Girls and Violence - An Exploration of the Gender Gap in Serious Delinquent Behavior

• NCJ Number: 89864
• Author(s): M Chesney-Lind
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 50 pages
• Corporate Author: University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Report no. 285.

Annotation

Violent behavior is much more frequent among adolescent females than is indicated by official arrest statistics, but youthful males are more likely than females to engage in violent misbehavior.

Abstract

Both official and unofficial accounts of the incidence and frequency of serious male and female delinquency range from those which emphasize women's conventionality to those which focus on elements of women's status which prevent them from having access to the settings in which violence is likely. The weight of the evidence indicates that elements of women's structural position rather than personality best explain the observed differences in behavior. These elements also explain the lower vulnerability of women to apprehension for their aggressive acts. The concept of androgyny should receive consideration in discussions of the prevention of aggression in youth. The possession of some traditionally male traits lowers female delinquency potential, while the possession of some traditionally female traits lowers a male's chances of engaging in delinquency, especially violent delinquency. In contrast to popular views, freeing the sexes from stereotyped roles may prove to be an effective approach to juvenile delinquency prevention. Data tables and a list of 52 references. (Author abstract modified)