NCJ Number
61586
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1979) Pages: 225-241
Date Published
1979
Length
17 pages
Annotation
TO SPECIFY THE POSSIBLE LINKAGES BETWEEN GENDER ROLES AND DELINQUENCY, THIS STUDY DEVELOPED A MEASURE OF MASCULINE GENDER ROLE AND EXAMINED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THAT MEASURE AND THE FREQUENCY OF DELINQUENCY INVOLVEMENT.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH MOST THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE DELINQUENCY PATTERNS ARE BASED ON OFFICIAL STATISTICS WHICH EMPHASIZE THE DIFFERENCES IN FREQUENCY AND TYPE OF BOTH MALE AND FEMALE DELINQUENCY, THIS STUDY FOCUSED SOLELY ON ADOLESCENT MASCULINE ROLE EXPECTATIONS HELD BY SELF AND OTHERS AS THEY RELATE TO DELINQUENCY. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS ANSWERED BY 1,002 STUDENTS IN THE NASHVILLE, TENN., METROPOLITAN SCHOOL SYSTEM. THE VARIABLES MEASURING MASCULINE ROLE EXPECTATIONS OF THE SELF AND OTHERS WERE ADAPTED FROM A 5-ITEM MASCULINE ROLE SCALE. SUBJECTS WERE ALSO GIVEN A SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRE THAT INCLUDED 14 ITEMS ABOUT DELINQUENCY. THE SOCIAL CONTROL VARIABLES INCLUDED WERE CLASSIFIED UNDER THE SOCIAL BOND CATEGORIES OF ATTACHMENT (TO SCHOOL, PARENTS), COMMITMENT, INVOLVEMENT, AND BELIEF. DATA ANALYSIS YIELDED FINDINGS THAT SHOWED MALES TO BE MORE FREQUENTLY INVOLVED IN DELINQUENT ACTS THAN FEMALES. THE THEORETICAL PREDICTIONS THAT MASCULINE ROLE EXPECTATIONS OF BOTH THE SELF AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS RELATE POSITIVELY TO DELINQUENCY WERE SUPPORTED. MOREOVER, WHEN THE SOCIAL CONTROL VARIABLES WERE HELD CONSTANT, THE ASSOCIATION OF MASCULINE OTHERS TO DELINQUENCY AMONG MALES REMAINED NEGATIVE. THE SOCIAL CONTROL VARIABLES DID NOT SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE MASCULINE ROLE TO DELINQUENCY FOR MALES OR FEMALES. FURTHER RESEARCH IS RECOMMENDED. FOOTNOTES, TABLES, AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED, AND A SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE AND TABLES ARE APPENDED. (PRG)