NCJ Number
65873
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: (JANUARY 1980) Pages: 42-57
Date Published
1980
Length
16 pages
Annotation
A STATEWIDE STUDY OF IOWA TEENAGERS WAS USED TO DETERMINE WHETHER SEVERAL OF THE LEADING CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF DELINQUENCY CAUSATION WERE SEX-SPECIFIC.
Abstract
IT WAS ASSUMED THAT THE VARIOUS THEORIES OF DELINQUENCY ARE AS APPLICABLE TO FEMALES AS TO MALES. THE ASSUMPTION WAS TESTED BY BREAKING IT DOWN INTO TWO HYPOTHESES: (1) THE STRENGTH OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLES OF TRADITIONAL THEORIES OF CRIMINAL DEVIANCE AND SELF-REPORTED DELINQUENCY WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY THE SAME FOR BOTH MALES AND FEMALES, AND (2) THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SEXES IN TERMS OF SELF-REPORTING DELINQUENCY COULD BE ACCOUNTED FOR BY FEMALES' LESS ADVERSE LOCATION IN RELATION TO THESE VARIABLES. A TOTAL OF 28 SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN IOWA PARTICIPATED WITH 3,925 STUDENTS. OF THESE, 2,012 WERE MALE AND 1,913 WERE FEMALES. A SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE CONTAINED SCALES DESIGNED TO MEASURE THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DESCRIBED AS SIGNIFICANT IN THE VARIOUS THEORIES OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY. RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE THEORIES, EXCLUSIVE OF ANOMIE THEORY, APPEARED TO PREDICT AS WELL FOR FEMALES AS FOR MALES. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF CRIMINAL DEVIANCE DO NOT APPEAR TO BE MERELY THEORIES OF MALE DEVIANCE, BUT OF FEMALE DEVIANCE ALSO. DATA INDICATED, HOWEVER, THAT PERCEIVED LACK OF EDUCATION OR OCCUPATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IS NOT A STRONG PREDICTOR OF DELINQUENCY FOR EITHER SEX, BUT THAT THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE FOR THE FEMALES. SEX-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN RATES OF DELINQUENCY APPEARED TO RESULT FROM THE LESSER EXPOSURE OF FEMALES TO DEVIANT FACTORS THAN THAT OF MALES. RESEARCH IS NECESSARY, HOWEVER, TO SHOW HOW THE SEX ROLES OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY DETERMINE THE WAY IN WHICH DISTRIBUTION AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES ARE RELATED. TABULAR DATA, NOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.