DELINQUENCY

Delinquency: The Comparison between Boys and Girls

Delinquency: The Comparison between Boys and Girls

Introduction

The unspoken assumption of researchers is that a general theory of deviancy applies to both males and females with the emphasis on males. Since female delinquency has always been very low in comparison to male delinquency, females were simply ignored in the theoretical framework. Their numbers were just too small to test the validity of a theoretical approach. With the increasing delinquency rate of females during the last 30 years, there has been an accompanying interest in explanations for female delinquency.

Gender is the best predictor of delinquent behavior. Males are more likely than females to engage in nearly every form of delinquency and are more pronounced in official arrest statistics. For violent index crimes (homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and forcible rape), UCR data from 2005 indicate that male arrests exceeded female arrests by a ratio of 4 to 1. For serious property crimes, the male-to-female arrest ratio in 2005 was nearly 2 to 1, and the 2005 ratio of male-to-female drug abuse violation arrests was nearly 5 to 1. Some less-serious offense types show greater gender equality.

For instance, males are only slightly more likely than females to be arrested for larceny-theft. Self-report studies also indicate males are more delinquent than females, but the sex differences in most self-report studies are smaller than the arrest data would suggest. This discrepancy between self-report and official arrest statistics may occur because females delinquency is less often observed by, or reported to, police or because law enforcement officials exercise discretion in arrest decisions to the favor of females (Kempf-Leonard, Tracy and Howell, 2001, p. 449). This paper will attempt to present a holistic discussion on the characteristics of delinquency amongst boys and girls. Specifically, the paper will shed light on the differences that exist between the characteristics amongst boys and girls through engagement in critical discussion.

Earlier perspectives

It was considered previously that female criminals were biologically and psychologically similar to males. Unlike non-criminal females, Lombroso argued, the female criminal had excessive body hair, wrinkles, and an abnormal cranium. He argued that females committed fewer delinquent acts than males for a variety of reasons: their maternal nature, their sexual frigidity, and their low intelligence (Kempf-Leonard, Tracy and Howell, 2001, p. 454). Noting that males were more delinquent than females, this fact was attributed to the uniformity among females. The female criminal was an anomaly among females. Female delinquency was even linked with menstruation.

Female deviancy occurs more often than reported. Women were naturally more inclined toward deceit and concealment. Arguments based on the biological differences in the sexes assert that since men are unable to hide their sexual arousal but, by their physiology, women can, women were capable of deceitful behavior. Women were considered to be encouraged to behave in a socially proscribed manner. These socially proscribed manners included feigning behaviors that made it easier for them to commit crimes. In addition to cultural expectations, the inequality of the sexes also affects the ...