Males commit more crime than females PDF

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Explain the notion that males commit more crime than females...

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Molly Boag 1807035

1807035 PSY005-1

Molly Boag 1807035 How could we explain the notion that males commit more crimes than females? Use evidence to support your answer When looking at gender differences within crime, the population of prisoners who are men is significantly higher than women. In the UK, according to 2018 statistics by gov.uk1, of a prison population of 79,235 inmates, 75,524 were male, in comparison to a minuscule 3,217 female. Statistics show that men commit more indictable offences than women according to the Ministry of Justice National Statistics 2017 2. The statistics of prison population regarding crime are not necessarily representative of crimes committed. Firstly, you must be caught to commit a crime. Secondly, you must be then found guilty and sentenced. When women commit a crime, the criminal justice system has been known to be lenient with them (Pollack, 1950)3, which could explain why men seem to commit more crime. Barnes and Teeters (1959)4 support the claim saying, ‘women are protected in a male dominated world…’. Women in society are depicted as caregivers and mothers, and society finds it hard to believe that women can be deviant criminals. Especially the criminal justice system who are predominantly male. They have a duty as men to care and protect women. So, the sentencing of women, in comparison to males, is considerably lighter, and crimes are more likely not to be reported according to the chivalry thesis by Pollack (1950). Meaning there could be more women than men committing crimes; they are just not being prosecuted. Although the vast gap between the number of men in prison compared to women seems far too large for that to be the case. It has also been shown that women, in fact, receive harsher sentences when they commit ‘masculine’ crimes as they are going against their stereotypical gender roles (Lightowlers, 2018)5. A key difference between male and female biology is testosterone. Testosterone is a male sex hormone which women only have a fraction of. This biological approach of testosterone has been linked to aggression and explains why men commit more crime, particularly violent crime, than women. When threatened, testosterone is released and increases activity in the amygdala which is responsible for our emotions. The increase of activity caused by testosterone in the amygdala could lead to aggression; therefore, a violent crime being committed. As this hormone is less likely to be found in women, this may be a reason as to why men commit more crime. A study by James Dabbs et al. (1987)6 looked at testosterone in the saliva of 89 inmates. In those with the highest testosterone levels, 10 out of 11 had committed violent crimes in comparison 2 out of 11 of those with low-level testosterone levels. Highlighting the influence testosterone has on violent crimes. However, it is wrong to assume that this is the sole reason why the participants committed their crimes. Testosterone levels have been known to change depending on the situation like before, during and after a competition (Mazur et al. 1998)7. Therefore, it is impossible to say if violent crimes raise testosterone levels in a person instead of the other way around. An evolutionary approach like sexual selection (Darwin, 1871)8 can explain why males commit more crime than women. ‘Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection) and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (intrasexual selection)’ ("Sexual selection", n.d.)9. Men are also more likely to be the aggressive sex

1 Prisons data. Data.justice.gov.uk. (2020), from https://data.justice.gov.uk/prisons. 2 National Statistics of Women in the Criminal Justice System Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. (2021, from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/759772/womencjs-2017-statistics-infographic.pdf. 3 Pollak, O. (1950). The criminality of women. Rasche, Christine E. 4 Barnes, H., & Teeters, N. (1959). New horizons in criminology. Prentice-Hall. 5 Lightowlers, C. (2018). Drunk and Doubly Deviant? the Role of Gender and Intoxication in Sentencing Assault Offences. The British Journal Of Criminology, 59(3), 693-717. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azy041 6 Dabbs, J., Frady, R., Carr, T., & Besch, N. (1987). Saliva testosterone and criminal violence in young adult prison inmates. Psychosomatic Medicine, 49(2), 174-182. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198703000-00007 7 Mazur, A., & Booth, A. (1998). Testosterone and dominance in men. Behavioral And Brain Sciences, 21(3), 353363. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x98001228 8 Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. 9 Sexual selection. En.wikipedia.org. from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_selection.

Molly Boag 1807035 as they have less parental investment (Trivers, 1972)10 compared to the women who have greater parental investment so in turn are more selective with their partners. This means the men must compete more ferociously with other men for a chance of reproduction which explains aggressive behaviour and therefore violent crimes like assault and murder. Women are therefore less likely than men to commit these crimes as they have a greater parental investment which makes them less likely to partake in risky or aggressive behaviour (Campbell, 1999)11. It can also be used to explain instances of rape, as men can be so eager to reproduce, they may use force if they are unsuccessful (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000)12. The statistics of prison populations in not only the UK, but across the globe prove that men commit more crime than women. The exact reason as to why is still unknown, however theories like sexual selection, or research on hormones, can give us an indication to the explanation. Both the evolutionary approach and the idea of testosterone gives valid reasoning to why men commit more crime than women, however both theories need to take into consideration the complexity of our species and the effect in which society has on us as different genders if we are to explain the true notion of why men commit more crime than women.

10 Parental investment and sexual selection. Roberttrivers.com. (1972) from http://www.roberttrivers.com/Robert_Trivers/Publications_files/Trivers%201972.pdf. 11 Campbell, A. (1999). Staying alive: Evolution, culture, and women's intrasexual aggression. Behavioral And Brain Sciences, 22(2), 203-214. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x99001818 12 Why Men Rape by Randy Thornhill and Craig T. Palmer. Csus.edu. (2000) from https://www.csus.edu/indiv/m/merlinos/thornhill.html.

Molly Boag 1807035

How could we use attachment theory to explain domestic violence? Use evidence to support your answer Domestic violence according to the Home Office 2013 13 is defined as ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been, intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional’. Any family member can inflict domestic violence, whether it be a grandparent, parent, sibling, cousin, aunt, or uncle providing they are 16 years of age or older. Though, as the definition states, domestic violence can be committed by anyone, regardless of gender, men are typically the perpetrators. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the significant ways domestic violence is used. Attachment theory initially developed by Bowlby (1969)14, found that a child’s relationship with their primary caregivers has a direct impact on their life as they either have a secure or insecure attachment to their primary caregiver. Other researchers later developed other theories on attachment theory concerning how childhood attachments directly affect adult relationships. Bowlby states ‘angry behaviour is a way that children may communicate to their primary attachment figure that their attachment behavioural system has been activated and that attachment needs are not being met’ which is also known as ‘functional anger’. If the child repeatedly feels insecure concerning the relationship with its caregiver, this could lead to the functional anger developing into violence against partners in adulthood. If a partner in any way makes the abuser feel as though they are in an insecure environment, for example, the partner wanting to end the relationship, they could, in turn, display their functional anger by physically hurting their partner. Bartholomew & Horowitz (1991)15 model of attachments involves four categories: secure – comfortable with closeness. Fearful – fear intimacy and feel insecure; preoccupied – need to be accepted by others and ambivalent; dismissing – independent and downplays the importance of intimate relationships. Fearful and dismissing styles are characterised by high attachment avoidance or discomfort with intimacy associated with negative other models. Preoccupied and fearful styles are characterised by high attachment anxiety, or a fear of abandonment and rejection associated with a negative self-model (Corcoran & Mallinckrodt, 2000)16. These attachment types outbursts may be a form of protest behaviour directed at his attachment figure (now the sexual partner) due to their perceived threats of separation or abandonment. This could result in some form of domestic violence, whether it be physical or verbal. A study by Dutton, Saunders, Starzomski, and Bartholomew (1994)17 found a fearful and preoccupied attachment style in the male participants correlated significantly with abusiveness. Those with fearful attachments are most likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence. They tend to be clingy and insecure, meaning they get jealous quickly, resulting in domestic abuse toward their partner. Indeed, attachment theories give an insight into how attachments can cause domestic violence; however, there is a lack of research about women being the abusers. Majority of studies in this field are based on men being the perpetrators of violence, which may not be the case. 1 in 3 domestic violence survivors are men. Due to the stigma around men being the dominant one in a relationship, men may not come forward and admit to being abused. Attachment theory also fails to explain why women do not end up being abusers, and there are only explanations as to why it influences men. Attachment theory fails to consider same-sex couples; there is no evidence supporting same-sex male couples, only heterosexual couples. Theories such as social learning theory would give a better 13 Circular 003/2013: new government domestic violence and abuse definition. GOV.UK. (2013) from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-government-domestic-violence-and-abuse-definition/circular0032013-new-government-domestic-violence-and-abuse-definition. 14 Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Basic Books. 15 Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 16 Corcoran, K., & Mallinckrodt, B. (2000). Adult Attachment, Self-Efficacy, Perspective Taking, and Conflict Resolution. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 78(4), 473-483. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.15566676.2000.tb01931.x 17 Dutton, D. G., Saunders, K., Starzomski, A., & Bartholomew, K. (1994). Intimacy-anger and insecure attachment as precursors of abuse in intimate relationships. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24(15), 1367– 1386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1994.tb01554.x

Molly Boag 1807035 understanding as to why domestic violence occurs. Social learning theory proposes that behaviours are learnt by observing others and then imitating. In the case of domestic violence, both male and females who had witnessed domestic violence in their own home were three times more likely to have attacked their spouses Straus et al. (1980)18 had found in a study. Social learning theory can, therefore, explain why men and women may turn to domestic abuse. Attachment theory can be used to explain domestic violence, particularly concerning intimate partner violence. The abuser has a form of insecure attachment, most probably a fearful attachment as they are more likely to be jealous and insecure, which may result in some form of abuse. However, attachment theory is hard to apply to domestic abuse like a father to a daughter or an aunt to a nephew. Social learning theory shows that behaviour is learnt therefore can explain all types of domestic abuse toward anyone. Although this may be too simplistic as humans are complex, not everyone who witnesses violence inflicts it. No one theory can explain why anyone commits domestic violence; instead, it must be a combination of different factors.

18 Straus, M., Gelles, R., & Steinmetz, S. (1980). Behind Closed Doors....