stress was positively correlated with aggression in males, meaning as stress and social anxiety increases so does aggression. Furthermore, a male with higher social skills has a lower rate of aggressive behavior than a male with lower social skills. In females, higher rates of aggression were only correlated with higher rates of stress. Other than biological factors that contribute to aggression there are physical factors are well. |
| - | Of the 49 males tested - 19 (39%) were dishonest and kept the wallets.[http://www.wallettest.com/Lost_Wallet_Test/Results_Page.html] | + | Regarding sexual dimorphism, humans fall into an intermediate group with moderate sex differences in body size but relatively large [[testes]]. This is a typical pattern of primates where several males and females live together in a group and the male faces an intermediate amount of challenges from other males compared to exclusive [[polygyny]] and [[monogamy]] but frequent [[sperm competition]]. |
| - | --> | + | |
| - | == Aggressivity and gender == | + | [[Evolutionary psychology]] and [[sociobiology]] have also discussed and produced theories for some specific forms of male aggression such as [[sociobiological theories of rape]] and theories regarding the [[Cinderella effect]]. |
| - | {{Further|Aggression#Gender }} | + | |
| - | Males are typically more openly and violently aggressive than females (Coie & Dodge 1997, Maccoby & Jacklin 1974, Buss 2005), which violent crime statistics support. | ||
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| - | Some researchers have suggested that females are not necessarily less aggressive, but that they tend to show their aggression in more covert and less physical ways (e.g., [[Passive-aggressive behavior]]). For example, females may display more verbal and relational aggression, such as [[social rejection]].<ref>Bjorkqvist, Kaj, Kirsti M. Lagerspetz, and Karin Osterman. "[http://www.vasa.abo.fi/svf/up/articles/sexdiff_in_covert.pdf Sex Differences in Covert Aggression]." ''Aggressive Behavior'' 202 (1994): 27-33. 6 Dec. 2006</ref><ref>Hines, Denise A., and Kimberly J. Saudino. "[http://www.atypon-link.com/SPC/doi/abs/10.1891/vivi.2003.18.2.197?cookieSet=1&journalCode=vivi Gender Differences in Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Aggression Among College Students Using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales]." ''Violence and Victims'' 18 (2003): 197-217. 7 Dec. 2006</ref> Additionally, some data shows that while men are more likely than women to use physical aggression overall, rates of physical aggression within the context of dating and marriage tend to be similar for men and women, or that women are even more likely to commit [[domestic violence]] against a partner.<ref>Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 651-680.</ref><ref>"[W]omen reported the expression of as much or more violence in their relationships as men." Bookwala, J., Frieze, I. H., Smith, C., & Ryan, K. (1992). Predictors of dating violence: A multi variate analysis. Violence and Victims, 7, 297-311.</ref><ref> Dutton, D. G., Nicholls, T. L., & Spidel, A. (2005). Female perpetrators of intimate abuse. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 41, (4) 1-31.</ref><ref>"[R]ates of commission of acts and initiation of violence were similar across gender." Makepeace, J. M. (1986). Gender differences in courtship violence victimization. Family Relations, 35, 383-388. </ref> However, such data generally shows that men tend to inflict the greater share of injuries in domestic violence.<ref>Archer, 2000</ref> | ||
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| - | == Sociobiological and evolutionary psychology perspective == | ||
| - | {{Further|Sociobiology|Sociobiological theories of rape}} | ||
| - | [[Evolutionary psychology]] has proposed several evolutionary explanations for gender differences in aggressiveness. Males can increase their reproductive success by [[polygyny]] which will lead the competition with other males over females. If the mother died this may have had more serious consequences for a child than if the father died in the ancestral environment since there is a tendency for greater [[parental investment]]s and caring for children by females than by males. Greater caring for children also leads to difficulty leaving them in order to either fight or flee. Anne Campbell writes that females may thus avoid direct physical aggressiveness and instead use strategies such as "friendship termination, gossiping, ostracism, and stigmatization". <ref>The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, edited by David M. Buss, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. Chapter 21 by Anne Campbell.</ref> | ||
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| - | == Sociology of Gender and Crime == | ||
| - | {{Further|Feminist school of criminology}} | ||
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| - | Considerations of gender in regard to crime have been considered to be largely ignored and pushed aside in criminological and sociological study, until recent years, to the extent of female deviance having been marginalised (Heidensohn, 1995). In the past fifty years of sociological research into crime and deviance sex differences were understood and quite often mentioned within works, such as Merton's theory of anomie, however, they were not critically discussed, and often any mention of female delinquency was only as comparative to males, to explain male behaviour's, or through defining the girl as taking on the role of a boy, namely, conducting their behaviour and appearance as that of a 'tomboy' and by rejecting the female role [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0192-3234(1998)24%3C365%3AGVITPE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D Gang Violence In The PostIndustrial Era], adopting stereotypical masculine traits. | ||
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| - | One key reason contended for this lack of attention to females in crime and deviance is due to the view that female crime has almost exclusively been dealt with by men, from policing through to legislators, and that this has continued through into the theoretical approaches, quite often portraying what could be considered as a one-sided view, as Mannheim suggested [http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/28/2/93.pdf Feminism and Criminology In Britain] (Heidensohn, 1995). | ||
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| - | However, other contentions have been made as explanations for the invisibility of women in regard to theoretical approaches, such as: females have an '...apparently low level of offending' (Heidensohn, 1995); that they pose less of a social threat than their male counterparts; that their 'delinquencies tend to be of a relatively minor kind' [http://www.nacro.org.uk/data/resources/nacro-2004120227.pdf Girls In The Youth Justice System](Heidensohn, 1995), but also due to the fear that including women in research could threaten or undermine theories, as Thrasher and Sutherland feared would happen with their research (Heidensohn, 1995). | ||
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| - | Further theories have been contended, with many debates surrounding the involvement and ignoring of women within theoretical studies of crime, however, with new approaches and advances in feminist studies and masculinity studies, and the claims of increases in recent years in female crime, especially that of violent crime [http://www.nacro.org.uk/data/resources/nacro-2004120227.pdf Girls In The Youth Justice System] more attention seems to be becoming of this topic. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[List of women who have murdered their husbands]] | ||
| *[[Nature versus Nurture]] | *[[Nature versus Nurture]] | ||
| - | *[[Power-control theory of gender and delinquency]] | + | *[[Race and crime]] |
| - | *[[Race and crime in the United States]] | + | |
| *[[Sex and intelligence]] | *[[Sex and intelligence]] | ||
| + | *[[Sex differences in humans]] | ||
| + | *[[Killer ape theory]] | ||
| *[[Neurocriminology ]] | *[[Neurocriminology ]] | ||
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| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
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Featured: |
Sex differences in crime are differences between men and women as the perpetrators and/or victims of crime.
Such studies may belong to fields such as criminology or sociobiology (which attempts to demonstrate a causal relationship between biological factors, in this case sex, and human behaviors), etc. Despite the difficulty to interpret them, crime statistics may provide a way to investigate such a relationship, whose possible existence would be interesting from a gender differences perspective. An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors (as sociobiological theories claim). Furthermore, the nature of the crime itself must be considered.
Crime can be measured by such data as arrest records, imprisonment rates, and surveys. However, not all crimes are reported or investigated. Moreover, some studies show that men can have an overwhelming bias against reporting themselves to be the victims of a crime (particularly when victimized by a woman), and some studies have argued that women tend to get preferential treatment from law enforcement agencies and the courts.
Studies generally find that males are incarcerated for crimes more often than females, particularly for violent crimes. However, men are also generally more likely than women to be the victims of violent crime, with the exception of rape.
Overview
Gender is a factor that plays a role in both human and animal aggression. Males are generally more aggressive than females (Coi & Dodge 1997, Maccoby & Jacklin 1974), and men commit the vast majority of murders (Buss 2005). This is one of the most robust and reliable behavioral sex differences, and it has been found across many different age groups and cultures. There is evidence that males are quicker to aggression (Frey et al 2003) and more likely than females to express their aggression physically (Bjorkqvist et al. 1994). However, some researchers have suggested that females are not necessarily less aggressive, but that they tend to show their aggression in less overt, less physical ways (Bjorkqvist et al. 1994, Hines and Saudino 2003). For example, females may display more verbal and relational aggression, such as social rejection.
Attempts in various fields have tried to explore a possible relation between gender and crime. Such studies may belong to criminology, sociobiology (which attempts to demonstrate a causal relationship between biological factors, in this case sex, and human behaviors), etc. Despite the difficulty to interpret them, crime statistics may provide a way to investigate such a relationship, whose possible existence would be interesting from a gender differences perspective. An observable difference might be due to biological factors (as sociobiological theories claim) or to social and cultural factors. Furthermore, the nature of the crime itself must be considered. Gender and crime matters are often viewed through the perspective of violent crimes, in an attempt to justify common stereotypes that men are more "aggressive" than women. However, such a thesis has yet to be proven. It first requires a pre-definition of "aggressivity", usually related to alleged masculine traits. From a sociobiological point of view, or in the equally controversial field of behavioural genetics, it has included research on an alleged "gene of aggressivity." However, the existence of such a gene, and, more widely, of any specific gene governing, by itself, human behaviour, has been challenged by various geneticists . In The Gene Illusion (2002), Jay Joseph strongly opposed such sociobiological thesis, claiming that genetics could not explain human behavior.
More
There are multiple theories that seek to explain findings that males and females of the same species can have differing aggressive behaviors. However the conditions under which women and men differ in aggressiveness are not well understood. In general, sexual dimorphism can be attributed to greater intraspecific competition in one sex, either between rivals for access to mates and/or to be chosen by mates. This may stem from the other gender being constrained by providing greater parental investment, in terms of factors such as gamete production, gestation, lactation, or upbringing of young. Although there is much variation in species generally the more physically aggressive sex is the male, particularly in mammals. In species where parental care by both sexes is required there tends to be less of a difference. When the female can leave the male to care for the offspring, then females may be the larger and more physically aggressive. Competitiveness despite parental investment has also been observed in some species. A related factor is the rate at which males and females are able to mate again after producing offspring, and the basic principles of sexual selection are also influenced by ecological factors affecting the ways or extent to which one sex can compete for the other. The role of such factors in human evolution is controversial. The pattern of male and female aggression is argued to be consistent with evolved sexually-selected behavioral differences, while alternative or complimentary views emphasize conventional social roles stemming from physical evolved differences.
Aggression in women may have evolved to be, on average, less physically dangerous and more covert or indirect. However, there are critiques for using animal behavior to explain human behavior. Especially in the application of evolutionary explanations to contemporary human behavior, including differences between the genders.
In general, much research has suggested that males use more physical aggression than females. While females use more verbal aggression than males. Children interact with, and are aggressive toward,both same- and other-gender peers. There are more recent findings that show that differences in male and female aggression appear at about two years of age, though the differences in aggression are more consistent in middle-aged children and adolescence.Tremblay, Japel and Pérusse (1999) asserted that physically aggressive behaviors such as kicking, biting and hitting are age-typical expressions of innate and spontaneous reactions to biological drives such as anger, hunger, and affiliation. Girls’ relational aggression, meaning non-physical or indirect, tends to increase after age two while physical aggression decreases. There was no significant difference in aggression between males and females before two years of age. A possible explanation for this could be that girls develop language skills more quickly than boys therefore they have better ways of verbalizing their wants and needs. They are more likely to use communication when trying to retrieve a toy with the words "Ask nicely" or "Say please."
Many studies have found differences in the types of aggression used by males and females, at least in children and adolescents. Females between the ages of 10 and 14, around puberty age, show a more extreme rate of relational aggression compared to boys. These findings are true for Western society, but are not true of all cultures. In countries such as Kenya it has been found that young boys and girls have very similar rates of physical aggression. It has been found that girls are more likely than boys to use reactive aggression and then retract, but boys are more likely to increase rather than to retract their aggression after their first reaction. Studies show girls’ aggressive tactics included gossip, ostracism, breaking confidences, and criticism of a victim’s clothing, appearance, or personality, whereas boys engage in aggression that involves a direct physical and/or verbal assault. This could be due to the fact that girls’ frontal lobes develop earlier than boys, allowing them to self-restrain.
One factor that shows insignificant differences between male and female aggression is in sports. In sports, the rate of aggression in both contact and non-contact sports is relatively equal. Since the establishment of Title IX, female sports have increased in competitiveness and importance, which could contribute to the evening of aggression and the "need to win" attitude between both sexes. Among sex differences found in adult sports were that females have a higher scale of indirect hostility while men have a higher scale of assault. Another difference found is that men have up to 20 times higher levels of testosterone than women.
Some studies suggest that romantic involvement in adolescence decreases aggression in males and females, but decreases at a higher rate in females. Females will seem more desirable to their mate if they fit in with society and females that are aggressive do not usually fit well in society, they can often be viewed as antisocial. Female aggression is not considered the norm in society and going against the norm can sometimes prevent one from getting a mate. However, studies have shown that an increasing number of women are getting arrested for domestic violence charges. In many states, women now account for a quarter to a third of all domestic violence arrests, up from less than 10 percent a decade ago. The new statistics reflect a reality documented in research: women are perpetrators as well as victims of family violence. However, another equally possible explanation is a case of improved diagnostics: it has become more acceptable for men to report female domestic violence to the authorities while at the same time actual female domestic violence has not increased at all. This can be the case when men have become less ashamed of reporting female violence against them, therefore an increasing number of women are arrested, although the actual number of violent women remains the same.
Also, males in competitive sports are often advised by their coaches not to be in intimate relationships based on the premises that they become more docile and less aggressive during an athletic event. The circumstances in which males and females experience aggression are also different. A study showed that social anxiety and stress was positively correlated with aggression in males, meaning as stress and social anxiety increases so does aggression. Furthermore, a male with higher social skills has a lower rate of aggressive behavior than a male with lower social skills. In females, higher rates of aggression were only correlated with higher rates of stress. Other than biological factors that contribute to aggression there are physical factors are well.
Regarding sexual dimorphism, humans fall into an intermediate group with moderate sex differences in body size but relatively large testes. This is a typical pattern of primates where several males and females live together in a group and the male faces an intermediate amount of challenges from other males compared to exclusive polygyny and monogamy but frequent sperm competition.
Evolutionary psychology and sociobiology have also discussed and produced theories for some specific forms of male aggression such as sociobiological theories of rape and theories regarding the Cinderella effect.
See also
- List of women who have murdered their husbands
- Nature versus Nurture
- Race and crime
- Sex and intelligence
- Sex differences in humans
- Killer ape theory
- Neurocriminology
