Book chapter
Gender and Theories of Delinquency
The Oxford Handbook of Criminological Theory
Oxford Handbooks, Oxford University Press
11/23/2012
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199747238.013.0016
Abstract
Females are less likely than males to violate the law, a statement that has become a criminological truism and might help explain why the major theoretical paradigms in criminology tend to focus more on male offending than on female delinquency. Although females are less likely to engage in illegal behavior, they do so nonetheless. This article looks at the major criminological paradigms—control, strain, and learning—and the extent to which they have addressed female delinquency as well as the gender gap in delinquency. While it is true that the most prominent theories in each paradigm pay little attention to gender, some have suggested that these theories can explain delinquency in both males and females. In other words, the theories are believed to be gender-neutral. Indeed, there is empirical evidence to support the argument that the major social-psychological processes and variables in these theories—social bonds, self-control, strain, and learning—influence male and female delinquency.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Gender and Theories of Delinquency
- Creators
- Samantha R Cumley - University of IowaKaren Heimer - University of IowaStacy De Coster - North Carolina State University
- Contributors
- Francis T Cullen (Editor) - University of CincinnatiPamela Wilcox (Editor) - University of Cincinnati
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- The Oxford Handbook of Criminological Theory
- Series
- Oxford Handbooks
- DOI
- 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199747238.013.0016
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/23/2012
- Academic Unit
- Sociology and Criminology; Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies; Public Policy Center (Archive); Law Faculty
- Record Identifier
- 9984269224302771
Metrics
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