NCJ Number
194877
Journal
Theoretical Criminology: An International Journal Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 5-33
Date Published
2002
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This paper examines why men’s crime rates are so high compared to women’s crime rates by combining the theories and research of developmental psychology, men’s studies, and criminology.
Abstract
The authors are interested in explaining the disparity between men’s and women’s crime rates. In order to address this question, they proposed a theoretical perspective that combined the theories and research from three main areas. First, they reviewed the developmental psychology literature pertaining to attachment theory. This theory suggests that infants have a psychological and physiological need for early attachment to a primary caregiver. If this attachment is absent or broken, a state of detachment occurs in the infant that results in various abnormalities in the development of the child. The authors then went on to review theories of masculinity derived from the field of men’s studies. This perspective claims that culturally normative child-rearing practices for boys result in feelings of detachment for males, leading to problems that may include later delinquency and criminal behavior. Finally, the authors of this paper linked developmental psychology’s attachment theory and theories of masculinity to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s criminological theory of low self-control to explain why men’s crime rates were disproportionately high compared to women’s crime rates. Specifically, the authors argue that low self-control, as explained by the criminology literature, is an effect of disrupted attachments in the early childhood of boys. They further argue that this disruption in the attachment of boys to their primary caregiver is a result of culturally normative child-rearing practices for raising boys. Thus, the authors have combined the literature of three different areas: developmental psychology, men’s studies, and criminology to expand the understanding of men’s crime rates. Notes, references