NCJ Number
155611
Journal
Law and Society Review Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: (1993) Pages: 679-705
Date Published
1993
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Data from surveys conducted in 1982 and 1992 were used to determine whether men and women have become more alike in their perceptions of the certainty and severity of shame and embarrassment, as well as legal sanctions, for violating the law.
Abstract
Both surveys gathered information from a random sample of adults ages 18 and over in Oklahoma City. The 746 participants completed interviews focusing on several types of illegal behavior. The present analysis focused on petty theft and simple assault. Results revealed that perceived threat of shame, a self-imposed punishment, was most resistance to gender convergence. Within categories of education, convergence clearly was restricted to the college educated. Significant gender convergence was detected most often for the threat of embarrassment. For theft but not for assault, findings supported predictions from Hagan's power- control theory based on labor force trends and changes in family structure. Findings also point to the potential dynamic aspects of the theory. They suggest that over time, changes in the gender patterning of the occupational structure and changes in family composition can be expected to produce changes in gender differences in social control experiences and perhaps also changes in the relationship between gender and crime. Tables and 75 references (Author abstract modified)